St Nicholas Church is a redundant

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in Normanton-on-Cliffe, Lincolnshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It stands beside the road between Grantham and Lincoln.

History

The church dates from the 11th century, with additions and alterations made during each of the following four centuries. Further changes were made in 1845 when the vestry was added, and the chancel and the north wall of the nave were largely rebuilt. The church was declared redundant in February 1974.

Architecture

Exterior

Constructed in limestone and ironstone rubble, the church has

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

dressings. Its roofs are covered in lead, tiles and

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

s. The plan consists of a three-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

nave with a

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

, north and south aisles, and a south porch, a two-bay chancel at a lower level with a north vestry, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages separated by

string courses A course is a layer of the same unit running horizontally in a wall. It can also be defined as a continuous row of any masonry unit such as bricks, concrete masonry units (CMU), stone, shingles, tiles, etc. Coursed masonry construction arranges ...

, and has a splayed base. At its top is a carved

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

table and a plain parapet. In the lowest stage is a three-light west window. This is decorated with ball flowers, and in the centre of its tracery is a carved head. The middle stage contains a small window with a trefoil head in each side and on each side of the top stage is a two-light bell opening. The north wall of the north aisle contains two two-light windows and buttresses, and in its west wall is a

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...

. The north wall of the clerestory also contains two windows. Its parapet is battlemented, it is decorated with carved shields, there are two gargoyles, and the bases of

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

s which are no longer present. The east wall of the nave is also battlemented and has a cross

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

at the apex of its gable. At the east end of the chancel is another cross finial, and three lancet windows. On the south wall of the chancel are a two-light window and a lancet window, separated by a buttress. In the east and south walls of the south aisles are two-light windows, and the window in the west wall is a lancet. The south wall has three windows, similar to those in the north wall. Inside the south porch are stone benches.

Interior

Both arcades have two bays. The south arcade is Norman in style and dates from the late 12th century. It is carried on circular

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

. The north arcade is from the late 13th century and has octagonal piers. The tower arch dates from the late 12th century, and the chancel arch from the 13th century. In the chancel is a 19th-century piscina and aumbry. The hexagonal

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

is from the 17th century, over which is a tester. The pews date from the 19th century. Over the tower arch are the

Royal arms The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the royal arms for short, is the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. These arms are used by the King in his official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Varian ...

of George IV. On the walls of the tower are a

commandment Commandment may refer to: * The Ten Commandments * One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism * The Great Commandment * The New Commandment * ''Commandment'' (album), a 2007 album by Six Feet Under * ''Commandments'' (film), a 1997 film starring Aidan Qui ...

board from the mid-19th century and a benefactors' board dated 1758. The

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

is from the 12th century. It is plain and consists of a circular bowl on a round base. In the west window are fragments of 14th-century glass. Commemorated by plaque, electric lighting was first installed by resident Thomas Chambers in memory of his only son, John, who died in the Second World War aged 20.

External features

The churchyard contains the war grave of a

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

soldier of the First World War.

Gallery

File:Normanton St Nicholas - chancel, nave and tower.jpg, St Nicholas chancel, nave, and tower arch from the chancel east window File:Normanton St Nicholas - nave and chancel.jpg, St Nicholas nave and chancel from the tower arch File:Normanton St Nicholas - belfry stair door.jpg, St Nicholas belfry stair door in the tower

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Normanton, St Nicholas Church Grade II* listed churches in Lincolnshire Church of England church buildings in Lincolnshire English churches with Norman architecture English Gothic architecture in Lincolnshire Gothic Revival architecture in Lincolnshire Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust