Church Of St Nicholas

The Church of St Nicholas is an Anglican parish church located in Hatherop, rebuilt between 1854 and 1855 by architect Henry Clutton, with assistance from William Burges, for Lord de Mauley. The church is constructed from coursed and dressed rubble stone, featuring quoins and a roof made of tile or slate. It is designed in a Perpendicular style with influences from French Gothic architecture and includes a nave with north and south aisles, a crossing tower, a chancel, a small north porch, a vestry, and a south mortuary chapel.

The tower is notable for its long two-light belfry openings on each face, a carved head corbel table, and a steep saddleback roof with coped verges, end saddlestones, and top roll moulding. A weathervane sits on the ridge, and there is a clock on the north side below the belfry and another above the corbel table on the west side. The nave features five bays with a clerestorey on both sides, showcasing two-light Perpendicular windows with arched hoodmoulds. The parapet wall is pierced with cusped quatrefoils set within square frames, and there is an aedicule with a statue at the centre of the west end.

The north porch has a pierced small quatrefoil parapet and a niche above a large square doorway, which is flanked by colonnettes recessed in the jambs. The spandrels feature quatrefoils with mouchettes, and there are stepped buttresses on either side. The south chapel mirrors the north porch with a pierced small quatrefoil parapet, three quatrefoil windows, and a deep French Gothic doorway adorned with high relief carved moulding stops. Stepped buttresses with steeply crossed gables and animal gargoyles are positioned at either end.

Inside, the church features a three-bay arcade supported by faceted or cylindrical piers and a five-bay Perpendicular rafter roof held up by carved stone corbel heads. The south chapel boasts a three-bay quadripartite vault, a richly carved frieze, and capitals, housing a marble effigy of Barbara de Mauley (who died in 1844), created by Raffaelle Monti in 1848, accompanied by flanking angel figures. The church is adorned with fine stained glass by O'Connor, and Lavers, Barraud and Westlake. Additionally, there is a matching pulpit and font, both featuring intricate diaper work and raised leaf carving.