3-011-481 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

St. Nicholas Church, Great Yarmouth, lately restored, 1864. 'A grand effect has now been produced by the removal of the partitions which till lately blocked up the easternmost of the arches, and divided the church into two parts. It may further be remarked of the architectural history of this building that the nave and its arcades on each side are very early thirteenth-century work...during the last three centuries the church was barbarously neglected, and suffered to fall into decay and ruin...At the commencement of this century an incredible sum (nearly £30,000) was expended in hacking off all the external mouldings and covering the surface with cement; while a truncated and ill-proportioned spire was erected in place of the lofty but decayed older spire and of the pinnacles which had surrounded it...[In 1862,] the Church Restoration Committee...engaged the services of Mr. John P. Seddon, architect, of London, and instructed him to prepare drawings for a complete and thorough restoration of the fabric...These works have been executed to the satisfaction of all parties, at a cost of about £6000, by Mr. Thomas Williams, builder, of Canton, near Cardiff, who was recommended to the committee by Mr. Seddon'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.