Parish Church of St Nicholas

Details

SY 6399 SYDLING ST NICHOLAS . SYDLING CHURCHYARD

12/192 Parish Church of 26.1.56 St Nicholas

GV I

Parish Church. Early C15 west tower, mid C15 rebuilding of nave and chancel on and near C13 foundations. South aisle added c 1500. North porch, c 1500. Rubble-stone and flint walls, with local stone and Ham stone dressings, Slate and lead roofs. West tower has set-back buttresses, 3 stages, embattled parapet with gargoyles, C18 pinnacles and panelled pedestals at the top of the buttresses. West doorway has top member of the plinth carried over as label, the arch has carved paterae. West window of 3 cinquefoiled lights with vertical tracery in a pointed head, with moulded reveals and label. Bell-chamber has in the east, north and west walls a window of 2 trefoiled lights with tracery in a two-centred head with a label, the window in the south wall has been blocked. Newell- stair-turret in the north-east corner with internal access. Nave, of 5 windows, (4 bays internally), buttressed between the windows, each of 3 pointed lights with vertical tracery in a pointed head with moulded reveals and a label. The north doorway has moulded jambs and 4-centred head. The chancel, has only one 3-light east window, north doorway. Rebuilt by Sir William Smith, mid C18. The south aisle has diagonal corner buttresses, and two heavy buttresses, added in C17. Slightly embattled brick parapet and pinnacles, C18. South walls, windows similar to north wall. North porch: outer archway with moulded jambs, pointed arch and label with returned stops. Embattled parapet has panelled bases for pinnacles and large gargoyles at the angles. The middle merlon has a Cl7 carved mitre from elsewhere. Interior: south arcade has pointed, moulded arches springing from moulded and shafted piers with capitals and bases. East of the arcade is a door- way to the former rood-loft. Roofs, nave, trussed-rafter type, ceiled on the soffit, ribbed and bossed at the intersections. Porch roof, late C15, 2 bays, moulded principal, ridge and purlins. Fittings: Fonts: crudely cut circular bowl, with moulded reeded band, and lower edge, polygonal stem and chamfered base, c C12. Loose in nave, plain octagonal bowl, C15. Monuments: in chancel, very fine assembly of wall- monuments to Smith family, mid C18 to mid C19, on north and south walls. (RCHM) Wall monuments in nave and south aisle. For Brackets, Niches, Chests, Glass, Hatchments, Panelling, Screen, see:

(RCHM Dorset I, p231(1). "Excavations in the Nave of the Parish Church of Sydling St Nicholas, Dorset," A H Graham, in Procs. D.C.H.A.S. vol. 104, 1982, 127-136)

Listing NGR: SY6301199278

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

105518

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Inventory of Dorset, (1974), 231

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.