St Nicholas Church is a former parish church in

Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about from London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rainham, Strood and Gillin ...

, England, next to Rochester Cathedral. It is now the offices of the Board of Education of the Diocese of Rochester. It is a Grade I listed building.

1420s church

Since before the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

in the 11th century, Rochester had a parish of

St Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

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 The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was foun ...

Henry Chichele Henry Chichele ( , also Checheley; – 12 April 1443) was Archbishop of Canterbury (1414–1443) and founded All Souls College, Oxford. Early life Chichele was born at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, in 1363 or 1364; Chicheley told Pope Euge ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, 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, Bishop of Rochester, reconsecrated it. The rebuilt church was completed with Geometric Decorated Gothic tracery 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 Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

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 arch.

Notable burials

Author

William Coles Finch William Coles Finch (1864–1944) was a British historian and author of a number of books on Kent-related topics. He is best known for writing ''Watermills and Windmills'', published in 1933 and reprinted in 1976, which is considered a standa ...

is buried in the churchyard.

References

Bibliography