Monument record 0154300000 - OLD ST NICHOLAS' CHURCH, TAPLOW

Summary

Documentary history of old medieval church of St Nicholas, demolished in 1828 and 1852 -The site is now occupied by the west wing of Taplow Court. The grave yard is now part of the ornamental gardens.

Protected Status/Designation

Archaeological Notification Area: Prehistoric hillfort, Saxon burial mound, site of Medieval parish church, 18th and 19th century park and gardens at Taplow Court (DBC9470)
Scheduled Monument 1014781: SAXON BARROW, CHURCH AND CEMETERIES IN THE OLD CHURCHYARD AT TAPLOW COURT (DBC7188)

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Type and Period (1)

PARISH CHURCH (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1852 AD)

Description

Dimensions - Length 28m, Width 7m.
Church appropriated to Merton Priory, 1197 (B1).
Church probably C12 in origin, though single reference to foundations of Saxon church nearby (B2-3).
Church stood on plateau edge just SW of Taplow Court (B1,B4-5).
Partlt demolished 1828 when new church built. Ruins stood until 1852 (B1,B5-6).
Scheduled (B23).
In 1639, the land holding associated with the church is described as a 'parsonage howse, a great barne, a lesser thatched barne, a stable at the end of it an out howse, all in good repaire, a great orchyard, and a little orchyard behinde the great barne, with two gardens and a little court yard, the ground that conteyneth all these with the great yard is two acres more or lesse' . The list of church dues includes an option to the buried in 'Mr Hampsons vault' in the chancel (B24).
Resistivity survey carried out by Marlow Archaeological Society in 2005 revealed plan of the church (B28, B29,B30).

(SU 90638218) St Nicholas's Church (NR) (B33).

The Church of St Nicholas formerly stood at the west end of the village near Taplow Court. It was pulled down in 1828, when the new church was built on the present site. (SU91218220). Some remains of the old church existed in 1853 (B1).

Nothing remains to mark the site of the earlier church which was situated immediately S of the west wing of Taplow Court and 25 metres NE of the Taplow tumulus (SU 98 SW 3). Correct siting on OS 6" at SU 90638218 confirmed by the Estate Manager, Taplow Court. Graves of people buried in the old churchyard, including a vault of the Villiers (Dukes of Buckingham), still remain in the immediate vicinity. The area now forms part of the ornamental garden of Taplow Court (B34).

NRHE Insert 1997, Update 1998 (B36).

Sources (36)

<1>SBC20462 Bibliographic reference: William Page (ed). 1925. A History of Buckinghamshire (Victoria County History) Volume III. Volume 3. p241.
<2>SBC14058 Bibliographic reference: SCRIMGEOUR G E & FARLEY M E (BCM) NOV 1987 TAPLOW & ITS SETTING PP8-13 (DRAFT MANUSCRIPT FILED IN C.
<3>SBC5867 Bibliographic reference: GRENFELL W H LORD DESBOROUGH 1923 ST NICHOLAS' CHURCH, TAPLOW IN TAPLOW PARISH MAGAZINE.
<4>SBC26953 Bibliographic reference: George Lipscomb. 1847. The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham (Volume 3). Volume 3. pp298-304.
<5>SBC11180 Bibliographic reference: OS RECORD CARD SU 98 SW 05 (FILED).
<6>SBC19727 Bibliographic reference: James Joseph Sheahan. 1862. History and Topography of Buckinghamshire. p853.
<7>SBC16430 Bibliographic reference: WATERCOLOURS IN SOC OF ANTIQUARIES OF LONDON RED PORTFOLIO (BUCKS) F.27.
<8>SBC16424 Graphic material: WATERCOLOUR (SEPIA) COPIED BY MISS BOURKE FROM ORIGINAL DRAWING BY MISS VANSITTART NEALE 1815, IN BR.
<9>SBC11650 Graphic material: PENCIL SKETCH BY JAMES RUTLAND, MAY 1849, IN BRO (REF: D/GR/14/84/1).
<10>SBC13843 Bibliographic reference: RUTLAND J (MS) ST NICHOLAS CHURCH, TAPLOW IN BRO (REF: D/X/748/9)(PHOTO-COPY IN CAS FILE).
<11>SBC5683 Article in serial: Robert Gibbs. 1889. 'STATE OF THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE PARISH CHURCHES IN THE 16TH AND 17TH CENTURIES: PART 2, IN RECS OF BUCKS 6 PP245-258. Vol 6, part 3. pp246-247.
<12>SBC2936 Bibliographic reference: CHURCH LEDGER IN BRO (REF PR203/28/1)(NOTES FROM THIS SOURCE BY A R PIKE (BCM), FILED).
<13>SBC11706 Bibliographic reference: Nikolaus Pevsner. 1960. The Buildings of England: Buckinghamshire.
<14>SBC14794 Bibliographic reference: ST NICHOLAS TAPLOW - A SHORT HISTORY (CHURCH GUIDE, FILED).
<15>SBC20466 Bibliographic reference: Royal Commision on Historical Monuments. 1912. Historical Monuments in Buckinghamshire Volume 1. Volume 1. pp293-294.
<16>SBC13271 Article in serial: RECS OF BUCKS 18 1969 P326 (NOTE BY A H PACKE).
<17>SBC795 Bibliographic reference: BAKER G T & ADLAM R P 1970 ARCHIVE ALBUM OF THE OPENING OF TAPLOW VAULT OF THE HAMPSONS & ORKNEYS (C.
<18>SBC15116 Bibliographic reference: TIMESPAN (MTAHS NEWSLETTER) 21 1977 P10/ COPIES OF COLOUR PRINTS (FILED).
<19>SBC8314 Graphic material: MEASURED PLAN OF TAPLOW COURT & CHURCHYARD (PHOTOCOPY, FILED) COPY IN BRO (REF: ).
<20>SBC9978 Graphic material: NUMBERED PLAN & DETAILED ACCOMPANYING LIST OF GRAVESTONE INSCRIPTIONS.
<21>SBC3182 Bibliographic reference: COPP A & ROYLE C 1987 REPORT ON THE SURVEYS CONDUCTED AT TAPLOW COURT/ FELL D, DANIELL C & RIMMER P.
<22>SBC4001 Bibliographic reference: DoE. 1985. LIST OF BUILDINGS OF SPECIAL ARCHITECTURAL OR HISTORIC INTEREST: BUCKINGHAMSHIRE: DISTRICT OF SOUTH BUCKS.
<23>SBC14043 Scheduling record: English Heritage. 1996. SCHEDULING LISTS OF INSPECTORATE OF ANCIENT MONUMENTS: SAM 19050.
<24>SBC19033 Bibliographic reference: Michael Reed (ed). 1997. Buckinghamshire Glebe Terriers 1578-1640 (Buckinghamshire Record Society 30). pp200-1.
<25>SBC22302 Article in serial: David Stocker and David Went. 1995. 'The Evidence for a Pre-Viking Church Adjacent to the Anglo-Saxon Barrow at Taplow, Buckinghamshire', in Archaeological Journal Vol 152. Vol 152.
<26>SBC20138 Unpublished document: Mike Farley. 1997. Correspondence and notes about geophysical survey and parchmark survey.
<27>SBC19197 Unpublished document: Mark Ward. 1997. The Archaeology of Taplow Court, South Buckinghamshire In Association With A Geophysical Survey.
<28>SBC22949 Unpublished document: Elias Kupferman. 2006. Geophysical survey at the Old Churchyard of St Nicolas Church, Taplow.
<29>SBC22946 Unpublished document: Oxford Archaeology. 2007. Taplow Court, Buckinghamshire: Draft Publication Report. pp186-7,188-9.
<30>SBC22540 Unpublished document: Marlow Archaeological Society. 2005. Taplow Court: Fieldwork Record Drawings - Survey & Resistivity October 2005.
<31>SBC23605 Bibliographic reference: Tim Allen, Chris Hayden & Hugo Lamdin-Whymark. 2009. From Bronze Age Enclosure to Anglo-Saxon Settlement: Archaeological Excavations at Taplow Hillfort.
<32>SBC22910 Unpublished document: Oxford Archaeology. 2007. Lift Pit, Taplow Court, Taplow: Archaeological Investigations Report.
<33>SBC27310 Map: Ordnance Survey. 1961. OS 1961 6-INCH MAP. 1:10,560.
<34>SBC28315 Verbal communication: V E Lucas. 1953. Field Investigators Comments - F1 VEL 20-APR-53.
<35>SBC27510 Bibliographic reference: English Heritage. 1987. Register of parks and gardens of special historic interest in England Part 4.
<36>SBC27441 Digital archive: Historic England. National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE).

Location

Grid reference	SU 90630 82180 (point)
Civil Parish	TAPLOW, South Bucks, Buckinghamshire

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (6)

Related Events/Activities (4)

Event - Survey: Geophysical survey (Ref: 877) (EBC17204)
Event - Survey: Geophysics survey: TAPLOW COURT (EBC18812)
Event - Survey: Parchmark Survey of St Nicholas's Churchyard, Taplow (EBC16345)
Event - Intervention: Test pitting and trial trenching (EBC16346)

Record last edited

Nov 7 2025 10:21AM