Church Of St Nicholas

LOOE

SX2453 WEST LOOE SQUARE, West Looe 857-1/4/118 (South East side) 19/03/51 Church of St Nicholas

GV II*

Parish church, later a guildhall and borough prison then a school. C12 or C13, altered probably C16; restored 1852 and 1862. MATERIALS: rubble walls, dry slate roofs with some C17 crested clay ridge tiles over chancel; tower with pyramidal roof surmounted by finiala with weather vane; brick stack over boiler house. PLAN: nave/chancel under one roof; original west tower later heightened; later north aisle over former prison with vestry/boiler house at its east end. EXTERIOR: possibly C12 round-headed hollow-chamfered west doorway of volcanic stone and similar smaller unchamfered doorway to return wall of tower, both near the angle; C13 hollow chamfered lancet above west doorway. C19 windows: 2 granite lancets to the south aisle (and evidence for former south doorway); three pairs of freestone lancets to north wall; boiler house with pair of mortared lancets on the left and mortared pointed doorway; blocked doorway to the right of aisle; 3-light lancet window to east wall of aisle. Chancel has 3-light traceried east window and granite 2-light north window with cinquefoil heads to the lights. INTERIOR: plastered walls; C16 oak waggon roof to chancel and roof probably of same date over nave with 5 bays of oak trusses with morticed and cranked collars and curved truss feet carried on wallplates (similar to roof of Old Guildhall qv, East Looe). 3-bay arcade between nave and north aisle with posts and braces (knees) of reused ships' timbers. North aisle roof has 6 bays with C19 scissor trusses; pointed tower arch; some slate flooring by west doorway and C14 trefoil-headed freestone piscina to chancel. FITTINGS: round freestone font in C12/C13 style with cable and dog-tooth carving to rim and carved foliage to base of bowl; C17 carved oak chair; C20 pulpit to John Gustave Webb and 1933 pews with carved ends. (The Buildings of England: Radcliffe E and Pevsner N: Cornwall: 1970-: 106).

Listing NGR: SX2540253201