Church Of St Nicholas

The Church of St Nicholas is a church dating from the 12th to 15th centuries, with a South porch added in 1851. It is constructed of squared stone and ashlar, with Collyweston slate, lead, and parapetted roofs. The building has buttresses with set-offs, a plinth, ball flower and head frieze to the nave and aisles, and stone-coped gables. A West tower with a spire rises prominently, accompanied by a nave, aisles, chancel, a North chancel vestry, and a South porch.

The three-stage tower of 1300 has angle buttresses. The West window features restored Geometric tracery, a clock face above, and a lancet on the South side, alongside a single-light window to the North. Four bell openings display bar tracery, with a ball flower and head frieze at the top. The broach spire has tall broaches, two sets of lucarnes, and a partly gilded weathervane. The West arch to the nave is triple-chamfered, the inner part dying into a polygonal respond. A blank window sits above the arch, with a buttress to the right.

The nave arcades are from the 14th century; the North arcade consists of three bays (with a fourth added), and the South of four bays. Double-chamfered arches with hood moulds and label stops sit over octagonal piers. The clerestory is likely from the early 14th century, featuring a ball flower frieze and three Perpendicular windows. A low-pitch tie beam roof, much restored, covers the nave, and similar roofs are found in the aisles; the South aisle’s roof features open, carved spandrels. The North aisle contains a Northwest, three North, and a Northeast window with Perpendicular tracery. A doorway on the North side dates to around 1300. The chancel arch is double-chamfered, the inner part dying into a polygonal respond. The chancel walls are likely partly 13th century, with late Perpendicular windows; one North window has stained glass from around 1907, while three South windows include stained glass from the 19th century. A five-light East window displays stained glass from around 1890. The North chancel vestry was built in 1855. The chancel roof is a restored low-pitch tie beam structure with moulded beams producing square panels. The South aisle has Perpendicular windows, one Southeast window featuring stained glass from around 1895, and others with ball flower decoration and flat tops. A small door to the right of the South door leads to a former staircase for the former priest’s room over the South porch. The South porch, now open to the roof, dates to 1851; its Norman doorway is not in its original location and includes shafts and an arch with zigzag decoration. The font has a square base from around 1200, with reliefs of Christ Crucified and a saintly Bishop, and an octagonal bowl from the 14th or 15th century. A 17th-century oak pulpit stands on a later stone base, featuring oval panels. The eastern part of the North aisle serves as a Royal Air Force memorial chapel.