St Nicholas Church is a former parish church in Rochester, Kent, England, next to

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an English church of Norman architecture in Rochester, Medway, Rochester, Kent. The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church o ...

. It is now the offices of the Board of Education of the

Diocese of Rochester The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in the English county of Kent and the Province of Canterbury. The cathedral church of the diocese is Rochester Cathedral in the former city of Rochester. The bishop's Latin episcopal signa ...

. It is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

1420s church

Since before the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, Rochester had a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of St Nicholas that worshipped at its own altar in Rochester Cathedral. But early in the 15th century there was a dispute between parishioners and the Bishop of Rochester. Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury, intervened and in 1421 the parishioners of St Nicholas were instructed to move out of the cathedral to a church of their own. The church of St Nicholas was duly built just north of the cathedral, in the north corner of the lay cemetery. It was completed in 1423 and consecrated on 18 December.

1620s rebuilt church

By 1620 the church was poor condition. It was partly demolished, rebuilt, and on 24 September 1624

John Buckeridge John Buckeridge (c. 1562 – 23 May 1631) was an English churchman. Biography John Buckeridge was born c. 1562 in Draycot Foliat, the son of William Buckeridge of Draycot Foliat and his wife Elizabeth Buckeridge (née Kibblewhite). His pater ...

, Bishop of Rochester, reconsecrated it. The rebuilt church was completed with Geometric Decorated Gothic

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...

windows: an example of 17th-century English Gothic Survival architecture. The church was restored between 1860 and 1862, when the windows were replaced with Gothic Revival ones, again replicating a Decorated Gothic style. In 1963–64 Diocesan offices were inserted in the west end and aisles, which were partitioned off for the purpose. In 1971 the 17th-century pulpit was removed. In 1973 the pews followed it, being replaced with chairs. In 1973–74 the Diocese made major repairs to the stonework at a cost of £21,000. St Nicholas is now the headquarters of the Diocesan Board of Education.

Description

The church has a north tower (ritually at the northwest corner). It has three stages, and a door on the northwest side. The belfry has a 17th-century frame for hanging three bells. Two bells were owned in 1624 though none currently remain in the church's possession. The church has a five-light west window framed by buttresses, with a doorway below; three-light windows in the south aisle, with buttresses between; and a five-light south window. The tower, and the door below the northwest window, are thought to be 15th-century. Inside are five-bay arcades on 17th-century Tuscan columns. Tuscan half-columns support the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

arch.

Notable burials

Author William Coles Finch is buried in the churchyard.

References

Bibliography

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