Beautiful church that is packed with history

DANIEL MORRIS

daniel.morris@mnamedia.co.uk

Abeautiful Grade II listed building in the heartofthe town,St Nicholas’s Church is a huge part of Newport’s charm.

Of EarlyEnglishand PerpendicularGothicarchitecture, the Anglican church sits on an island in thecentre of thetownand is themainfocal pointfor miles around

Achurchdedicated to thepatronsaint of fishermen, thehistory of itssitegoes allthe wayback to thetimeofHenry I.

Thechurchwas builtinthe 12th centurywiththe towerbeing rebuiltin 1360.In1452, Thomas Draper boughtthe church from theAbbot of Shrewsbury,but it wasnot until1700thatitgained itslandand therectory wasendowed.

Thesandstone building consists of achancel,south chapel,nave with aisles andawesttower.The stainedglass includes awindowin thechancel by Morris&Co. with Burne-Jones figures. Oneinthe southchapelisbyCharles Eamer Kempe. Thered bricknorth andsouth aisles were addedin the18thcentury.Movingintothe 19th century, galleriesand gas lighting were addedin1837and thechancel wasrebuiltin 1866

Thetower haseightbells hung from wooden headstocks.Fiveof thebells were castbyThomas Mearsofthe WhitechapelBell Foundryin London in 1812.The twomostrecentwerecastbyJohn Taylor &CoofLoughboroughin

1952

Thechurchhas in fact been restored twice– thesouth side in 1883 andthe northsidefrom1890 by John Norton.The west porch wasbuilt in 1904 –agiftfrom Lady Boughey.

In 1912,StNicholas’shosted a face-to-be-famousinthe form of future politicianEnoch Powell, whowas baptisedthere.His parents hadmarried at thechurchin 1909.

In thechurchyard,asandstonememorialcrosswithbrass plaques commemorates themen from Newportwho lost theirlives in thetwo world wars.For RemembranceDay in 2019,200 poppieswereknitted forthe church

Proudand majestic,StNicholas’sChurchiswithout adoubt theperfect microcosmofNewport’s beauty