The Unitarian Chapel, Upper Brook Street, Manchester

(1837-9, Charles Barry, Grade II*)

The former Unitarian Chapel, later known as the Welsh Baptist Chapel is owned by Manchester City Council. It is the first known example of a Gothic nonconformist chapel and believed to have been an early collaboration between Sir Charles Barry and AWN Pugin before they worked together on the Palace of Westminster. Yet despite its national significance, the chapel has been neglected for decades, resulting in 2005 in the removal of its roof. The chapel is now open to the elements and largely a ruin. Despite this there is a glimmer of hope; the City Council is working on finding a tenant who is prepared to take the building on. Suggestions for its future have included student accommodation or a restaurant, but progress needs to be made soon or the city will lose an important part of its architectural heritage.

See the list entry for this building