Church Of St Nicholas

The Church of St. Nicholas is a parish church with elements dating from the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 16th centuries, and a restoration in 1834. It is constructed of squared and coursed chalk and limestone rubble, with red brick and ashlar detailing, and slate roofs. The church comprises a three-stage western tower, a nave, a chancel, and a south porch. The tower features stepped clasping buttresses and a battlemented parapet with gargoyles. A vesica-shaped opening with a mullion is on the south side, and paired 13th-century lancet windows illuminate the belfry stage. The west wall has a single lancet window on the ground stage. The north nave wall was refaced in 1834 using brick in English bond, incorporating a single 19th-century timber two-light window with leaded panes. The chancel is built of squared ironstone rubble and has a three-light 19th-century east window. A reset section of 12th-century chevron moulding is located to the north of this window, along with other stones that appear reddened, likely due to fire. A two-light 19th-century window with a chamfered square surround, a reset semi-circular window head, and a fragment of 12th-century diamond moulding are found in the south wall of the chancel. The south wall of the nave contains two 1834 windows matching those on the north, set within brick surrounds. Further west, a section of 12th-century ashlar walling is incorporated with the south door, and the east wall of the tower retains a steep coped pitch that preserves an earlier roofline. The 15th-century porch features a moulded plinth, a lowered gable, and a continuously moulded outer arch with an outer chamfer. The interior doorway has a plain square order with a chamfered hood, plain imposts, and rudimentary cushion capitals to missing nook shafts. Internally, the chancel and nave are undivided. A double-chamfered 14th-century tower arch dies into its reveals. A chancel screen with cusped heads to the lights includes 16th-century elements, and the roof is from the 19th century. Fittings include a panelled family pew, a hatchment belonging to the Haigh family, two wooden commandment boards, and a mid-19th-century stove. The font is 12th-century, a simple tapering tub on a splayed base.