Church of St Nicholas is a Grade II* listed building in the West Lindsey local planning authority area, England. First listed on 1 November 1966. A C15 Church.

Church of St Nicholas

WRENN ID
deep-thatch-fern
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
West Lindsey
Constituency
Gainsborough MP: Sir Edward Leigh (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
1 November 1966
Type
Church
Address
Church of St Nicholas, Cuxwold Main Street, Swallow
OS grid reference
TA 171 011
Coordinates
53.49369, -0.23486
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Church of St Nicholas is a Grade II* listed building dating from around 1100, with 15th-century elements, and was restored in 1860 by James Fowler. It is constructed from ironstone rubble, some limestone rubble, and ironstone ashlar, topped with slate roofs. The church features a west tower, a nave, a south porch, and a rectangular chancel. The late 15th-century west tower has a plinth and includes a 19th-century lancet window on the west front, along with three 15th-century bell openings, each with small weathered lancets. Above, there is a moulded 15th-century parapet.

On the north side of the nave, there are round-headed arches from two blocked early 12th-century arcade bays. James Fowler inserted two windows, each with two pointed cusped lights and a quatrefoil above, featuring polychrome voussoirs. Embedded beneath the west window is a round head from a 12th-century grave marker with four radiating petals. The west corner of the north wall of the chancel shows part of a blocked arcade. The chancel appears to have been raised in the 19th century, with an east end that has a plinth and 19th-century ashlar bands. The pointed east window has three lights with tracery, a hoodmould, and label stop heads, topped with a gable and finial.

The south side of the chancel has 19th-century ashlar bands and a pointed window with two lights, also featuring tracery, a hoodmould, label stop heads, and polychrome voussoirs. In the west corner where the chancel meets the nave, there is a fragment of a moulded abacus from a former arcade. The nave has a plinth running around it, with a pointed 19th-century window of three lights, also with tracery, hoodmould, head label stops, and polychrome voussoirs. The 19th-century south porch includes a pointed double chamfered west doorway with a keeled hoodmould and a reused 15th-century head label stop. Inside the porch, there is a painted chamfered west door with a 19th-century hoodmould, head label stops, and a plank door.

The interior features an early 12th-century tower arch with a round head, large moulded impost blocks, and a plank door. The early 12th-century pointed, double chamfered chancel arch dies into imposts. The roofs are from the 19th century, and the church contains a 20th-century pulpit, lectern, reading desk, pews, and altar rail. The font, dating from around 1100, is basin-shaped on a pedestal with a scallop pattern around the brim. There are various 19th-century monuments, including a large, pinnacled ashlar monument to the Thorold family from the 1870s.

Local climate

Church of St Nicholas receives an average of 740 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 73% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 69% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 32 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 59% of listed buildings. Of these, 17 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • No related consent applications matched
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

Nearby listed buildings

  1. Coxwold Hall Grade II 154 m
  2. Crewyard at Swallow Grange Grade II 1.7 km
  3. Swallow Grange Farmhouse and Attached Stable Grade II 1.8 km
  4. Horse Gin at Swallow Grange Grade II 1.8 km
  5. Cart Shed at Swallow Grange Grade II 1.8 km
  6. Church of Holy Trinity Grade II* 2.0 km
  7. Rothwell Villa Grade II 2.2 km
  8. Blacksmiths Arms Grade II 2.6 km
  9. Rothwell Farmhouse Grade II 2.7 km
  10. Cabourne Parva Pump-House Grade II 2.8 km