Nichols Monument In The Churchyard About 3 Metres North Of North Aisle Of Anglican Church Of St Thomas À Becket

PUCKLECHURCH

1096/4/218 WESTERLEIGH ROAD 15-AUG-11 (East side) NICHOLS MONUMENT IN THE CHURCHYARD ABO UT 3 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 3 METRES NORTH OF NORTH AISLE OF CH URCH OF ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY)

GV II Commemorative tomb, of circa 1811. Of sandstone and limestone. Within the churchyard of St Thomas à Becket, about 3 metres north of the north aisle of the church. It is one of several monuments within the churchyard that commemorate members of the Nichols family.

The monument has a flat top with moulded edge, a moulded plinth, and side panels of sandstone. The corners of the tomb, which project slightly, are marked by moulded quarter balusters. The north and south faces of the tomb contain inscription panels; that to the north has a pair of putti and draped swags, and there are shaped cartouches with hour-glass and trumpet decoration between the panels. The inscriptions are much worn, though the earliest decipherable date is 1811.

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; for its design and commemoration of a members of a prominent local family * Group value: for its relationship with the Grade I listed church of St Thomas à Becket, and with other listed tombs