Church Of St Nicholas

Church of St Nicholas

Parish church with a building history spanning from the 11th century to the 19th century. The church comprises a 11th-century nave, a 12th-century west tower completed in the 16th or 17th century, an early 12th-century south aisle mostly rebuilt in the 15th century with a 2-storey south porch integrated into it, a later 12th-century north aisle rebuilt in the 19th century, and a chancel dated 1341.

The church is constructed mostly of knapped flint incorporating some Roman tiles and squared limestone, with 3-span roofs of red tiles and stone slates. The upper stage of the tower is weather-boarded and the spire is clad with shingles.

The square west tower has two low stages with stout angle-buttresses faced with brick. A gabled stair-turret is positioned at the north-east corner. The west doorway is restored Tudor-arched, and there is a 2-light west window. The first stage has a stone slate roof, and the weather-boarded upper stage breaks through this with 3 horizontal louvres on each side. A clock-face appears below these louvres on the south side. The tower is topped with a splay-footed spire bearing a weathervane.

Adjacent to the tower on the south side is one bay of the early 12th-century south aisle, now gabled, with a lancet in its west side and a 19th-century window of 2 cusped lights in its south side. A half-gable attached to the right was formerly the staircase to the previous 2-storey porch.

The 4-bay south aisle, with the 4th bay overlapping the chancel, has a 2-centred arched doorway in the 1st bay protected by a small 19th-century gabled porch. Three 15th-century 3-light windows with cusped lights, cavetto-moulded surrounds, and depressed arched heads with hoodmoulds are positioned along the aisle. At the west end are one segmental-headed window at ground floor and another at first floor level, each with 2 recessed cusped lights and moulded surround. At the east end is a large 2-centred arched 5-light window with restored Perpendicular tracery and hood mould.

The chancel, mostly of squared limestone, contains two 14th-century 2-light windows with cusped tracery and a 2-centred arched 3-light east window with reticulated tracery (restored in sandstone), all with hoodmoulds.

On the north side, the 1st bay of the nave has a blocked 2-centred arch of a former aisle arcade with an inserted window. The 19th-century aisle begins in the 2nd bay.

Interior features include 4-bay aisle arcades. The early 12th-century south arcade has simple semicircular arches on cylindrical piers with scalloped caps and square abaci. The later 12th-century north arcade has chamfered 2-centred arches on octagonal columns with scalloped caps (though the 1st bay is blocked). Small round-headed 11th-century windows with deeply splayed reveals appear in the wall above the 1st and 3rd columns of the north arcade; the 2nd of these retains remains of medieval painting which continues over the wall to the left.

The remaining west bay of the original very narrow south aisle has a deeply-splayed west window. The corner between this and the enlarged south aisle contains a blocked 2-centred arched doorway at ground floor and another at first floor level on the return side, formerly providing access to the first floor of the porch. The south aisle has chamfered beams (one with cusped diagonal bracing above) and brattished wallplates. The chapel in its east bay contains a fine cusped and ogee-headed piscina.

The nave and chancel are covered by wagon roofs. The tower contains a double-chamfered 2-centred arch and a massive braced timber frame supporting the belfry.

The south side of the chancel has a large 2-centred arch to the chapel with shafts and 2 orders of moulding. The north side contains 14th-century cusped windows of 1, 2, and 2 lights (the first 2 blocked). The east end has a stone tablet with inscription in Lombardic script recording the rebuilding of the chancel by John de Rutherwyke in 1341.

A 12th-century font with corner colonettes is present. The east window contains stained glass said to be 15th-century Flemish, from Costessy Hall in Norfolk.

The church contains numerous fine monuments. Brasses are located on or close to the south pier of the chancel arch: John Barndale (1481); Henry and Elizabeth Slyfield (1598) with their ten children on a plaque below; Edmond Slyfield (1590); and Robert Shiers (1668). In the north aisle are busts of Robert Shiers (1668), Elizabeth his wife (1700), and George Shiers (1685) in a large open-pedimented aedicule with fine carving. Also in the north aisle are a monument to Col. Thomas Moore of Polesden (1735) depicting a reclining figure in Roman military uniform with trophies above (by Thomas Carter sen.) and a relief on an obelisk for William Moore (1746) with weeping putti. At the west end of the north aisle is a pedimented aedicule dated 1744 commemorating various members of the Howard family of Effingham. In the south aisle is a monument to Cornet Francis Geary (killed in the American War of Independence in 1776) with Britannia weeping over a bust and a relief depiction of the action, beneath which is a very long rectangular brass plate commemorating Lord Raglan (died 1855 at Sebastopol). In the chancel is a Gothic tablet for Elizabeth Andrews (1816) under a weeping willow in semi-relief which rises to the top of the wall.