St Nicolas' Church

St Nicolas' Church, Abingdon

Church of late Norman and Perpendicular date, restored in 1881 by Edwin Dolby of Abingdon and London.

The building is constructed mainly of rubblestone with some ashlar and has a red tiled roof. The plan comprises a chancel, nave, west tower, and on the north side a shallow 16th-century chapel together with an organ chamber and vestry of 1880-1.

The exterior features a late Norman nave with a west front containing a late Norman doorway with three orders of shafts flanked by blind arcading. The nave has two north lancets with traces of a third; to the south (where the parapet dates to 1881) are two windows in the Decorated style. The west tower, built around 1470 within the nave, has a stair turret on its north side. The vestry and organ loft of 1880-1 stand against the north side of the chancel.

Inside, the chancel is separated from the nave by a broad chancel arch probably dating to the 14th century. An east vestry, screened off in 1953 following a fire, contains a reset late 14th-century carved crucifixion. The nave has a kingpost roof of 1881, and benches also of 1880-1. Fixtures and fittings include a pulpit of 1628 reset at the south-east corner of the nave, and a 15th-century font with a broad stem and bowl decorated with quatrefoils. The stubby 16th-century chapel on the north side of the east end of the nave contains a reset memorial of 1684 to John and Jane Blacknall (both died 1625), late 19th-century stalls, and wallpaintings. The exceptionally tall and narrow tower arch has reset Creed and Lord's Prayer boards.

The church was apparently founded as a chapel for lay servants of Abingdon Abbey around 1170, located to one side of the main gateway into the precinct. The south wall and chancel were rebuilt following a violent attack on the abbey by the townspeople in 1327. The church saw considerable enrichment during the 14th and 15th centuries with new windows and the tower. An extensive restoration, particularly of the interior, took place in 1880-1 under Edwin Dolby of Abingdon and London. The works included demolishing the Two Brewers public house which had stood against the north side of the church, replacing the nave roof, replastering the walls, replacing the floors, re-opening blocked windows, and building the vestry and organ chamber. A fire in the chancel in 1953 was followed by some reordering of the east end.

St Nicolas' Church is a complex and architecturally interesting building of the 12th century and later, whose history was intimately bound up with that of Abingdon Abbey. It stands prominently in the town centre facing Market Square and adjoins the gateway which formerly gave access to the abbey precinct. While the core dates to the late 12th century, extensive improvement programmes were undertaken in the 14th and 15th centuries. The church contains good collections of fixtures, fittings, and monuments, and is of outstanding special interest.