St Nicholas' Church, Moreton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Nicholas's |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| 50°42′10″N 2°16′37″W / 50.702834°N 2.276956°W | |
| Location | Moreton, Dorset |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Nicholas |
St Nicholas's Church is a Church of England parish church located in Moreton, England. This church is famous for its thirteen special windows. These windows were engraved by the poet and artist Sir Laurence Whistler. Also, a very famous person, Colonel T.E. Lawrence (known as Lawrence of Arabia), is buried in the churchyard nearby.
Contents
A Look Back: Church History
St Nicholas' Church is a very important historical building. It is officially listed as a Grade II* building. This means it is considered a particularly important building.
Early Beginnings and Changes
The church's name was changed in 1490. Before that, it was called St Magnus Martyr. After 1490, it became known as St Nicholas.
The church was rebuilt in 1776. It used parts of the old medieval foundations. This new building is a good example of early Gothic Revival style. This style brought back ideas from medieval Gothic buildings. The Frampton family, who lived in a nearby manor house, paid for the rebuilding. Later, in 1841, a north aisle was added. Many of the inside parts of the church were updated around 1847.
The Story of T.E. Lawrence
The famous adventurer T. E. Lawrence (also known as "Lawrence of Arabia") passed away in 1935. He is buried in a separate churchyard near St Nicholas' Church. Lawrence was related to the Frampton family. He often visited their home, Okers Wood House.
Lawrence's mother arranged for him to be buried in the Frampton family plot. This plot is in the separate burial ground of St Nicholas' Church. Many important people attended his funeral. These included Winston and Clementine Churchill, the writer E. M. Forster, and Lawrence's youngest brother, Arnold.
A Wartime Challenge
In 1940, during World War II, the church was hit by a German bomb. A large part of the church was destroyed. It took about ten years to rebuild it. When it was rebuilt, the colorful stained glass windows were replaced. They put in plain green glass instead. However, the people who went to the church did not like the plain green glass.
The Amazing Windows
Because the plain green glass was not popular, Laurence Whistler was asked to create new engraved glass windows. He made twelve windows. Then, he offered to make a thirteenth window as a gift. This window was about the idea of Forgiveness and featured Judas. His offer was first turned down. But he made the window anyway!
This special thirteenth window was shown in a local museum for a while. Finally, in 2014, it was put into the church. It was placed on the outside, just as the artist had wanted.
Here are the years and locations of the windows:
- 1955: Apse
- 1955: Apse
- 1955: Apse
- 1955: Apse
- 1974: The Seasons, North aisle
- 1975: Light
- 1975: Darkness
- 1975: Dream of the Rood
- 1982: Trinity Chapel
- 1984: Vestry
- 1984: West End
- 2014: Forgiveness
