Church Of St Nicholas

The Church of St. Nicholas is a parish church dating back to the medieval period. It comprises a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, a south porch, a west tower, and a north vestry. The majority of the building is constructed from flint rubble with freestone dressings, topped with plaintiled roofs on the nave and chancel, and flat roofs on the aisles. Parapets and gabled parapets extend throughout.

The church incorporates features from the 13th century, most notably a good south doorway characterised by three orders of roll moulding, keeled or filleted, supported by twin attached shafts with bell capitals. Above the doorway sits a 13th-century circular window, with a weathering indicating the former presence of an early porch. Significant rebuilding occurred in the early 14th century, including the tower with its shallow clasping buttresses and grotesque corbels at the gable head. The tower features unusual 2-light belfry windows and a shingled spire.

The nave arcade consists of five bays with heavy capitals and fluted octagonal piers, each bearing a cinquefoil at the head of the capital. Doorways from the 14th century appear in the nave and chancel, along with the entrance to the vestry. An aumbry is present with a gabled head supported by grotesque corbels, flanking shafts, and damaged pinnacles. The wide chancel arch dates from the later 14th century. The aisles are distinguished by large, traceried windows of the early 15th century. Niches, carved but mutilated, are found in the east walls of both aisles; the south aisle’s niche retains traces of colouring, and it is adjacent to a piscina. A rood loft stair is visible within the south wall, indicative of a previous parclose screen linking to the main rood screen (both screens and lofts were added in 1909/16). The chancel features tall windows from the later 15th century, while the clerestory showcases fine 15th-century craftsmanship: embattled parapets with extensive flushwork incorporating various emblems, and large 3-light windows. The nave’s roof is a double-hammerbeam structure spanning ten bays, adorned with three tiers of restored angels at each truss and a frieze of angels and crowns above a moulded cornice. The chancel roof is also 15th-century, with boarded trefoil coving, moulded ribs, and foliate bosses. Arch-braced principals in the aisles date to the 15th century. All roofs have undergone restoration.

The south porch was added around 1476, with its south wall constructed entirely of freestone, showcasing traceried panels and an image niche. The parapets are also of panelled freestone, blending seamlessly with those of the aisle. Clasping buttresses at the west corners mirror those on the tower, though the pinnacles were added in 1883. A sacristy was added in the 15th century to the north of the chancel, originally accompanied by a chamber above which was removed in the 19th century.

The font, dating to the mid-14th century, is octagonal, with each face of the bowl featuring a cusped ogee-headed arch supported by buttresses rising from grotesque corbels, and a traceried stem with slender buttresses. Within the nave is a 15th-century slab containing brass sinkings for three figures; another slab bears a single brass sinking. A further slab beneath the altar commemorates James (1587) and Dorothy (1617) Ryvett of Clopton Hall. Ten marble slabs from the 17th and 18th centuries are inlaid in the chancel floor, some displaying achievements. A C17 octagonal pulpit, with arcaded panels, stands alongside turned altar rails from the late 17th century. A selection of restored C16 poppyhead benches are located within the south aisle.