St Nicholas' Church in Thistleton,

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

, England, is a former

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

, now a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

. It is a

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

listed building.

History

Most of the church was built in 1879 replacing a church with medieval origins. Of the earlier building, only the 14th-century, three-stage tower, with gargoyles, remains. The nave had been rebuilt in the late 18th century by George Bridges Brudenell. The former rector, the Rev.d

Sir John Henry Fludyer, 4th Baronet Sir John Henry Fludyer, 4th Baronet (1803–1896), generally known as Henry Fludyer, was an English baronet and clergyman who restored St Nicholas' Church, Thistleton, St Nicholas' Church in Thistleton, Rutland, as a memorial to his three eldest ...

rebuilt the church in 1879 and the elaborate chancel is a memorial to his three eldest children who died of scarlet fever. The newer building is fourteenth century in style. The shape of the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

is polygonal externally and semi-circular inside. In the apse are terracotta statues of the four evangelists in gabled niches and a relief of the entombment of Christ over the altar by

Mario Raggi Mario Raggi (1821–26 November 1907) was an Italian sculptor who settled in England, where he received several public commissions for statues of civic figures. Biography Raggi was born in Carrara, Italy, where he learnt to sculpt, and won seve ...

. Most of the internal fittings, including the font and the organ, are relatively modern. Thistleton and Cottesmore parishes were merged and on 1 April 2017, the church became a

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Nicholas Church, Thistleton Thistleton Thistleton Churches completed in 1879