St Nicholas's Church, Tresco

St Nicholas's Church, Tresco, is a parish church in the Church of England located in Tresco, Isles of Scilly, UK.

St Nicholas' Church, Tresco
Tresco Church
OS grid referenceSV 892 154
LocationTresco, Isles of Scilly
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
ChurchmanshipBroad Church
History
DedicationSaint Nicholas
Consecrated16 July 1882
Architecture
Heritage designationGrade II listed[1]
Architect(s)Mr Cutts and Thomas Algernon Dorrien-Smith
Groundbreaking12 September 1877
Completed17 June 1879
Specifications
Capacity250 persons
Length81 feet (25 m)
Width48 feet (15 m)
Nave width22 feet (6.7 m)
Administration
ParishTresco
DeaneryPowder
DioceseTruro
ProvinceCanterbury

History

Originally two old cottages were used by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) as a church. Augustus Smith provided funds to make the building cruciform, adding a north transept (the cottages formed an aisle with south transept) and an eastern end. According to tradition a gallery was constructed from the timbers of a ship wrecked on St Helen's; increasing the capacity to 200.[2]

Edith Dorrien-Smith laid the foundation stone of the Anglican church of St Nicholas on 12 September 1877, near the old building. The principal benefactor was Lady Sophia Tower. The church was opened for worship on 17 June 1879 by Edward White Benson, the first Bishop of Truro.[3] It was consecrated on 16 July 1882, a delay due to an undisclosed ″legal difficulty″. The dedication of the church to St Nicholas is the same as the dedication of the medieval Tresco Abbey, the remains of which are in Tresco Abbey Gardens. The new churchyard included the old one, and was planted with aloes, dracaenas, flowering plants and evergreens.[4]

The three-panelled reredos is made of red serpentine and inlaid with a marble cross, aureola and sacred emblems. It was fixed in position in May 1879.[5] The font is also made of serpentine, mounted on small granite columns.[2] The reredos and font were manufactured by Messrs Bradbury at their serpentine manufactury at the Folly, Penzance. The reredos was made to the designs of Charles Eamer Kempe.[6]

Organ

The pipe organ dates from 1886 and is by the builder Eustace Ingram.[7] The specification can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[8]

Parish structure

St Nicholas's Church is within the United Benefice of the Isles of Scilly parishes, comprising

  • The sanctuary
  • The organ
  • The war memorial

See also

References
  1. Historic England. "Church of St Nicholas  (Grade II) (1328849)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  2. "The New Church At Tresco". The Cornishman (50). 26 June 1879. p. 6.
  3. "The new church at Tresco". Cornishman. Truro. 26 June 1879. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  4. "The new church of St Nicholas at Tresco". Cornishman. Truro. 27 July 1882. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  5. "Penzance". The Cornishman (46). 29 May 1879. p. 4.
  6. "Reredos and font for the new church at Tresco". The Cornish Telegraph. England. 27 May 1879. Retrieved 14 May 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Dedication of a new organ at Tresco". Cornishman. Truro. 28 January 1886. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  8. "Isles of Scilly Tresco, St. Nicholas, Old Grimsby, Dolphin [N11301]". National Pipe Organ Register. 2004. Retrieved 21 October 2016.

Sources
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