St Nicholas' Chapel, Cholmondeley
Encyclopedia
St Nicholas' Chapel, Cholmondeley is a private chapel in the grounds of Cholmondeley Castle
, Cheshire
, England, the ancient seat of the Marquess of Cholmondeley
, hereditary Lord Great Chamberlain of England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building.
chapel dating from the 13th century. It was damaged in the civil war
and, because of this and because of general dilapidation, it was repaired in 1652 by Robert Cholmondeley, 1st Earl of Leinster
. In 1716 John Vanbrugh
encased the timber framing of the chancel with brick and rebuilt the rest of the chapel with brick and stone facings. Transepts were added in 1829 by George Cholmondeley, 2nd Marquess of Cholmondeley
, and north and south galleries were added in 1840. Later in the 19th century George Gilbert Scott
was asked to supply plans for the chapel's restoration, which included its demolition, apart from the chancel. The Marquess declined to follow these plans and instead repairs were conducted by workmen from the estate.
roof. It has a cruciform plan with a three-bay
chancel
and transept
s, and a two-bay nave
. It stands on a brick plinth
with a moulded stone cornice
and has rusticated
quoins
. The west entrance leads to the family pew and is approached up nine stone steps with an ornamental cast iron
balustrade
. The public entrances are at ground level into the north and south transepts.
includes both blank and openwork tracery
. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner
considered that the 17th-century furnishings of the chapel are the most complete of their date in Cheshire. F. H. Crossley states that the chapel holds "the most valuable post-Reformation
church furniture we possess in the country". The chancel is panelled
in old oak. The screen dividing the chancel from the nave is carved in Tudor
style. The reading desk, pulpit
, altar rails and holy table all date from the time of the Commonwealth
. Extending across and elevated above the west end of the nave is the Cholmondeley family pew, with steps descending to the nave. The stained glass includes many small Netherlandish
roundel
s.
gates and railings were moved here from Cholmondeley Old Hall.
Cholmondeley Castle
Cholmondeley Castle is a country house in the civil parish of Cholmondeley, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is surrounded by a estate.-House:...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England, the ancient seat of the Marquess of Cholmondeley
Marquess of Cholmondeley
Marquess of Cholmondeley is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for George Cholmondeley, 4th Earl of Cholmondeley. Each Marquess of Cholmondeley is a descendant of Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
, hereditary Lord Great Chamberlain of England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building.
History
This was originally a timber framedTimber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
chapel dating from the 13th century. It was damaged in the civil war
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
and, because of this and because of general dilapidation, it was repaired in 1652 by Robert Cholmondeley, 1st Earl of Leinster
Robert Cholmondeley, 1st Earl of Leinster
Robert Cholmondeley, 1st Earl of Leinster was an English Royalist and supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War....
. In 1716 John Vanbrugh
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
encased the timber framing of the chancel with brick and rebuilt the rest of the chapel with brick and stone facings. Transepts were added in 1829 by George Cholmondeley, 2nd Marquess of Cholmondeley
George Cholmondeley, 2nd Marquess of Cholmondeley
George Horatio Cholmondeley, 2nd Marquess of Cholmondeley PC , styled Viscount Malpas from 1792 to 1815 and subsequently Earl of Rocksavage to 1827 was a British peer and Lord Great Chamberlain of England between 1838 and 1870...
, and north and south galleries were added in 1840. Later in the 19th century George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
was asked to supply plans for the chapel's restoration, which included its demolition, apart from the chancel. The Marquess declined to follow these plans and instead repairs were conducted by workmen from the estate.
Exterior
The chapel is built in red brick with a slateSlate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roof. It has a cruciform plan with a three-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
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 transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s, and a two-bay 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 stands on a brick plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
with a moulded stone cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
and has rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
quoins
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
. The west entrance leads to the family pew and is approached up nine stone steps with an ornamental cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
balustrade
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
. The public entrances are at ground level into the north and south transepts.
Interior
The hammerbeam roofHammerbeam roof
Hammerbeam roof, in architecture, is the name given to an open timber roof, typical of English Gothic architecture, using short beams projecting from the wall.- Design :...
includes both blank and openwork tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
considered that the 17th-century furnishings of the chapel are the most complete of their date in Cheshire. F. H. Crossley states that the chapel holds "the most valuable post-Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
church furniture we possess in the country". The chancel is panelled
Panelling
Panelling is a wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials....
in old oak. The screen dividing the chancel from the nave is carved in Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
style. The reading desk, pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
, altar rails and holy table all date from the time of the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
. Extending across and elevated above the west end of the nave is the Cholmondeley family pew, with steps descending to the nave. The stained glass includes many small Netherlandish
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
roundel
Roundel
A roundel in heraldry is a disc; the term is also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of different colours.-Heraldry:...
s.
External features
The wrought ironWrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
gates and railings were moved here from Cholmondeley Old Hall.