ST NICHOLAS, FULBECK
St Nicholas, Fulbeck is a Grade I listed building, achieving the status on 20 September 1966.
St Nicholas is of ashlar faced limestone and rubble construction, with roofs of lead, slate, and terne-coated stainless steel. It comprises a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, tower, and a south porch, and is of Norman and Perpendicular styles.
The west tower is Perpendicular style of three stages surmounted on its parapet by eight crocketed pinnacles, one at each corner and one along each side at the centre. The bases of the corner pinnacles contain grotesque gargoyles. The centre pinnacles sit on triangular projections that run below the parapet, with grotesque corbels at their base that intersect with the hood mould arch above the belfry openings on the tower third stage. The belfry openings are of four lights each, twin-tiered and louvered, topped with trefoil openings. The 13th-century tower lower stage is supported by buttresses at the centre of each wall, its socle, or plinth, topped by a scotia, or rolled moulding. Within the tower north wall middle stage is embedded a fragment of Anglo-Saxon sculpture. The tower contains six bells, and a clock offset to the north on its east face.
The Perpendicular clerestory windows north and south are 15th-century, each with three lights, topped with cinquefoil moulded surrounds, and edged above with hood moulding. Part of a blocked roundel window, above the east bay of the south arcade, is evidence of earlier circular 10th-century clerestory windows. The clerestory parapet is horizontally straight, set with a raised latticework frieze with quatrefoil moulding, and shields within the alternate central rhombus devices. Upon the parapet and between the windows are crocketed pinnacles supported by reused 15th-century grotesque corbels, below which are roof drain holes. The unusual pinnacle on the south-east corner of the nave is referred to by Pevsner: "But what is the strange en-crusted canopy at the SE corner". This pinnacle is a representation of the arms of the Myddleton family, Fulbeck manor owners of the 15th century, and includes a Wyvern and Harpy supporting a shield containing a lion rampant, surmounted by a Saracen's head. The south porch dates from the 14th century, is gabled, with side windows and side stone benches. The north and south aisle roofs are both 19th-century. The south aisle pointed-arch east window of three lights, and the south wall's two windows of four lights, are all 14th-century, and contain trefoil heads and quatrefoils, with hood mould surrounds.
The 15th-century tower arch comprises two half columns supporting a moulded pointed arch. Partially surrounding the arch is a hood mould, finishing at its base with carved leaf label stops. The upper part of the arch, within the tower, contains the church organ. Within the tower are 15th-century stairs to the belfry, accessed by an 18th-century timber arched door. The stairs ascend the west side of the tower and are lit by a Perpendicular window of three lights. The middle stage of the tower is lit by two pointed arched 19th-century windows at the south. Above the tower arch are raised indications of the roof line of the Saxon nave, steeply pointed, with the remains of coping stones and quoins showing the extent of the earlier church.
The chancel and chancel arch show the complete Kirk restoration of 1888, the restored and enlarged chancel arch is of 14th-century style. Most chancel fittings are from the 19th and 20th century. However, the chancel retains a sedilia at the south, dating from the 13th century, although restored. In the north wall is a recess, originally for a tomb, which contains an iron bound chest of the 16th century. At the north is a credence table, or shelf, constructed from a 12th-century capital. Choir seating from the 15th-century was used to provide two existing chancel seats which contain original misericords. A former altarpiece, Christ and the Woman of Samaria, is in the style of Stothard. The chancel east window, by Heaton, Butler and Bayne, is contemporary with the Kirk restoration, noted by Pevsner as "the beautiful five-light chancel E window in the style of 1300". Further 19th-century chancel windows are of two lights, and by William Wailes, with one by O'Connor, and in the same 14th-century style. Label stops depicting human heads are found on all the interior nave and aisle window arches.
Behind the pulpit, and in the north wall of the nave, is a fragment of a 12th-century arcade, Pevsner believes the fragment could also be a part of a square font, and above it, a 15th-century arched opening to a previous roof loft. The nave arcades are 13th-century. They define three bays north and south, and are of double-chamfered arches and round piers. The south aisle east window, part of the Kirk restoration, is Perpendicular, other windows Decorated period, although "over-restored" (Pevsner). Within the south aisle is a 14th-century piscina, and brackets for statues.
The north and south doorways are of c.1300. The north doorway is pointed with heavy moulding, and the south the same but including a hood mould. The 14th-century south door is of paneled oak with an ogee-headed wicket door inset. To the west of the south door interior is a 17th-century alms box
The church font is of late 12th-century Transitional period, drum shaped, with an octagonal pier on each corner of a square plinth. Between each set of piers are five narrower twisted columns surmounted by intersecting arches. Around the font rim runs a cable moulding, with leaf mouldings dropped below on three sides, and dog tooth moulding on the fourth. Pevsner describes the font as "a splendid piece, due, however, perhaps to re-tooling". National Heritage states that it was "heavily recut in the 19th century".
Church plate includes a 1626 chalice and cover, and a 1724 paten.
Inside, monuments and plaques arranged along the north aisle and north chancel are chiefly dedicated to the Fane family from the late 17th century onwards, while those on the south are dedicated to others.
South aisle monuments includes that to Elizabeth Shaw (died 1736), in cartouche form with cherubs and urn. A monument to Elizabeth Brown (died 1683) contains a cartouche with coat of arms and broken pediment. A 1680 slab at the south aisle west window commemorates Timothy Thorold (died 1641), described as a "Dr. of Physick", and his family. Of the Fane memorials in the north aisle, the earliest is to Neville Fane (died 1680), being a curved-top slab with an urn on a plinth with painted heraldic shields.
In the churchyard is a memorial to six men of the parish who fell in the First and Second World Wars.
----------------------------------------------------------
THE CACHE
You are looking for the Major General who may have the best name of anyone I have found whilst placing all of my Church Micro caches.
The Major General died May AB CDEF.
The cache can be found at:
N 53 02.(F+A)(D-E)(A-E)
W 000 35.C(B-C)(D-B)
****************** ********************
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.
****************** *******************