The chapel in the grounds of his house in East Suffolk, which is made out of flint with an impressive round tower, has finally been finished and most of the scaffolding taken down after an 18-month-build. The stunning building, which is in the style of a small early Suffolk Round Tower Church, can now be used by Sheeran’s family and friends to worship in private.
The chapel, which is now having landscaping created around the edge, can be seen peeking out over the trees and hedges on the east side of his estate. A builder is just putting the very final touches on the “non-denominational” chapel, which is expected to have room for a congregation of 24 people. The chapel has been carefully modelled with curved walls to give it a sweeping boat feel. It features a lobby and a nave with an altar downstairs, with a spiral staircase to a small gallery, and a main space for contemplation and activity to the east “which being linked with the rising of the sun is relevant both in the Abrahamic and oriental traditions and in the more environmentally led philosophies of the present day.”
The spiral staircase is in the round tower, which features an elaborate autumn-leaf stained-glass window. The original plans showed that ruined walls would be built outside the chapel to give the impression of a folly and there would be a tunnelled fire escape route to the outside, coming up under a fake tomb. Sheeran was also granted additional permission to build a burial chamber under the floor of the chapel, which would be “accessed through a slab” in the floor. The burial zone was planned to be at the back of the building and measure 2.71 metres by 1.8 metres which is around the size of a double grave plot.
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