Church Of St Nicholas, Grosmont

The Church of St Nicholas in the village of Grosmont, Monmouthshire, Wales, is a parish church dating from the 13th century. Its exceptional size reflects the importance and standing of the borough of Grosmont at the time of the church's construction and has led it to be called a "miniature catherdral". Largely unaltered from the time of its building, by the 19th century the church has seriously decayed and its tower was close to collapse. It was rescued from dereliction in a restoration undertaken by John Pollard Seddon and financed by John Etherington Welch Rolls. An active parish church, it is a Grade I listed building. HistoryMedieval Grosmont, with its stone castle founded by Hubert de Burgh in the 13th century and site of the birth of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster in the early 14th century, was an important medieval lordship. Cadw records that the scale of the "great cruciform church mark(ed) the important standing of Grosmont during the early medieval period. The church was constructed in the early 13th and the roof of the nave is datable to c. 1232, making it the oldest scientifically datable roof in Wales. Tree-ring dating of the timbers show that they were felled in the period 1214–1244, which confirms the exceptionally early date of the roof's construction. It is considered "the only surviving pre-1400 church roof in Wales". The nave remains largely unrestored, but the rest of the church is later.

The Church of St Nicholas in the village of Grosmont, Monmouthshire, Wales, is a parish church dating from the 13th century. Its exceptional size reflects the importance and standing of the borough of Grosmont at the time of the church's construction and has led it to be called a "miniature catherdral". Largely unaltered from the time of its building, by the 19th century the church has seriously decayed and its tower was close to collapse. It was rescued from dereliction in a restoration undertaken by John Pollard Seddon and financed by John Etherington Welch Rolls. An active parish church, it is a Grade I listed building. HistoryMedieval Grosmont, with its stone castle founded by Hubert de Burgh in the 13th century and site of the birth of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster in the early 14th century, was an important medieval lordship. Cadw records that the scale of the "great cruciform church mark(ed) the important standing of Grosmont during the early medieval period. The church was constructed in the early 13th and the roof of the nave is datable to c. 1232, making it the oldest scientifically datable roof in Wales. Tree-ring dating of the timbers show that they were felled in the period 1214–1244, which confirms the exceptionally early date of the roof's construction. It is considered "the only surviving pre-1400 church roof in Wales". The nave remains largely unrestored, but the rest of the church is later.