Church of St Nicholas

Summary

A village church with some medieval fabric, but mostly dating from after 1858, by Charles Ainslie.

Reasons for Designation

The Church of St Nicholas, Oldbury, Shropshire, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: the building occupies a medieval site at the heart of the village of Oldbury, and incorporates some fabric from that early period;
* Interest of church fittings: the building incorporates some good, earlier funerary monuments and has been furnished in the later C19 and early C20 with stained glass, tilework and panelling of good quality.

History

An earlier, medieval church stood on the present site and part of the southern wall of its nave is preserved in the present structure. That earlier church was restored in 1824-26, but a more radical rebuilding of much of the fabric was undertaken in 1858 by Charles Ainslie. In 1863 the nave was lengthened by one western bay, and the bellcote was repositioned on the new western gable. Stained glass windows were added in the later C19 and early C20. In 1892 the organ was fitted and the mid-C19 box pews were replaced by the current, open-ended pews. At the same time the wainscot panelling of the whole of the church was started, using oak panels carved in a Jacobean style, produced by the Chelmarsh Carving Class. The mosaic flooring of the chancel was laid in 1908, together with tiles by Maws to the eastern walls.

Details

A village church with some medieval fabric, but mostly dating from after 1858, by Charles Ainslie.

MATERIALS: of mottled sandstone, with rubble walling to the medieval south flank of the building and brought to course in the C19 construction. There are ashlar dressings and the roof is of plain tiles.

PLAN: the nave has porch to its south-western end and a three-bay northern aisle. The chancel, with a lower ridge, has a vestry on its southern side.

EXTERIOR: there is a projecting plinth which is common to the whole building. The south face has a gabled porch at left of centre. This has an arched portal with double-chamfered arch and radiating voussoirs, kneelers at either side, and ashlar coping. Behind this and to the right is mediaeval walling with rubble stonework. The two-light, C19 window to right of the porch is set higher than the original window and a patch in the old fabric can be seen below the newer window. A further 2-light window to right again is set in C19 walling and so is the single lancet at left of the porch. To the top of the wall is a C19 corbel table. At right is the projecting vestry, which has a catslide roof above an arched plank door. The south face of the chancel is blank.

The east face of the chancel has three, stepped lancets with a continuous hoodmould. Recessed at right is the gable end of the aisle with paired lancets.

The west front has a two-light window with quatrefoil head to the centre of the nave, above which is the ashlar bellcote which has columns to its four sides and an octagonal cap with lucarnes and a metal weather vane as finial. The recessed end of the north aisle at left is gabled with a single lancet.

The north flank of the north aisle has three paired lancets and the chancel has a single lancet to this side.

INTERIOR: the nave arcade has columns with circular section, heavy, angled caps and double-chamfered arches. The roof to the nave has a series of exposed common rafters with ties, angled struts and ashlar pieces. The aisle roof is similar. The chancel has common rafters with scissor braces. The chancel has encaustic tiles to the lower eastern walls and sides and mosaic flooring, with variegated marble steps. The pulpit is octagonal and approached by a spiral stair which turns a quarter circle. The font has a circular bowl with incised, coloured lettering , standing on a square base with clustered columns.

Stained glass: the most notable windows are the eastern window, showing the Resurrected Christ, of 1887 by Clayton and Bell, and the two nave windows and the south aisle window by Hemming of c. 1890. The western war memorial window is by Hardman and dates to 1919. Monuments: a variety of wall monuments brought from the earlier church, dating from the C18 and early C19.

Shaped metal plaques are fixed above the chancel arch and above and below most of the windows. These are painted with biblical texts and were made by Mrs Purton, the wife of a vicar, in the later C19.


This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Register. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 30 October 2017.

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Newman, J, The Buildings of England: Shropshire, (2006), 163

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 30 October 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/13937

End of official list entry

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