Church of St Nicholas

Church, originally part of a leprosy hospital, late C11 with C12 and C14 additions.

MATERIALS: flint with stone dressings; tiled roof.

PLAN: the church comprises a chancel and nave (both of Norman date and belonging to Lanfranc's original foundation), with a tower and north aisle added in the C12 and a south aisle of the C14.

EXTERIOR: the church stands within the little sloping enclosure formed by the almshouses (rebuilt in 1840) to the west and south and St Nicholas's Farmhouse to the north. The west front features a Norman doorway with a zigzag moulding, and a square-headed three-light Perpendicular window above. The plain square tower, set back to the right, is of four stages with simple lancet openings. The nave roof sweeps down over the aisles in a continuous catslide. The projecting chancel has two-light windows with early Decorated tracery.

INTERIOR: the interior features Transitional Norman arcades, partly remodelled in the C14, with some Norman carved capitals surviving. The floor slopes downward from east to west, supposedly to facilitate the regular washings needed to prevent infection. The roof is of C14 crown-post type. The belfry, reached by a flight of medieval solid-tread stairs, contains four bells: one of c.1450 cast by William Chamberlain, and three of 1614-22 by Joseph Hatch. Other early features include C14 wall-paintings and stained glass in the chancel, simple timber benches in the nave and an octagonal font with carved beasts and blind Perpendicular tracery to the shaft. A treasury at the end of the north aisle displays artefacts from the medieval hospital.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Enhancement on 23 May 2023 to amend the name and description