Church Of St Nicholas

Church of St Nicholas

This is a parish church dating from the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries, with extensive restoration undertaken in 1876 by the architect Hodgson Fowler. The building is constructed in ashlar with plain tile roofs finished with decorative ridges.

The church comprises a chancel, nave, porch and tower. All main roof lines are coped with gables and decorated with single ridge crosses. The tower is the most substantial element: an embattled structure with diagonally disposed buttresses arranged in two stages. The upper stage is 14th-century work. It stands on a chamfered plinth with a moulded band above. A single worn gargoyle projects from each side.

The western face of the tower contains a moulded arched doorway with hood mould and decorative label stops. Above this is a restored 14th-century arched three-light window with cusped panel tracery, hood mould and human head label stops. A single small blocked trefoil arched opening sits above. The bell chamber is lit by four arched openings, each containing two arched and cusped lights. The west side has one rectangular light, while the south side has two.

The north nave wall is set on a shallow chamfered plinth with a moulded band continuing from the tower on its westernmost side. A blocked moulded arched doorway with hood mould and label stops is present, with a single pointed arched light above and to the right. To the left is a 14th-century three-light window with arched and cusped lights beneath a flat arch, accompanied by hood mould and human head label stops.

The chancel stands on a chamfered plinth and has a blocked arched doorway with hood mould in its north wall. To the left of this is a 14th-century window containing three arched and cusped lights beneath a flat arch. The east chancel wall holds a 14th-century three-light window with arched and cusped lights, mouchettes and a flat arch; hood mould and label stops sit above a flush relieving arch. A carved 14th-century grotesque head is positioned to the right. The south chancel, which is buttressed, contains a restored window with three arched and cusped lights and tracery beneath a flat arch.

The south nave is constructed of dressed coursed rubble and stands on a low ashlar plinth with a buttress to the right. It holds a restored 14th-century three-light window with arched and cusped lights, tracery and a flat arch. To the left is a single small 12th-century light with chamfered arch.

The porch is set on a chamfered plinth and features an arched entrance with hood mould and impost bands. Its side walls each contain a single small arched light. The inner doorway is a Caernarvon arch with a stoup in the east wall, and a decorative wooden bench end inscribed "O M 1599" is notable. To the left of the porch is a 13th-century lancet window with hood mould.

The interior contains significant architectural detail. The tower arch is double-chamfered with chamfering to the arch only. The chancel arch from the 12th century is unmoulded. The south chancel features an arched recess with hood mould and label stops, and within it a worn decoratively carved 14th-century niche, probably the remains of an Easter Sepulchre. A restored 16th-century alms box is also present. Some bench ends are 16th-century work decorated with carved indents, with 19th-century replicas accompanying the originals. The font and remaining furniture are 19th century.

Two notable monuments survive. In the north chancel is an oval marble plaque commemorating John Augustine Finch, 1780. The memorial to John Whetham, dated 1781, comprises an oval inscription plaque with fluted brackets supporting an entablature surmounted by a decorative urn with draped shroud; its apron bears a decorative shield. A board detailing a "Donation To The Poor of Hockerton" from 1832 hangs in the tower.