Tower Chapel: St Nicholas
Diocese of Carlisle
Church, 607306
http://www.whitehavenparish.org.ukOverview
Grid reference: NX 974 181
On site of Whitehavens first church of 1693. This old church dedicated to St Nicholas (Patron Saint of Sailors and Children) was extensively rebuilt by CJ Ferguson in 1883. In 1971, the 1883 church was largely destroyed by fire, leaving an outline, the Victorian tower and a few other fragments of upstanding masonry. The west door of the old church is preserved within the surviving tower. The area of the destroyed church and old graveyard has since been made into a public garden.
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
A large aisled nave of five bays The west tower is the width of the nave and has the unusual feature for an English church of small transeptal projections on the north and south sides (as at Ely Cathedral). The main transepts at the crossing communicated with the nave aisles by large depressed arches and the chancel did not extend much farther east than this. The church was destroyed by fire within the last year and the chancel, transepts and nave were almost totally destroyed. Fortunately the fine west tower together with the transeptal wings remains unscathed.
Footprint of Church buildings: 151 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
By C.J. Ferguson, consecrated on 31st August 1883. The cost was borne by Miss Margaret Gibson in memory of her parents. The church replaced a former building of 1693.
Exterior Description
The surviving parts of the church are built of warm red sandstone from the Beggarhill Quarry near Egremont. The transept walls stand almost entire, although probably unsound, but the nave and chancel are ruined beyond recall.
The tower is a powerful design, broad and tall. The tower itself is divided into three stages by string-courses. The lowest stage is almost entirely hidden by the surrounding porch and chapels, and the middle stage has a little two-light window beneath the circular clock face. The top stage is the belfry stage, divided on each face into two equal parts, each of which contains a louvred opening of two lights divided horizontally by a central transom. The lower lights have trefoiled heads and the upper lights ogee heads which curve nicely round the quatrefoil at the top. Each opening is under a dripstone. The top of the tower is battlemented, which contributes still more to the powerful aspect of the whole. The diagonal buttresses at the corners have canted corners up to the half-way mark and then are simply square, but in the top stage are set-off halfway up and then had attached pinnacles which have now been removed as have pinnacles from the corners of the parapet. These pinnacles together with the bold belfry openings gave the top of the tower a 'west country' look. The west porch is a gabled structure, extremely simple in design, but well-detailed (for example, the geometricaldetails on the buttresses and the finial above the door). There is little to be said about the north and south chapels which have windows in the gabled walls with reticulated tracery and windows in the side walls with tracery much like the belfry openings in the tower.
Interior
Interior Description
The interior of the tower is of modest architectural interest, but it is unusually large and has been used as a chapel since the destruction of the church. There are several quite good mural tablets on the west wall.
Churchyard
Grid reference: NX 974 181
Burial and War Grave Information
The church/building is consecrated.
The churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
The churchyard is closed for burial by order in council.
The date of the burial closure order is 15/11/1855
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Sources
Quinquennial Inspections
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