Parish Church Of St Nicholas

The parish church of St Nicholas stands in the churchyard of Sydling St Nicholas, near Sydling Churchy. The church largely dates from the mid-15th century, although it incorporates earlier foundations from the 13th century. The west tower was built in the early 15th century, with the nave and chancel significantly rebuilt around the mid-15th century. A south aisle was added around 1500, and a north porch approximately contemporary with that. The construction utilizes rubble stone and flint walls with local stone and Ham stone dressings, all covered by slate and lead roofs.

The west tower has set-back buttresses, three stages, and an embattled parapet with gargoyles. The parapet is topped with 18th-century pinnacles and panelled pedestals. The west doorway features the upper part of the plinth carried over as a label, with carved paterae on the pointed arch. The west window has three cinquefoiled lights with vertical tracery in a pointed head, with moulded reveals and a label. The bell chamber features windows with two trefoiled lights in a two-centred head, with a label, though the south window has been blocked. A newell stair-turret is located in the north-east corner, with internal access. The nave has five windows, buttressed between, each with three pointed lights and vertical tracery, with moulded reveals and a label. The north doorway has moulded jambs and a four-centred head. The chancel incorporates a single 3-light east window and a north doorway, rebuilt in the mid-18th century by Sir William Smith. The south aisle displays diagonal corner buttresses, two heavy buttresses added in the 17th century, and a slightly embattled brick parapet with pinnacles, all from the 18th century. The south wall windows are similar to those on the north wall. The north porch has an outer archway with moulded jambs, a pointed arch, and a label with returned stops, topped with an embattled parapet that includes panelled bases for pinnacles and large gargoyles at the angles. A 17th-century carved mitre, originating from elsewhere, is set within the central merlon.

Inside, the south arcade is characterized by pointed, moulded arches springing from moulded and shafted piers with capitals and bases. An east doorway leads to the former rood-loft location. The nave roof is of a trussed-rafter type, ceiled on the soffit and with a ribbed, bossed structure at the intersections. The porch roof, late 15th century, has two bays, moulded principals, a ridge, and purlins. A 12th-century font features a crudely cut circular bowl with a moulded reeded band and a polygonal stem; a plain 15th-century octagonal bowl is also present. The chancel contains a collection of fine wall monuments dedicated to the Smith family, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, set into the north and south walls. Wall monuments also exist in the nave and south aisle.