Church Of St Nicholas

The Church of St. Nicholas is an Anglican parish church largely dating to the 13th and 15th centuries, with substantial restoration work carried out in 1864 and 1960. The main structure is limestone ashlar, with slate roofs, though the chancel is rendered flint and malmstone. The church consists of a nave, a south porch, a chancel, and a west tower.

The nave features three-light windows from the 15th century situated between buttresses. The gabled south porch was reconstructed in 1864 and has an early 15th-century door with casement moulding and a moulded cornice above; the corresponding north door is blocked. An archway in the north wall’s east end is blocked, marking the site of a former chapel demolished in 1959. This includes a reset 13th-century doorway. The chancel, dating to the 13th century, is low with a south priest’s door and lancet windows, with three lancets at the east end. The three-stage west tower has angle buttresses and underwent significant repairs around 1960. It includes a three-light west window with a niche above and pierced transennae to the two-light bell stage. Decorative features include a quatrefoil frieze at the base, a fleur-de-lys frieze below a crenellated parapet, and a stair in the south-east corner, with a sundial high on the south face, along with gargoyles.

The interior includes a four-bay open roof of 1864, supported by carved corbels. A tall, hollow-moulded tower arch and a lower, wider chancel arch are present. The chancel has a low 15th-century roof with moulded principals and purlins, and deep moulded wall plates. A blocked squint leads to the site of the former chapel, and there is an arched piscina with a clover-leaf sinking. A small 17th-century chest is located under the tower. The church contains several monuments, including five wall tablets in the chancel, and three in the nave, inscribed with names and dates. These include examples by Osmund of Sarum and R. Davis of Bath. A font sits under the tower arch, consisting of a deep octagonal drum on a short pedestal. Pulpit and sanctuary rail are of 19th-century design.