Church Of St Nicholas

The Church of St Nicholas is a parish church dating back to the 12th century, with significant additions and alterations in the 13th, 14th, 18th, and 19th centuries. It is constructed from rubble flint with stone and brick dressings, originally rendered, and covered with a plain tile roof. A weatherboarded bell turret is incorporated.

The nave is from the 12th century and is narrower than the late 13th-century chancel, which replaced an earlier 14th-century building to the north. An 18th-century bell turret sits to the west, and a 19th-century north vestry is positioned opposite the chancel. The chancel was rebuilt in the late 13th century, featuring an east window with three stepped trefoiled lancet windows grouped under an enclosing arch. Single trefoiled lancets are present along the side walls. A small 13th-century pointed doorway and a large window with 19th-century two-light perpendicular tracery are found on the south wall. The nave, dating back to around 1150, has two original round-headed lights high on its side walls. The Norman south doorway is a rare example, featuring beak-head ornament with semicircular arches of two orders and a chamfered label, nook shafts with scalloped capitals. The old door has strap hinges. A plainer north doorway, now within the vestry, features moulded wedges but no beak-heads. An early 13th-century lancet is located at the east end of the south wall. A 14th-century two-light window with uncusped tracery is present to the west. The square bell turret is weatherboarded on a timber frame, with two small openings on each side and a hipped roof surmounted by a weathervane, originating from inside the nave. A gabled brick porch with a segmental arch is positioned on the south side, and opposite it stands a gabled flint vestry built in the 19th century.

Inside the chancel, a moulded rear arch leads to the east window. A blocked 13th-century window is found in the northeast corner, while a squint originates from a demolished 14th-century chapel or vestry. A 13th-century trefoiled piscina recess with three drains is located in the southeast corner. C14 painted dedication crosses are on the walls, but largely covered by 19th-century plaster. A 16th-century brass depicting a knight and lady is embedded in the floor. 17th-century altar rails with vertically symmetrical balusters are present, alongside a slate tablet dating to 1727 commemorating Jane Venables. A monument from 1776 honoring John Wight features a Corinthian frame and cartouche. The roof is arch braced, dating to the 17th century. The chancel arch, rebuilt in the 12th century, is pointed, with two square orders and nook shafts with scalloped capitals lacking abaci. A wide, splayed lancet from around 1220 shows a circular piscina in its sill. The bell turret is supported on four massive timbers at the west end of the nave. A tall, stone baluster font with a moulded base is situated near the south door, along with a floor tablet and monument from 1709/10 dedicated to William Couper. The roof is similar to that in the chancel.