Old Church of St Nicholas, Uphill
Encyclopedia
The Old Church of St Nicholas at Uphill
, Somerset
, England dates from around 1080, and was built on the site of previous places of worship. It stands on a cliff top overlooking Brean Down
and the mouth of the River Axe.
The partially ruined church consists of a tower, chancel
and a roofless nave
. It is a Grade II* listed building, and now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
, although the roofed portion is still used for services occasionally.
The partially ruined church, on the edge of Weston-super-Mare
, sits on a cliff top the southern slope of which and the quarry at its western end form the Uphill Cliff
Site of Special Scientific Interest
, notable for its species-rich calcareous grassland. It consists of grassland and rock-face situated on Carboniferous Limestone. Steeper banks and knolls in the grassland have a flora which includes orchids Somerset Hair Grass Koeleria vallesiana, and Honewort, Trinia glauca
and the Goldilocks Aster linosyris along with several species of butterfly
and Weevil
(Curculionoidea).
The church overlooks Weston Bay
, Brean Down
and the mouth of the River Axe which was used as a port in Roman
times, probably for the export of lead
from the Mendip Hills
. The nearby tower on the hill is the remains of an 18th-century windmill.
. The caves have since been quarried away and the artefacts
removed to museums. During the Roman period
a Romano-British
temple was erected on the site. Some remains of this have been found beneath the floor of the open nave. There is evidence of a wooden church on the site around 700AD during the Anglo-Saxon
era, and the port at Uphill may have been a centre for pilgrims travelling to Glastonbury Abbey
. The church became the responsibility of the abbot of the monastery dedicated to St Michael, which was on Steep Holm
island in the Bristol Channel
.
The current Norman
stone building has a central three-stage tower, chancel
and unroofed nave
.
The building was remodelled in later Middle Ages and restored
in 1846 by Thomas Knytton of Uphill Castle. The porch was rebuilt in 1904, although the church had been partly in ruins since the building of a new parish church in 1844. The nave
no longer has a roof.
There are three carved sundial
s, one on the east side of a plain tympanum
set over a blocked door in the south wall and one to the west of the tympanum. The third sundial, on the window head on the south face of the tower pre-dates the Norman Conquest and may be Saxo-Norman.
and occasional services are held in the part of the church which still has a roof.
Uphill
Uphill is a village on the edge of Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, England.-History:There is evidence of a port at Uphill since Roman times, probably for the export of lead from the Mendip Hills...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England dates from around 1080, and was built on the site of previous places of worship. It stands on a cliff top overlooking Brean Down
Brean Down
Brean Down is a promontory off the coast of Somerset standing high and extending into the Bristol Channel at the eastern end of Bridgwater Bay between Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea....
and the mouth of the River Axe.
The partially ruined church consists of a tower, chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
and a roofless nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
. It is a Grade II* listed building, and now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
, although the roofed portion is still used for services occasionally.
Location
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
, sits on a cliff top the southern slope of which and the quarry at its western end form the Uphill Cliff
Uphill Cliff
Uphill Cliff is a 19.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Uphill, North Somerset, although it is in the Avon Area of Search used by English Nature which is based on the 1974-1996 county system....
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
, notable for its species-rich calcareous grassland. It consists of grassland and rock-face situated on Carboniferous Limestone. Steeper banks and knolls in the grassland have a flora which includes orchids Somerset Hair Grass Koeleria vallesiana, and Honewort, Trinia glauca
Trinia glauca
Honewort is a low-growing umbellifer found in rocky areas.-Description:Honewort is a low-growing glabrous plant. Its stems can reach 20 cm, and are surrounded by abundant fibrous remains of petioles at the base. It is much-branched, with the branches spreading at a wide angle...
and the Goldilocks Aster linosyris along with several species of butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
and Weevil
Weevil
A weevil is any beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. They are usually small, less than , and herbivorous. There are over 60,000 species in several families, mostly in the family Curculionidae...
(Curculionoidea).
The church overlooks Weston Bay
Weston Bay
Weston Bay is an inlet of the Bristol Channel in North Somerset, England.It lies between Brean Down, which is now owned by the National Trust, is rich in wildlife, history and archaeology, and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest to the south, and Worlebury Hill to the north...
, Brean Down
Brean Down
Brean Down is a promontory off the coast of Somerset standing high and extending into the Bristol Channel at the eastern end of Bridgwater Bay between Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea....
and the mouth of the River Axe which was used as a port in Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times, probably for the export of lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
from the Mendip Hills
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north...
. The nearby tower on the hill is the remains of an 18th-century windmill.
History and architecture
The cliff beneath the church contained caves which contained evidence of occupation since the Stone ageStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
. The caves have since been quarried away and the artefacts
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
removed to museums. During the Roman period
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
a Romano-British
Romano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
temple was erected on the site. Some remains of this have been found beneath the floor of the open nave. There is evidence of a wooden church on the site around 700AD during the Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
era, and the port at Uphill may have been a centre for pilgrims travelling to Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. The ruins are now a grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument and are open as a visitor attraction....
. The church became the responsibility of the abbot of the monastery dedicated to St Michael, which was on Steep Holm
Steep Holm
Steep Holm is an English island lying in the Bristol Channel. The island covers at high tide, expanding to at mean low water. At its highest point it is above mean sea level. It lies within the historic boundaries of Somerset and administratively, it forms part of North Somerset...
island in the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
.
The current Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
stone building has a central three-stage tower, chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
and unroofed nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
.
The building was remodelled in later Middle Ages and restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in 1846 by Thomas Knytton of Uphill Castle. The porch was rebuilt in 1904, although the church had been partly in ruins since the building of a new parish church in 1844. The nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
no longer has a roof.
There are three carved sundial
Sundial
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
s, one on the east side of a plain tympanum
Tympanum (architecture)
In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
set over a blocked door in the south wall and one to the west of the tympanum. The third sundial, on the window head on the south face of the tower pre-dates the Norman Conquest and may be Saxo-Norman.
Current use
It is now in the care of the Churches Conservation TrustChurches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
and occasional services are held in the part of the church which still has a roof.