Langley

76. LANGLEY.

(O.S. 6 in. xii. S.W.)

Ecclesiastical

(1). Minsden Chapel, ruins, on rising ground about 3 miles S. of Hitchin and ¼ mile W. of the road to Hitchin. The walls are of flint rubble with stone dressings. The chapel, consisting of Chancel and Nave, was probably built in the 14th century, but little or no detail remains by which an exact date can be assigned to it.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (26 ft. by 15 ft.): little remains but the four angles with fragments of the walls 12 to 15 ft. high, and the chancel arch is represented only by a rough opening. The Nave (42 ft. by 21 ft.): the N. wall still stands to a height of about 15 ft.; but the only remains, except the rough openings, of the two N. windows and the N. doorway are a few worked stones in the W. splay, and the spring of the chamfered rear arch of the westernmost window. The S. wall is pierced by two rough openings which represent a doorway and a window; at the E. end of the wall a complete break indicates the position of a second window. The W. wall is nearly intact, and at its apex is a small brick pier. There are traces of square buttresses on the N. and S. walls, and of diagonal buttresses on the W. wall.

Condition—Ruinous; overgrown with ivy.