St Nicholas Church is a historic church in
Westgate Street in the city of
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, England, under 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 ...
.
/ref> It is recorded 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 ...
as a designated Grade I 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 ...
.[
]
History
The church was built in or around 1190.[ The spire was originally high. During the 16th century, the parish was the wealthiest in the city. The northeast ]vestry
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
was extended in the 16th and 17th centuries.[ In 1643 during the ]Siege of Gloucester
The siege of Gloucester took place between 10 August and 5 September 1643 during the First English Civil War. It was part of a Royalist campaign led by King Charles I to take control of the Severn Valley from the Parliamentarians. Follow ...
in the Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
the spire suffered a direct hit by cannon fire.[ It was reduced in height and capped in 1783 by John Bryan.][ In 1865 the church was ]restored
''Restored'' is the fourth
studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings.
Track listing
Standard release
Enhanced edition
Deluxe gold edition
Standard ...
by John Jaques and Son, and it was repaired following a fire in 1901. The tower was stabilized in 1927, and between 1935 and 1938 the north aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...
was rebuilt and the church was re-roofed. After the church was closed in 1967, it was vested in the Redundant Churches Fund (the forerunners of the Churches Conservation Trust) in 1975, and repairs have since been carried out.[ The church was declared redundant on 7 May 1971, and was ]vested
In law, vesting is the point in time when the rights and interests arising from legal ownership of a property is acquired by some person. Vesting creates an immediately secured right of present or future deployment. One has a vested right to an ...
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 25 June 1975.
Architecture
Exterior
St Nicholas is constructed in limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
with slate roofs. Its plan consists of a six- bay 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 ...
and a two-bay 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 ...
. On the south side of the nave at its west end is a two-storey porch. To the east of this, extending from the third bay of the nave to the first bay of the chancel, is the south aisle, and to the east of this is a small porch leading to a priest's door. At the west end of the church is a tower with a truncated spire. On the north side, against the side of the tower is another porch. From the first to the fifth bay of the nave is the north aisle, and at its east end is a wider chapel, forming a transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...
. On the north side of the chancel is a vestry.[
The tower has diagonal corner ]buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...
es, and is divided into three stages by string courses. There is a three-light window in each of the outer faces in the bottom stage, and also in all the faces of the middle stage. In the top stage are two-light bell openings on each side, flanked by niches. Above all these windows and bell openings are crocket
A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in Gothic architecture. The name derives from the diminutive of the French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of crockets to a bishop's crosier.
Description
...
ed ogee
An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinat ...
gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
ts flanked by pinnacles; they all contain Perpendicular
In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...
tracery. At the top of the tower is a battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...
ed parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...
with pierced tracery
Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...
panels, and pinnacles at the corners. Inset on the tower is an octagonal spire with a pinnacle attached to each of its diagonal faces. On each cardinal face is a two-light lucarne
In general architecture a lucarne is a term used to describe a dormer window. The original term french: lucarne refers to a dormer window, usually set into the middle of a roof although it can also apply to a façade lucarne, where the gable of t ...
. The upper part of the spire has been removed and around its top is a pinnacled coronet
A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara doe ...
. On the summit of the truncated spire is a lead ogee cap with ball finial. On the south side of the tower, between the bottom and middle stages is a clock carried on a bracket.[
The two-storey south porch is gabled and has an arched entrance containing iron gates. Inside the porch is a 12th-century arched doorway over which is a tympanum containing a carving depicting the '']Agnus Dei
is the Latin name under which the " Lamb of God" is honoured within the Catholic Mass and other Christian liturgies descending from the Latin liturgical tradition. It is the name given to a specific prayer that occurs in these liturgies, and ...
'' and foliage. The bays of the aisles are separated by buttresses, and each bay contains a three-light window. At the east end of the church is a five-light window with Perpendicular tracery.[
]
Interior
Inside the tower is a lierne vault
In Gothic architecture, a lierne is a tertiary rib connecting one rib to another, as opposed to connecting to a springer, or to the central boss. The resulting construction is called a lierne vault or stellar vault (named after the star shape ge ...
. The nave has an open timber roof. The details of the columns and arches of the arcades vary, some being 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 ...
in style, and others Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
. On the north and south walls of the chancel are squints, and on the south wall are a piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman Ca ...
and a credence table
A credence table is a small side table in the sanctuary of a Christian church which is used in the celebration of the Eucharist. (Latin ''credens, -entis'', believer).
The credence table is usually placed near the wall on the epistle (south) sid ...
. The chancel is floored with encaustic tile
Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colors of clay. They are usually of two colours but a tile may be composed of as many as six. The pattern appears inla ...
s. At the east end of the south aisle is the former timber front of the west gallery, which had been installed there in 1621 and moved to this position in 1924. Over the south doorway are the Royal arms of Charles II. The remainder of the fittings date from the 19th century. The memorials include a chest tomb with coloured effigies
An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...
of Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...
John Walton, who died in 1636, and his wife.[ The two- manual organ was built in 1831 by Gray and Davison, but was moved to in 1972. There is a ]ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
of six bells, the oldest two of which were cast in about 1499. The other bells are one cast in 1608 by John Baker, two in 1636 by Roger I Purdue, and one in 1725 by Abraham II Rudhall.
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gloucester, St Nicholas Church
Grade I listed churches in Gloucestershire
Church of England church buildings in Gloucester
English churches with Norman architecture
English Gothic architecture in Gloucestershire
Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust
History of Gloucester
Westgate, Gloucester