Note 125 — Chapter XII

Tottenham-court Chapel, when first erected, was a double brick building, seventy feet square within the walls. Twelve almshouses and a chapel-house were added in 1758. But the chapel being too small for the accommodation of those who wished to attend, an octangular front was added to it in the winter of 1759–60. The lease granted by General George Fitzroy to Mr. Whitefield having expired in 1828, the chapel was closed until 1830, when the trustees purchased the freehold of it for fourteen thousand pounds, and laid out about six thousand more in repairs. It was re-opened October 27, 1831. The Rev. William Jay preached in the morning from Rev. xxi. 22; and the Rev. J. Parsons in the evening, from Jer. ix. 3. The chapel at present is a handsome building—the exterior coated with stucco and ornamented with pilasters having a boldly projecting moulding. The interior is neat and in good taste, the cupola being supported by twelve columns. The present pulpit is the same as that in which Mr. Whitefield preached. The length is one hundred and twenty-seven feet, the breadth seventy, and the height of the summit of the dome one hundred and fourteen feet. It will accommodate from three to four thousand persons, and very many of the seats are free. The voice of the preacher may be distinctly heard in every part of the building. Among the monumental tablets are memorials of Whitefield, Toplady, and Joss. And in the mausoleum are deposited the remains of several clergymen and Dissenting ministers.