St Nicholas's Church, Tresco Explained

St Nicholas' Church, Tresco
Coordinates:49.9578°N -6.335°W
Osgraw:SV 892 154
Location:Tresco, Isles of Scilly
Country:England
Denomination:Church of England
Churchmanship:Broad Church
Website:https://www.ioschurches.co.uk/
Dedication:Saint Nicholas
Consecrated Date:16 July 1882
Heritage Designation:Grade II listed
Architect:Mr Cutts and Thomas Dorrien-Smith
Groundbreaking:12 September 1877
Completed Date:17 June 1879
Capacity:250 persons
Length:81feet
Width:48feet
Width Nave:22feet
Parish:Tresco
Deanery:Powder
Diocese:Truro
Province:Canterbury

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

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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4] The font is also made of serpentine, mounted on small granite columns.[1] 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.[5]

Organ

The pipe organ dates from 1886 and is by the builder Eustace Ingram.[6] The specification can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Parish structure

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

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. News: The New Church At Tresco. The Cornishman. 50. 26 June 1879. 6.
  2. News: . The new church at Tresco . Cornishman . Truro . 26 June 1879 . 11 May 2015 .
  3. News: . The new church of St Nicholas at Tresco . Cornishman . Truro . 27 July 1882 . 12 November 2018 .
  4. News: Penzance. The Cornishman. 46. 29 May 1879. 4.
  5. News: . Reredos and font for the new church at Tresco . The Cornish Telegraph . England . 27 May 1879 . 14 May 2017 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  6. News: . Dedication of a new organ at Tresco . Cornishman . Truro . 28 January 1886 . 11 May 2015 .