Nichols Monument In The Churchyard About 5 Metres North Of North Aisle Of Anglican Church Of St Thomas À Becket

PUCKLECHURCH

1096/4/219 WESTERLEIGH ROAD 15-AUG-85 (East side) NICHOLS MONUMENT IN THE CHURCHYARD ABO UT 5 METRES NORTH OF NORTH AISLE OF AN GLICAN CHURCH OF ST THOMAS À BECKET (Formerly listed as: WESTERLEIGH ROAD NICHOLS MONUMENT IN THE CHURCHYARD ABO UT 5 METRES NORTH OF NORTH AISLE OF CH URCH OF ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY)

GV II A chest tomb of circa 1803, constructed from sandstone. The tomb has a flat top with a moulded edge, and is set on a moulded plinth. The corners have recessed, engaged square columns, with a beaded cornice and rosettes. The south side has two inscription panels, with a central hourglass. The north side has paired, shaped cartouches with an hourglass, trumpet and other symbols of the second coming, and a central angel. The tomb carries inscriptions to William Nichols, who died in 1803, and other members of the family.

HISTORY: Pucklechurch, which appears from the archaeological evidence to have Roman origins, was an important settlement from the later Anglo-Saxon period, when it became the administrative, military and judicial centre of the Hundred which bears its name. The settlement, once forming parts of the ancient Forest of Kingswood, may have been a royal burh in the later Saxon period. Certainly it was the site of Edmund, King of Wessex's hunting lodge; he was murdered in Pucklechurch in AD946, and his body taken to Glastonbury Abbey for burial. The manor of Pucklechurch was formally granted to Glastonbury Abbey in AD950, and was subsequently transferred to Bath Abbey in the C13. After the Dissolution in the C16, the village underwent a phase of rebuilding and gentrification, with a number of large houses erected in the C16, C17 and C18, indicating that the settlement was relatively wealthy in this period. A further phase of expansion and prosperity occurred from the mid-C19, when a number of collieries opened in the parish.

The parish church was founded in the Norman period, and was perhaps a royal foundation, but the current building dates largely from the C13; a north aisle and south porch were built in the C14, together with parts of the tower. A chantry, now the site of the Lady Chapel, was set up by William de Cheltenham in 1337. There were further alterations in the C17, coinciding with the increased prosperity of the settlement after the Dissolution, and there were two major phases of work in the C19.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The Nichols tomb is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: as a good example of an early-C19 chest tomb with a strongly architectural form, and for its symbolism * Group value: for its relationship with the Grade I listed church of St Thomas à Becket, and with the other listed tombs in the churchyard