The Old Church of St Nicholas at Uphill, Somerset, England, is described as 'Norman' but was remodelled in later Middle Ages. Regular services ceased in 1846. The church is partially ruined but still consists of a tower,

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and a roofless

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. It is designated Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and in the care of the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

, although the roofed portion is still used for services occasionally.

Location

The church overlooks

Weston Bay Weston Bay is an inlet of the Bristol Channel in North Somerset, England. It lies between Brean Down, which is now owned by the National Trust, is rich in wildlife, history and archaeology, and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific In ...

Brean Down Brean Down is a promontory off the coast of Somerset, England, standing high and extending into the Bristol Channel at the eastern end of Bridgwater Bay between Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea. Made of Carboniferous Limestone, it is a ...

and the mouth of the River Axe. The nearby masonry structure on the hill is the remains of a tower which in the late 18th-century was used as a windmill but had fallen out of use by 1829. It sits on a cliff top which. with the quarry at its western end. form the

Uphill Cliff Uphill Cliff () is a 19.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Uphill, North Somerset, although it is in the Avon Area of Search used by English Nature which is based on the 1974-1996 county system. The s ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest. This is notable for its species-rich calcareous grassland. It consists of grassland and rock-face situated on Carboniferous Limestone. Steeper banks and knolls in the grassland have a flora which includes

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

, Somerset Hair Grass (''

Koeleria vallesiana ''Koeleria vallesiana'', the Somerset hair grass, is a grass species of the genus ''Koeleria''. It grows in Europe, temperate Asia, and North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely withi ...

''), and Honewort, ('' Trinia glauca'') and the Goldilocks Aster ('' Galatella linosyris'') along with several species of

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

and

Weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...

(''Curculionoidea'').

History

The church used to be the responsibility of the abbot of the monastery dedicated to

St Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

, which was on

Steep Holm Steep Holm ( cy, Ynys Rhonech, ang, Ronech and later ) is an English island lying in the Bristol Channel. The island covers at high tide, expanding to at mean low water. At its highest point it is above mean sea level. Administratively it ...

island in the Bristol Channel. The building was remodelled in the late Middle Ages but by 1840 was in a poor state of repair so a new church was built near Uphill Manor in 1844. Both churches were used for services until 5 April 1846 after which they were all transferred to the new church. The roof of the old church's

was removed in 1879 as it had become dangerous. The porch was rebuilt in 1904. In 1983 it was listed Grade II*

in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

. It is now in the care of the

. Occasional services are held in the still-roofed

of the church.

Architecture

The

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

stone building has a central three-stage tower, chancel and nave. The nave no longer has a roof. There are three carved sundials, one on the east side of a plain tympanum set over a blocked door in the south wall and one to the west of the tympanum. The third sundial, on the window head on the south face of the tower, predates the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

and may be Saxo-Norman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uphill, Saint Nicholas 11th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in North Somerset Grade II* listed churches in Somerset Grade II* listed buildings in North Somerset Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust Buildings and structures in Weston-super-Mare Church ruins in England Former churches in Somerset Grade II* listed ruins

Location

History

Architecture

See also

References