St Nicholas Church (Nicholaston)
The St Nicholas Church is a small church on the Gower Peninsula in Wales . The church, which is protected as a Grade II * cultural monument, is a masterpiece of neo-Gothic style .
location
The small church stands in a walled churchyard south of the road between Penmaen and Penrice in the small hamlet of Nicholaston . The cliff-top church offers a wide view of Oxwich Bay .
history
An older church was south of the current location closer to the sea. In the 13th or 14th century, a small, simple church was built at the current location. From 1892 to 1894, at the instigation of Olive Talbot , a daughter of Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot , today's church was rebuilt on the old foundation walls. Although the construction was described as a reconstruction of the old church, it was carried out much more elaborately and richly decorated inside. The Talbot family had a country estate in nearby Penrice Castle , but the client died shortly before construction was completed. The £ 2000 building was designed by GE Halliday , and William Clarke from Llandaff was in charge of the construction.
The church is now part of the Parish of Three Cliffs , a parish of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon of the Church in Wales, together with the churches of St Illtyd in Ilston, St John Baptist in Penmaen and St Mary in Pennard . The inside of the church can be viewed on request.
Building description
The small church was built in the style of the Early English Period with elaborate decorations and details. Parts of the old masonry were reused in the choir arch , among other things . The church has a single nave nave with a narrower and lower east choir, a southern entrance porch with a richly decorated portal and a sacristy in the north-west of the building. The outer walls are made of irregular sandstone with gray-green stone surrounds, the roof is covered with slate. At the western end of the roof there is a small roof turret with a bell that was probably cast in the Netherlands in 1516.
The church was furnished in the late Victorian style with numerous carvings and stone carvings. The walls are brightly plastered, the vault is made of oak. The Romanesque baptismal font probably originates from the first church, the alabaster altarpiece is particularly richly decorated. The narrow lancet windows have stained glass windows made around 1894 . There is a memorial plaque for Olive Talbot on the north side of the nave.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cadw Listed Building Database Record: St. Nicholas Church, Nicholaston. Retrieved April 30, 2014 .
- ^ Stained Glass in Wales: Church of St Nicholas, Nicholaston, Swansea. Retrieved April 30, 2014 .
Coordinates: 51 ° 34 ′ 28.6 " N , 4 ° 8 ′ 48.5" W.