- Old Church of St Nicholas, Uphill
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Old Church of St Nicholas 
Location: Uphill, Somerset, England Coordinates: 51°19′13″N 2°58′56″W / 51.32028°N 2.98222°WCoordinates: 51°19′13″N 2°58′56″W / 51.32028°N 2.98222°W Built: c. 1080 Architectural style(s): Norman Governing body: Churches Conservation Trust Listed Building – Grade II* Official name: Old Church of Saint Nicholas Designated: 19 May 1983[1] Reference #: 33251 
Location of Old Church of St Nicholas in SomersetThe Old Church of St Nicholas at Uphill, Somerset, England dates from around 1080,[2] 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,[1] and now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, although the roofed portion is still used for services occasionally.
Contents
Location
Uphill Cliff looking North East
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).[3]
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.[4] The nearby tower on the hill is the remains of an 18th-century windmill.[5]
History and architecture
The cliff beneath the church contained caves which contained evidence of occupation since the Stone age. 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.[6]
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.[7] The nave no longer has a roof.
There are three carved sundials, 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.[7]
Current use
It is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust and occasional services are held in the part of the church which still has a roof.[8]
See also
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in South West England
References
- ^ a b "Old Church of Saint Nicholas". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=33251. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ "Churches". Uphill Village. http://www.uphillvillage.org.uk/churches.htm. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ "Uphill Cliff". English Nature's SSSI Information. http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000858.pdf. Retrieved 2007-01-27.
- ^ Farr, Grahame (1954). Somerset Harbours. London: Christopher Johnson. pp. 65.
- ^ "Uphill Windmill, Uphill, Weston-super-Mare, Avon". Viewfinder. English Heritage. http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/reference.aspx?uid=16781&index=0&mainQuery=windmill&searchType=all&form=home. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ "Old St Nicholas history". Uphill Team Ministry. http://www.uphillteamministry.co.uk/churches/old-st-nicholas/history/. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ a b "St Nicholas Church". Pastscape. English Heritage. http://pastscape.english-heritage.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=192522&sort=4&search=all&criteria=Church%20St%20Nicholas%20Uphill&rational=q&recordsperpage=10. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ "St Nicholas' Church, Uphill, Somerset". Churches Conservation Trust. http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/Ourchurches/Completelistofchurches/St-Nicholas-Church-Uphill-Somerset/. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
Categories:- Church of England churches in Somerset
- Grade II* listed churches
- Grade II* listed buildings in Somerset
- 11th-century architecture
- Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust
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