Former Church of St Nicholas

Details

WORCESTER

SO8455SE THE CROSS
620-1/12/606 (East side)
22/05/54 Former Church of St
Nicholas
(Formerly Listed as:
THE CROSS
(East side) Church of
St Nicholas)

GV II*

Church, now restaurant, with office to crypt. 1730-35,
attributed to Thomas White or Humphrey Hollins; with earlier
possibly C16 origins to crypt and with later additions and
alterations including alterations to interior with addition of
gallery (Colvin claims 1790 by Thomas Johnson of Warwick, but
it looks Mid C19). Limestone ashlar over brick with sandstone
to crypt; concealed roof.
PLAN: apsidal rectangular preaching box on raised crypt,
4-stage west tower with cupola; 5 x 3 bays, the westernmost to
each side is a staircase bay, they in turn embrace the central
entrance/tower bay to west.
STYLE: classicizing baroque, with tower taken from Gibbs's
Book of Architecture (1728).
EXTERIOR: West facade: tall chamfered plinth surmounted by
giant Doric pilasters to ends (forming stepped angles),
doubled for the portal bay. Horizontal rustication. Continuous
crowning cornice, breaking forwards over columns and with
central segmental pediment with coat of arms which interrupts
ramped balustrade with bulbous balusters. Entrance has 3/4
engaged Doric columns surmounted by frieze with triglyphs and
metopes and pediment; 4 renewed steps to tall, double
20-raised-and-fielded-panel doors. A horizontal oval above.
Side bays have round-arched niches with sills on corbels and
cavetto-moulded architraves, imposts and keystones; roundels
over.
Tower has variety to each stage: a square with stepped
corners, a square with recessed rounded corners, then an
octagonal stage surmounted by a double-curved cap with a
cupola. First stage: central breakforward to each side has
clock to west in moulded surround, otherwise round-arched
windows to north and south with multi-pane glazing, in
cavetto-moulded architraves with imposts and keystones.
Continuous cornice raised segmentally over clock and windows.
Second stage: central pedimented breakforward to each facade
has round-arched belfry opening with louvered covers, in
moulded architrave and with sill, keystone and imposts;
continuous moulded cornice. Third stage: similar round-arched
belfry openings with louvered covers to each face; moulded
cornice surmounted by double-curved cap and cupola of Doric
columns, moulded cornice and dome with crowning ball finial
and weather-vane.
North and south sides alike: the westernmost bay breaks
forwards with end giant pilasters, horizontal rustication,
crowning entablature and balustrade as west facade. Otherwise
nave on crypt (which reads as a plinth) and with crowning
moulded cornice and low parapet. 5 round-arched windows
altogether with 12 fixed panes and side-lights, radial glazing
to heads; the westernmost window to north and south have
moulded architraves with keystone and imposts and moulded sill
on corbel brackets, and beneath these windows an oblong panel
with moulded surround.
East end: 3 similar round-arched windows to apse and with
rectangular panels beneath; oculus over central window.
Crowning frieze, cornice and parapet continues from nave. To
north-east and entrance: flight of 5 steps which curve around
apse to renewed door, with triangular pediment on corbel
brackets. Outshut to south-east. Crypt has 2 blocked doors in
the north wall, both in C16 arches, entrance to right with
chamfered lintel, glazed doors; rectangular single-splayed
lights in groups of three.
INTERIOR: entrance hall to west has 4 giant round-arched
openings, that to west is blind and has to lower stage an
inner timber porch with fluted Doric columns and double,
part-glazed and panelled doors with similar, single side
doors. In north and south arches are cast-iron overthrows with
lamps; 'imperial' staircase to north side has flights to tower
and gallery with rod-on-vase balusters and moulded handrail;
the south staircase is in 3 parts at time of Review. 3
entrances to nave have double part-glazed,
raised-and-fielded-panel doors. Nave has gallery to 3 sides on
cast-iron pillars; gallery has blind arcaded balustrade in
French Decorated Gothic style and with cast-iron foliate
embellishments with to each arcade and with roundels in the
spandrels, nailhead frieze. To nave a raised and fielded panel
dado. Apse has tall raised-and-fielded panels and central
pediment with delicate scrolled decoration within, on Roman
Doric pilasters, frieze with triglyphs and foliate decoration
to metopes, the whole curved around apse; this incorporates 2
arched raised-and-fielded inscription panels. Wine-glass
pulpit has similar arcade, stairs up have rod-on-vase
balusters. Scotia-torus moulded cornice; ceiling has plaster
ribs and circular Adam-style vents, that to centre renewed.
Cast-iron foliate balusters to altar rails. All windows have
keystones, deep reveals and mainly with splayed sills, those
to east end have stained glass in memory of the First World War, otherwise
with opaque glass and stained quatrefoils to margins. At
south-east vestry has 6-raised-and-fielded-panel door,
fireplace has shelf on brackets and late Victorian tiles. To
gallery are several good late C17 and C18 wall monuments.
Vaulted crypt.
HISTORICAL NOTE: the architect of this church has been a
matter of dispute, in 1968 Pevsner thought it was Humphrey
Hollins; in 1978 Colvin attributed a new gallery of 1790 to
Thomas Johnson of Warwick and Worcester; in 1980 Baker
attributed it to Thomas White, as did the 1971 List; in 1985
Cruikshank thought it by Humphrey Hollins though notes it is
also attributed to Thomas White. The design of the tower is
taken from Gibbs 'Book of Architecture', which came out in
1728, Cruikshank states that: 'perhaps the most impressive of
Gibbs-derived towers is that sported by St Nicholas,
Worcester, which is based almost exactly on a published
unbuilt version for St Martin's(-in-the-Field).'
A key streetscape feature, occupying an important corner site
at the junctions of The Cross, St Nicholas Street, Angel
Street and Foregate. One of an important group of four
churches in Worcester which, in their present form, are
largely eighteenth century, with Church of All Saints, Broad
Street; Church of St Swithin, Church Street and Church of St
Martin, Cornmarket (qqv). Their towers, together with the
Cathedral (qv) and St Andrew's Church Tower, Deansway (qv),
form the most significant feature of Worcester's skyline.
NMR photographs.
(Transactions of the Worcestershire Archaeological Society:
Baker N: The Urban Churches of Worcester: Worcester: 1980-:
115-124; The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Worcestershire:
Harmondsworth: 1968-1985: 295, 320; Colvin H: A Biographical
Dictionary of British Architects: 1600-1840: 1995-; Cruikshank
D: A Guide to the Georgian Buildings of Britain and Ireland:
London: 1985-: 109).

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

489164

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Cruikshank, D, A Guide to the Georgian Buildings of Britain and Ireland, (1985)
Colvin, H, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840, (1995), 109
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Worcestershire, (1968), 295, 320
Baker, N, Transactions of the Worcestershire Archaeological Society in The Urban Churches of Worcester, (1980), 115-124

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