About
The Church of St Mary, Nolton (also known as Nolton Church) was originally a chapel of ease for St Marys in Coity and is Grade II Listed. A chapel of ease was a religious building located away from the main parish church, which may be nearer than the main church for those parishioners living a long distance away. The current church was completed in 1887 and is at least the third church to be built at this location; the second church, which was built in the 1830s, stood near the arch in the present graveyard. The current church was compared to ‘a Manx cat’ for a decade (a breed of cat that has no tail), before the church’s distinctive spire was added to the tower Nolton Church was constructed in the Early English style in a cruciform plan with lean-to aisles. It was built out of bull-nosed masonry with freestone dressings.
The front elevation, which faces west, has a tall polygonal tower and spire (with a weathervane on top) on its northern corner. The central part of the front elevation contains a projecting porch with pointed top and a Romanesque style arched door surround which contains several orders of arches and pillars. At the top of the pillars are floral mouldings. Above the central porch are four lancet windows (tall, narrow windows with an arched top) with a small circular window above the central two windows.
