Church of St Nicholas is a Grade II* listed building in the Tunbridge Wells local planning authority area, England. First listed on 20 June 1967. A Medieval Church.
Church of St Nicholas
- WRENN ID
- hidden-string-russet
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Tunbridge Wells
- Constituency
- Tunbridge Wells MP: Mike Martin (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 20 June 1967
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Medieval
- Address
- Church of St Nicholas, Church Road, Sandhurst
- OS grid reference
- TQ 790 273
- Coordinates
- 51.01727, 0.55146
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St Nicholas is a parish church located in Sandhurst. The nave and chancel date from the 13th and 14th centuries, while the aisles and west tower were added in the 14th century. The church underwent significant restoration, with the chancel largely rebuilt by R.C. Carpenter in 1875. It is constructed of sandstone and features a tiled roof.
The church comprises a nave, chancel, west tower, north and south aisles, a north chantry chapel, a north porch, and a 19th-century south porch. The west tower, built in three stages, has a renewed reticulated window on the first stage, a tall shallow angled buttress, louvred lancets at the bell stage, and an arched doorcase with a hood moulding. The top of the tower was replaced with brickwork in the 16th century. The north and south aisles include the south aisle, which has three restored triple cinquefoiled light windows featuring Kentish tracery. The nave has a clerestorey with lancets.
Inside, the west tower opens by arches to the north and south into lean-to aisles, with semi-octagonal responds featuring sunk quadrants. There is a 14th-century sandstone font adorned with Decorated tracery patterns on each face. The nave has four bays with a 14th-century arcade supported by octagonal piers, except for the easternmost pier, which was rebuilt in the 19th century. The clerestorey lancets are likely from the 13th century. The north aisle features a roll-moulded roof and rood stairs. The Chantry Chapel, also known as Betherynden Chapel, was built around 1450 by Sir Richard Betherynden of Old Place.
The south aisle contains an east window with stained glass depicting St Michael from around 1450, which was reset from the Chantry Chapel. The south window has remnants of 15th-century glass also from the Chantry Chapel, depicting St George, a priest, and an abbess. There is a piscina between these windows and a stoup on one side of the south door. The four-bay chancel has a 14th-century aumbry but was heavily restored by R.C. Carpenter, featuring a 19th-century barrel-vaulted ceiling. A wall tablet from the 18th century commemorates members of the Hodson family, complete with a swansneck pediment, urn in the center, and console brackets. The church houses three bells dating from the 17th century; the oldest, a 15th-century bell, is no longer in use. Notably, Titus Oates began his clerical career here as an assistant curate.
Local climate
Church of St Nicholas sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 79% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 68% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 25 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 74% of listed buildings. Of these, 11 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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