St Nicholas Church, Newport

St Nicholas's Church is an Anglican church in the market town of Newport, Shropshire, England lying within the Diocese of Lichfield. It is dedicated to St Nicholas, the patron saint of fishermen.[2] The church is a Grade II* listed building.[3]

St Nicholas, Newport
The churchyard
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
Websitestnicholasnewport.co.uk
History
StatusParish Church
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Administration
ParishNewport with Longford
DeaneryEdgmond & Shifnal
ArchdeaconryArchdeaconry of Salop
DioceseDiocese of Lichfield[1]
Clergy
Vicar(s)The Revd Merewyn Smith

It is of Early English and Perpendicular architecture. The church sits on an island in the centre of the town and is the main focal point for miles around. The buttressed tower dates from 1360, but the site had been used since the 13th century in the times of Henry I.

History

The church was built in the 12th century with the tower being rebuilt in 1360.[4] Thomas Draper bought the church from the Abbot of Shrewsbury in 1452[5] but it was not until 1700 that it gained its land and the rectory was endowed.[6] The red brick north and south aisles were added in the 18th century. Galleries and gas lighting was added in 1837. The chancel was rebuilt in 1866.[4] The church has been restored twice, the south side in 1883 and the north side from 1890 by John Norton.[4] The west porch was built in 1904, a gift from Lady Boughey.[6] Restoration work to the church was undertaken in the 1880s, by John Norton, to restore it to its current condition.[4]

In 1998 the priest, Roy Hibbert, was found guilty of fraud after overcharging parishioners for funerals and other services.[7] For the 2019 Remembrance Day 200 poppies were knitted for the church.[8]

Notable clergy

Architecture

The sandstone building consists of a chancel, south chapel, nave with aisles and a west tower. The stained glass includes a window in the chancel by Morris & Co. with Burne-Jones figures. One in the south chapel is by Charles Eamer Kempe.[3]

The tower has 8 bells hung from wooden headstocks. Five of the bells were cast by Thomas Mears of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London in 1812. The two most recent were cast by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough in 1952.[10]

In the churchyard is a sandstone memorial cross with brass plaques commemorating the men form the town who lost their lives in World War I and World War II.[11]

See also

References
  1. "St Nicholas Newport". A church near you. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  2. "BBC Shropshire - places - Newport Town guide". BBC Home. BBC. 21 July 2008. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  3. "Church of St Nicholas of Myra". National heritage List for England. Historic England. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  4. "A brief history of St Nicholas Church". St Nicholas Church, Newport. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  5. Prentice 1986, p. 39.
  6. Prentice 1986, p. 78.
  7. Crofts, Rachel (9 September 1998). "Priest jailed for charging to bury stillborn babies jailed for funerals fiddle". Independent. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  8. Growcott, Mat (8 November 2019). "200 poppies knitted for Newport church". Shropshire Star. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  9. "Suffragan See of Hertford: Canon Noel Michael Roy Beasley". UK Government. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  10. "Newport, St Nicholas". Shropshire Association of Church Bellringers. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  11. "Newport War Memorial". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2020.

Bibliography
  • Prentice, Rob. A history of Newport. Chichester, Sussex, UK: Phillimore, 1980. ISBN 0 85033 568 X.

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