St NICHOLAS WALCOT

Walcot

















Externally the church is a delightful essay in the Decorated Gothic style. The two-stage tower is topped by a tall broach spire, decorated along its edges with stone crockets that give it a slightly spikey look. The profile of the spire is very interesting being slightly bulbous.

The nave has aisles to both sides, the south with a tall plain parapet, the north with sloping lead roof. The chancel has a low lead roof but the outline of an earlier steeper roof can be seen in the end of the nave clerestorey.

The aisle windows are 14th-century with flat or slightly arched heads and ogee heads to the lights. The east window at the end of the chancel is a beautiful example of decorated work with flowing sinuous tracery. In the south wall of the chancel is a low priests door with ogee head, gablette and pinnacles.

The south doorway within the porch is nicely moulded, with floriate capitals and human head stops to the outer moulding. The attractive 18th-century panelled door has a smaller wicket door at its centre. Reconstructed, in the porch, in 1926, are some reset Norman carved pieces.

The Norman connection is clear once inside the church. The nave arcades have circular piers, all 12th-century in character apart from one shafted pier on the north side. However, the bases look like reused late Norman capitals and the arches are pointed and Early English and the capitals are very large in proportion to the piers. It seems certain that some rebuilding has gone on reusing earlier elements.

The tie beam roof to the nave, and the aisle roofs are medieval - nice survivals. Other early details included a 13th-century piscina with hobnail decorated hood, and a 14th-century piscina with ogee head, pretty fluted basin and decorated shelf. The piscina was used as a basin for washing sacred vessels.

The church has a fine set of bench ends, with carved panels of tracery, ears of corn, plants and rosettes. These are 15th-century, whereas the very fine work to the front of the oak chest in the north aisle dates from the 13th-century. The chest itself is 18th-century. The altar rails with their turned balusters are 17th-century and the pretty tub font, with its pointed and carved panels is 13th-century.

In the churchyard is the shaft of a 14th-century octagonal cross reset in an irregular base block. On the top of the shaft is a crude iron sundial.

Beside the chancel arch, in the blocked opening to the rood loft is set a small 13th-century statue of Christ in Majesty. A fine piece of carving of which sadly the head is missing. Another pretty but damaged feature is a statue bracket in the chancel with a delicately carved decorated canopy.

Monuments are few; note the old stone child's coffin at the east end of the north aisle, and the wall monument of 1681 to Anthony Williams in the chancel. The 19th-century stone bookstand beneath is supported on a reset carved corbel stone dating from the late medieval period.

There is only one stained glass window of 1923 by T. E. Curtis depicting the Annunciation.

The churchyard has a good collection of 18th-century gravestones and an earlier late medieval slab with a partial effigy, now very worn. Notice also the Celtic crosses of the 1880s.

HOME