Church Of St Nicholas

Church of St. Nicholas

Church built in 1910, designed by architect J Francis Doyle. The church was commissioned by F J and Sir Heath Harrison in memory of their parents. It is constructed in the Gothic style.

The building is constructed of rock-faced Storeton sandstone with rubbed quoins and dressings, and the roof is covered with Yorkshire stone flags. The plan comprises a chancel aligned to the west, a nave to the east, a central tower, north and south transepts, north and south aisles, north and south porches, a Lady chapel, and a vestry.

The chancel has a west window in decorated style with curvilinear bar tracery under a hood mould. The south side has three windows and the north side one window in similar style, with angle buttresses at the west end. On the north side stands a vestry featuring a 4-light shouldered arch window under a straight hood mould on both its front and side faces, a 3-light similar window in the gable, and a pointed arch door.

The south side contains a Lady chapel with a window similar to the chancel's west window, two windows on the south side with curvilinear tracery under straight hood moulds, and a battlemented parapet. Both the north and south transepts feature windows similar to the chancel's west window. The north transept has a projecting square turret leading to the tower, positioned between the transept and vestry.

The central tower stands at the junction of the nave and chancel. It is square with a battlemented parapet and a hexagonal corner turret to the north-west. Each side of the tower has a four-centred arch louvred window under a hood mould. The south and north aisles have 4 Tudor arch windows under straight hood moulds between buttresses, with gabled porches at the east end on both sides. Clerestorey windows to the nave contain curvilinear tracery. The east end window is similar to the west window.

Fine stonecarving appears throughout the exterior, including door surrounds and portrait bosses along the sides of the nave. The stops of hood moulds on the vestry and Lady chapel doors are sculpted faces, with other hood moulds also featuring carved ends. A 'medieval monk' gargoyle and other decoration ornament the lead rainwater outlets.

The interior of the chancel features a stained glass window depicting the Apocalypse above a finely carved oak reredos designed by the architect. The reredos displays statues of Jesus with the Virgin and St John, and angels to either side in niches with intricately carved crocketed canopies and a traceried retable. The chancel roof is panelled vaulted wood with carved corbels. An organ by Nicholson of Worcester is located in the loft to the right over the choir vestry, with choir stalls positioned below. A pulpit in polished stone features diaper pattern carving around book and crossed trumpets panels, with a bronze book rest. The chancel arch rises from columns with faces carved into the capitals.

Both transepts contain stained glass windows and roofs with close-set king-post trusses. The Lady chapel to the left of the chancel has a carved wooden altar and reredos beneath a stained glass window dedicated to Mabel Harrison. Two additional stained glass memorial windows occupy the south wall of the Lady chapel. The nave arcades feature quatrefoil columns and pointed arches with various carvings at the capitals. Fixed wooden pews furnish the nave and aisles. The font is fashioned in polished stone with an octagonal bowl and quatrefoil shaft. A wooden screen at the west end forms a narthex, serving as a war memorial with painted scenes from the Crucifixion and Ascension between lists of names of those fallen in World War One, and carved panels. The east window is stained glass given in memory of F J Harrison, one of the church's founders. To the east of the chancel, a pierced wood and glass screen door leads to the wood-panelled vestry. The turret to the bell tower is brick-lined with a spiral staircase ascending to the bell chamber and roof.