Church Of St Nicholas

The Church of St Nicholas is an Anglican parish church, dating from 1844 and designed by Benjamin Ferrey. It is constructed of limestone ashlar and square rubble, with a slate roof. The church is an example of the Norman revival style, reportedly inspired by Thaon in Normandy. It comprises a nave and aisles, a short chancel, and an apse. A tower rises above the west end of the north aisle. The west door features two recessed orders with nook shafts, incorporating chevrons, bowtell and twisted roll detailing. The west window is similarly adorned with light chevron and a flanking intersecting blind arcade. Attached shafts divide the elevation between the aisle and tower. The side elevations consist of five bays, defined by broad, flat pilasters connecting a plinth and a corbel table. Simple round-arched windows are present, with a continuous string course. The clerestory features narrow lights with incised moulded heads. The apse also has a similar design, with alternate corbels of the table being grotesques. The three-stage tower has open twin lights to the bell stage and a parapet corbel table with pronounced gargoyles, topped with a pyramidal roof.

The interior of the nave comprises five bays, showcasing varied scalloped capitals and two plain orders of arches. Wall shafts, supported by corbels, carry bracketed ties and arch-braced principals for the roof. Blind chevron arches are located at the east and west ends of the nave. The chancel is raised three steps and features a two-bay barrel vault and an apsidal end. The chancel incorporates tall blind arcading between embrasures, again with nook shafts. Encaustic tiles pave the floor. The aisles have plain arch buttresses to the nave arcade. Fittings include a limestone font with an arcaded bowl on a square base, bearing an inscription cast into the lead lining. The oak pulpit is characterised by open intersecting arcading and an iron handrail to the steps. A marble credence table, supported by a Romanesque-style column, is located in the sanctuary, alongside remaining Romanesque timber wall arcading from former choir stalls. The organ was built by Bevington of London. Notable glass features include good apsidal windows depicting St Margaret, St Nicholas, and the Resurrection in the centre, with aisle glass primarily dating from 1856. The west window is a design by Willement. Monuments include a limestone Gothic aedicule (1846) in the north aisle, dedicated to Philip Selfe, and a war memorial crafted from black and white marbles within the nave.