Description

SJ 55 SW CHOLMONDELEY C.P. CHOLMONDELEY PARK

1/21 The chapel of Saint
Nicholas
12.1.67

GV I

Private chapel, late C15 with 1655 internal alterations, rebuilt in
brickwork in 1717 and transepts added in 1829 (County Record Office).
Red brick with slate roof. 3-bay chancel and transepts, 2-bay nave,
cruciform plan. Brick plinth with moulded stone cornice and
rusticated quoins. The west entrance, to the family pew, is
approached up nine stone steps with ornamental cast iron balustrade.
The pair of three-panel doors, in wood frame, has a wide projecting
moulded stone surround with archivolt and blank tympanum. The door is
flanked by built-up window openings. There are pairs of three-panel
doors, in plain frames, with blank overlights and bracketed hoods to
north and south transept (public) entrances. These are surmounted by
keyed oculi with leaded lights and stained glass central inserts.
Windows are generally single and high-transome leaded lights with
moulded sills and semi-circular arches with springers and keystones.
There is a bullseye, in stone frame, over the low vestry hipped roof.
The main roofs have blue hip tiles, lead valleys and wide boarded
eaves soffites.
Interior: The elaborate full height oak panelling dates from 1651-55
and is an outstanding example of the craftmanship of that time. The
hammer beam chancel roof dates from the late C15 but the carved
trefoil panels, daggers and angels heads indicate that only the canted
beams and purlins of the roof remained unaltered after the C17
alteration. The chancel screen dates from 1655, and consists of six
carved corinthian columns supporting an elaborate cornice of
strapwork, brackets and dentils surmounted by the carved arms of Lord
Leinster, facing east, and the Earls of Cholmondeley facing west. The
centre arched opening in the screen has pendant and vine motifs. The
communion rail is oak, in five panels, with cross, diamond and roundel
motifs. The choir stalls are early C19 oak box pews panelled to
contrast slightly with the wall panelling. The large east window
contains fragments of Flemish monastic stained glass, with Latin
inscriptions, collected by the first Marquis. A stone shell - font,
with built-up ogee oak cover and crucifix handle, is against north
wall of the chancel. Near the south transept the chancel screen is
fronted by a carved oak Jacobean style pulpit approached up a short
flight of steps with turned balusters. An oak reading desk occupies a
similar position near the north transept, both date from the 1655
alterations. Commandment boards, dated 1655, formerly in the chancel,
now occupy positions over the pulpit and reading desk. The transepts
are separated from the nave by a triple arcade based on plastered
brick piers with moulded caps. he nave and transepts are fitted with
softwood panelled box pews dating from 1829. A flight of seven steps,
with turned balusters both sides, leads to the family pew. This has
an oak panelled rail and panelled walls also a pedimented panel over
the west entrance with flanking birds-head scroll brackets. The
chapel has plastered walls and ceilings with wide coved cornice.
There are six funeral hatchments, in diamond shaped frames, and three
religious oil paintings hung from the chapel walls. The chancel
woodwork has been described by F H Crossley as "the most valuable
post-Reformation church furniture we possess in the country".
F.I. Dunn in The Ancient Chapel of the Lords of Cholmondeley, March
1978

Listing NGR: SJ5446651639

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• St Nicholas' Chapel, Cholmondeley at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q7594912

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)