The church
Building the church began in 1092 and consecration followed in 1121. The first recorded service was for a confirmation in 1145 attended by the Bishop of Worcester.
Many partly carved pieces of stone can be found in the walls suggesting that the building used some of the waste stone from Tewkesbury Abbey. During the 13th century the north aisle was added, followed by a fine, pinnacled tower in the 14th century.
The church features a long nave having walls that lean outwards reminding one of a ship's hull. This is a reference to St Nicholas also being the patron saint of seamen. The chapel at the east end of the north aisle, dedicated to St Thomas a'Becket.
The oak rood screen dividing the sanctuary from the nave dates from the 15th century. The existence of such an ancient screen is rare as many were destroyed in Cromwellian times.
The church also contains an ancient oak chest. The plate includes an Elizabethan chalice and a paten of the reign of Charles II. The registers begin in 1555 and are virtually complete.
The organ was built in 1898, originally for Ryecroft Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Conduit Street, Gloucester by Sweetland of Bath at a cost of £400. It was bought by St Nicholas for £100 in 1955, when the Ryecroft Chapel was closed.
St. Nicholas has a fine set of bells that are rung for services. The ring of six which are 250 years old were augmented by two new bells in 2001. Practice is normally on Friday evenings at 7:30.
This church is in a joint benefice with another St Nicholas' Church, in Kemerton.
The cache
To find the cache, find the answer to the following question:
On which date did John Bowles die? Day = A, Month = B, Year = CD14
The cache can be found at:
N51 59.(B-C)(A+A)(A-C) W002 06.(B-D)(A-C)(D+A-C)
Checksum A+B+C+D = 20
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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