St Nicholas Church, Chiswick facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Nicholas Church, Chiswick |
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| The Parish Church of Saint Nicholas | |
St Nicholas Church, Chiswick
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| 51°29′10″N 0°15′02″W / 51.4860°N 0.2506°W | |
| Location | Church Street, Chiswick, London |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Administration | |
| Parish | St Nicholas with St Mary Magdalene, Chiswick |
| Deanery | Hounslow |
| Archdeaconry | Middlesex |
| Diocese | London |
St Nicholas Church, Chiswick is an important Church of England building in Chiswick, London. It is located near the River Thames. This church is listed as Grade II*, which means it is a very special historic building.
The area around the church, called Old Chiswick, grew into a village around the year 1181. The church's tall tower was built between 1416 and 1435.
Most of the church you see today was rebuilt between 1882 and 1884. A rich brewer named Henry Smith, who owned the nearby Fuller, Smith and Turner brewery, paid for most of this work. Only the old tower was kept from the earlier church. Inside and outside the church, you can find many old memorials and tombs. These include monuments to famous people like the Italian poet Ugo Foscolo and the English painter William Hogarth.
Contents
A Look Back: The Church's History
There has been a church on this spot in Chiswick since at least 1181. This was during the Norman period in England. Church records from 1252 show what items the church had. This was a very early time for such a detailed list!
The list from 1252 included important items like a missal (a book for church services) from Old St Paul's Cathedral. It also mentioned other books, a small silver cup, and different cloths for the altar. The records also noted that the roof of the chancel (the part of the church where the altar is) needed fixing.
Later on, in 1927, a famous military leader named Bernard Montgomery got married in this church. He later became a Field Marshal and was known for his role in World War II.
How the Church Was Built
The church you see today was mostly rebuilt from 1882 to 1884. A skilled architect named John Loughborough Pearson designed the new parts. The old west tower, built between 1416 and 1435, was kept.
Because the tower is very close to Church Street, Pearson designed the main part of the church (the nave) to be short but wide. This makes it almost square. The Duke of Devonshire gave £1,000 for the rebuilding. However, most of the money came from Henry Smith, the brewer.
The church is built from strong, squared ragstone (a type of stone) in a style called Perpendicular. This style was popular in England a long time ago. The roof is made of copper.
Inside the church, you can still see parts from the 1400s. These include a tall archway leading to the west tower and a decorative molding above a window.
Important Memorials and Tombs
Inside the Church Building
The church holds many old memorials. Some are simple stone crosses, while others are grand wall tablets. Here are a few examples:
- Ralph Wenwood, who died in 1799, has a wall tablet with decorative carvings.
- Charlotte Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, who died in 1773, has a wall tablet with an urn.
- Sir Thomas Chaloner, who died in 1615, has a large memorial with statues of him and his wife.
- Mary Litcott, who died in 1599, has a brass plaque.
- Thomas Bentley, who died in 1780, has a memorial that looks like a sarcophagus. He was a business partner of the famous potter Josiah Wedgwood.
- Richard Taylor, who died in 1698, has a memorial with an urn held by small angel figures.
- Charles Holland, an actor who died in 1769, has a bust (a sculpture of his head and shoulders) on a tall stone. The famous actor David Garrick wrote the words on his memorial.
In the Churchyard and Burial Ground
The churchyard and nearby burial ground are also home to many interesting tombs and memorials:
- Ugo Foscolo, an Italian writer and patriot, died in 1812. His body was later moved back to Italy. However, the Italian government added more words to his monument in Chiswick to honor him.
- Percy Harris, a politician, has a special monument. It features a carving by Edward Bainbridge Copnall that shows people rising from the dead.
- William Hogarth, the famous painter, who died in 1764, is buried here with his family. David Garrick also wrote a poem for his tomb.
- Henry Joy, who died in 1893, was a trumpeter in the famous Charge of the Light Brigade battle.
- Philip James de Loutherbourg, a landscape painter who died in 1812, has a tomb designed by the famous architect Sir John Soane.
- James Abbott McNeill Whistler, an artist who died in 1903, has a classical bronze tomb.
- Frederick Hitch, who died in 1913, was a hero who received the Victoria Cross. He was a veteran of the Battle of Rorke's Drift.
Images for kids
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Mary Litcott, 1599
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Richard Taylor, 1698
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James Howard, 1669
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Thomas Plucknett, 1721
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Richard Tayler, 1716
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John Taylor, 1729
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William Hogarth, 1764
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Ugo Foscolo, 1812,
reworked 1871
