Church Of St Nicholas

The Church of St Nicholas is a building of group value, dating to the early 14th century, with a tower of the late 13th century. It was restored in 1844-45 by Ewan Christian, with the chancel being refaced and the porch rebuilt. The church is constructed of grey sandstone ashlar, with slate roofs featuring moulded coped gable parapets and trefoiled gablet kneelers.

The church comprises an aisled nave, chancel, west tower, and a south porch. The chancel has two bays, and the nave has four. Features include splayed and moulded plinths, buttresses of two offsets, and moulded sill courses throughout. The chancel has angle and central buttresses, while the east window and side windows have geometrical tracery dating from 1844-45. Hood moulds are present on host openings, often with return stops.

The north side of the church displays a flue on a moulded corbel, with gablet and trefoil vents. A moulded south doorway has a studded door. The nave has a four-bay clerestory, and the lean-to aisles incorporate angle and side buttresses. The east windows of the aisles are three-light, with cusped intersecting tracery and moulded orders, including shafts and a hood mould. The roof is a two-bay arched brace. Internally, a studded door leads into a space with three continuous moulded orders and a hood mould. The north and south windows consist of three stepped lancets with pierced spandrels. A blocked north doorway has two moulded orders, and blocked west windows are also present.

The two-stage west tower features a double splayed plinth and course, along with massive angle buttresses with goblets. A moulded west doorway has a studded door, and a small lancet is located on the second stage. The bell chamber has two-light openings with geometrical tracery and a hood mould with head stops, above a frieze of trefoiled arches with heads. A broach spire incorporates two tiers of lucarnes and a finial with a weathervane. The north side mirrors the south, with the exception of a missing lancet. A moulded lancet is visible on the south side of the first stage, while the second stage features a window below the bell chamber with similar tracery, octagonal shafts, and a clock face.

The interior has a whitewashed chancel and plastered nave and aisles. The chancel has a 13th-century arched brace roof. A tall chancel arch leads to four-bay arcades of three chamfered and moulded orders, supported by piers of quatrefoil section with thin shafts and octagonal bases, and hood moulds. The tower arch has two segmental pointed outer arches and an inner arch, with a head corbel. The nave roof is a 19th-century cusped king post design. A piscina is situated in the south aisle. Fittings predominantly date to 1844-45, including a reredos with texts in gabled panels and an octagonal pulpit. A wall monument commemorating John, Thomas, and Herbert Monck (erected 1706) is located in the north aisle, featuring a double break-front form with an open segmental pediment, winged head, cartouche, flaming urns, a marble panel, and a winged skull.