Nicholaston Church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, was said to have been rebuilt on its present site, stone by stone from an even earlier church that had become besanded near Nicholaston Woods. Of this second 14th century church very little remains, however, save for a few foundation walls and slabs of an original medieval cross, preserved in the church porch.
The church was largely rebuilt in the closing decade of the 19th Century at the sole expense of Miss Olive Talbot. Prior to this Victorian rebuilding, the church was very much an ordinary affair and Miss Talbot, wanting the church to be a memorial to her father – C.R.M. Talbot, of Penrice Castle, let the full swing of Victorian design transform the church into what was later described as a little “jewel box” of a building. The resplendent new church of St. Nicholas reopened in December 1894, just weeks after the unfortunate benefactor, Miss Talbot’s, death.
Nicholaston Church stands strangely aloof from its parish, on the seaward side of the A4418 South Gower Road. The church offers no parking spaces (only small lay bys some distance from the church, allow any such facilities). The fabric of the building is believed to have been constructed from stone from Cefn Bryn. Overlooking the Bristol Channel , in a niche over the porch, stands a fine statue of St. Nicholas. Other interesting features of the church include its single bell, which dates from 1518 (but was re-tuned at the time of the church’s Victorian rebuilding) and the font which is a carved from a mighty slab of stalagmite.
The best time to view the church is around the time of its Sunday morning service which is held at 11.15 am, as it is usually locked for security reasons at other times of the week.
