Description

NUNEATON AND BEDWORTH

SP39SE 2/45

Nuneaton

VICARAGE STREET

Church of St. Nicolas

(Formerly listed as Church of St. Nicholas, CHURCH STREET(North-east side))

06/12/47

I

Church. c.1340. Tower C15; clerestory, nave arcades and nave and aisle roofs late C15. Chancel north chapel and arcade partly rebuilt early C16. Chancel extended and chancel arch inserted 1852-1853 by Ewan Christian. Vestry extended early C20. Ashlar and regular coursed sandstone. C19 plain-tile chancel roof with some fish-scale tiles and ridge cresting, and lead roofs with moulded cornice and embattled parapets. Coped gable parapets. Aisled nave, chancel and chancel chapels, west tower, north vestry. Mostly Perpendicular style. Four-bay chancel, four-bay nave. Splay and moulded plinths throughout.

Chancel has angle buttresses of two offsets, with steep gablets, mouldings and carving, and crocketed and gableted pinnacles. Five-light east window has reticulated tracery with hood mould and head stops. Similar north and south buttresses, but without pinnacles. Moulded frieze. North side has three-light window. Rainwater heads dated 1853. North chapel and aisle in one. East diagonal buttress of two offsets. Three-light east window has curvilinear tracery. First and second bays have three-light windows with simple tracery, and small shouldered doorway between. Third bay has two-light window with reticulated tracery. Large buttress. Fourth bay has straight-headed window. Vestry adjoins next two bays. Diagonal buttresses. East doorway has hood mould and plank door. North east corner has external stack with octagonal shaft. Three-light uncusped west window. Aisle north west doorway of three moulded orders has C19 plank door. Both aisles have two-light west windows with, reticulated tracery. Eight-bay clerestory of three-light windows with continuous mouldings. South chapel of four narrow bays. Low diagonal buttress with ogee niche, and south buttresses. Large three-light east window has renewed reticulated tracery. To south first and third three-light windows are set high up. Second bay has early C14 window of three stepped cusped lancets with roll mouldings. Two-light south east window has reticulated tracery. Both windows have hood moulds with head stops. Moulded cornice has remains of carvings. South west corner has canted stair projection with high plinth and small Tudor-arch door in right side. Lower four-bay aisle has diagonal and south buttresses of three moulded offsets. Western bay has elaborately moulded doorway with ballflower decoration, inner four-centred arched doorway, and blind tracery in tympanum. C19 double-leaf doors. Short three-light window above has sill course forming hood mould of doorway. Other bays have large three-light windows. Hood moulds with return stops throughout.

Tower of three stages with splay string courses. Diagonal buttresses of six offsets. West doorway of two broad-chamfered orders has C19 double-leaf doors with decorative ironwork. Three-light window above has hood mould with head stops. Second stage has round clock face with moulded stone frame, set in moulded stone star-shaped panel. Third stage has two-light bell-chamber openings with largely renewed tracery, and hood moulds. Moulded cornice and embattled parapet with crocketed pinnacles, renewed to south west. Octagonal south east turret rises above parapet.

Interior is entirely plastered and whitewashed. Chancel has three-bay north arcade of two moulded orders, of varying widths. Western arch is higher, and has outer segmental pointed arch and different mouldings. C14 south arcade of two wide, shallow, chamfered orders, the outer continuous. Head corbel to south east. C19 wagon roof has painted chamfered arched braces and boarding, moulded wall plate and corbels. C19 chancel arch of two chamfered orders has spandrels with pierced tracery. Nave has four-bay arcades of two orders with piers of moulded lozenge section; mouldings continue up to frame clerestory windows. Tower arch of three broad-chamfered orders. Nave and aisles have Perpendicular painted, moulded and panelled roofs with carved bosses; principal bosses are gilded. South chapel has corbel head in east wall.

Fittings: C19 octagonal stone font and stalls; octagonal wood pulpit dated 1902. Carved oak reredos dated 1927. South chapel has piscina with crocketed ogee arch combined with a credence shelf. Vaulted sedile has nodding ogee crocketed canopy and pinnacles.

Monuments: chancel has chamfered segmental-pointed tomb recess in north wall. Alabaster chest tomb of Sir Harmaduke Constable, 1560, has recumbent effigy and shield panels. Wall monuments: north east: William Craddock, 1833. Neoclassical, with draped urn and panel. By the Patent Works, Westminster. North west: Mary Combes 1668. Composite columns with sections of a pediment, achievement of arms, and shaped raised panel. Swags and skulls. Predella has medallion of a head. South east: Reverend John Ryder 1791. Broken pediment with consoles and flaming urn, and oval panel with palms. South: Anthony Trotman 1662 and Abigail 1703. Large and ambitious, with to busts on inscribed pedestal. Architectural frame of pilaster panels with painted cartouches of arms and large moulded entablature with drapery. Cartouche of arms with four gilt-winged heads, fruit, and putti to left and right. Predella has corpse
in a winding sheet.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 24/02/2015.

This entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 21 June 2017.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Church of St Nicholas at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17528246

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings