St Nicolas's Church, Kings Norton, is the Anglican parish church of

Kings Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward (politics), ward within the Government of Birmingham, Engl ...

, in the Diocese of Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom.

History

A church has been located on this site as early as the 11th century when the Normans built a small, rectangular chapel. It is not known if this was the result of a rebuild of a previous church. A church on this site has been recorded in documents since 1213. The current St Nicolas's Church dates from the early 13th century, and the spire was constructed between 1446 and 1475. The Norman building was demolished in the 14th century when a new nave, both aisles and the chancel arch were constructed. In the 17th century, almost the whole of the south aisle was re-built, the chancel was re-roofed and the low pitched roof that covered the nave from the 15th century was replaced by a much steeper version. Both north aisle and south aisle were given four separate, high pitched roofs set side by side. A parish was assigned to the church in 1846. The church was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

in 1863 by

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery. He was Architect to the Ecclesiastical Commiss ...

and again in 1871 by W. J. Hopkins. 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 ...

. In 1898 the church started a mission in

Cotteridge Cotteridge is an area of Birmingham, England and part of the Bournville ward. It is about miles south of Birmingham city centre. It has a shopping centre with a mixture of local shops, eateries and national brands. Church The Cotteridge Church i ...

which later became St Agnes' Church, Cotteridge. The Revd

W. V. Awdry Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997) was an English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He was best known for creating Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas and several other characters he created appeared ...

, author of ''

The Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. Tw ...

'' including ''

Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British ''Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, ...

'' was a curate from 1940 to 1946. The church stands next to the historic buildings of

Saracen's Head The Saracen's Head is the name formerly given to a group of late medieval buildings in Kings Norton, Birmingham. The buildings, together with the nearby Old Grammar School, won the BBC '' Restoration'' series in 2004. Following the restoration ...

, recently restored and named Saint Nicolas Place. On 11 October 2021 a plaque was unveiled inside the church bearing an engraving of Thomas.

Churchyard

The churchyard, which has been extended to the west and (across a private road) to the north, contains

war graves War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...

of eleven service personnel of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and seven of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

.
CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.

List of vicars and rectors

*1313 Roger Notte, *???? Richard de la Fielde, *???? John Le Tournour *1325 Robert de Clyve *1344 William Paas *1346-75 Reginald Newton *1476 John Shyngler *1496-1512 William Dowell *1504 Machell Thomas *1513 Humphrey Toye *1523 Thomas Heregreve *1540 Edward Alcock *???? Henry Locock *???? William Gardefielde *1547 Richard Dewhurst *1552 John Butler *1609-11 Henry Kempster *1616 Nathaniel Bradshaw *1623-39 Tobias Gyles *1640-62 Thomas Hall (minister, born 1610), Thomas Hall *1662 William Collins *1663-70 John Horton *1673-75 Timothy White *1676-78 John Guest *1678-84 John Birch *1686-96 John Barney *1696-98 Thomas Wilmot *1699-1717 John Birch *1718-21 Thomas Gem *1722-23 John Birch *1726-30 Joseph Benton *1730-34 John Hancox *1735-39 Richard Carpenter *1741-43 John Waldron *1744-49 S. Collins *1752-61 James Hemming *1762-70 John Hodges *1771-83 Thomas Edwards *1784-1824 Hugh Edwards *1824-59 Joseph Amphlett *1859-80 J. M. L. Aston *1880-93 Digby Henry Cotes-Preedy *1893-1909 Charles William Barnard *1909-23 Hugh Price *1924-48 Thomas Shelton Dunn *1949-65 Edward George Ashford *1965-79 Anthony James Balmforth *1979-92 William Beadon Norman *1992-99 Martin Leigh *1999-2015 Rob Morris *2016–present Larry Wright

Bells

The church has ten bells with a tenor weight of . The ringing chamber is accessed via a wooden staircase of 54 steps. The ringing practice takes place every Tuesday from 19:45 to 21:00, and Sunday service ringing is from 09:50 to 10:30 There is a poem "The New Bell Wake" about these bells.

Organ

Kings Norton St Nicolas and Saracens Head

Parts of the organ date from 1857 by J. Halmshaw, but it has been expanded and restored several times since. A specification of the organ can be found on th
National Pipe Organ Register

List of organists

*1857 Henry Halmshaw *1884 Charles Thompson *1893

Herbert Walter Wareing Herbert Walter Wareing (5 April 1857 – 29 March 1918) was an organist and composer based in England.Who's who in music, Henry Saxe Wyndham, 1915 Life Wareing was the son of John Wareing and Martha Jane. He studied under Dr. Charles Swinne ...

*1907 A. W. Hartland *1925 John Birch *1927 J. W. Brittain *1927 W. Sudworth *1941 W. R. Masters *1950 Mr. Brown *1950

David Gwerfyl Davies David Gwerfyl Davies (1 February 1913 – 1977) was a Welsh organist and composer. Background He was born on 1 February 1913. He was a pupil at Merthyr Tydfil County Grammar School and then University College, Cardiff. He was awarded his BA in mu ...

(later organist of

Brecon Cathedral Brecon Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Aberhonddu), in the town of Brecon, Powys, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales and seat of the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon. Previously the church of Brecon Priory ...

) *1953 Dennis Davenport *1960 Raymond Isaacson *1961 B. W. Purchase *1972 Peter Boswell *1976 Peter Carder *1993 Sylvia Fox

List of assistant organists

*1928 W. R. Masters *1941 W. E. Moore *1950 J. Myers *1958 R. G. Howells *1961 Trevor Jones *1968 Reginald Hall *1974 Martin Schellenberg (later Assistant Organist of

Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. Founded in 1140 and consecrated in 1148, it was originally St Augustine's Abbey but after the Dissolu ...

and then Director of Music (Organist & Master of the Choir) at

Christchurch Priory Christchurch Priory is an ecclesiastical parish and former priory church in Christchurch in the English county of Dorset (formerly in Hampshire). It is one of the longest parish churches in the country and is as large as many of the Church of E ...

) *1978 Andrew Lane *1980 Ceridwen Evans *1990 Sylvia Fox *1998 Kevin Blumer

References

External links

The King’s Norton Parish Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings Norton, Saint Nicholas Church of England church buildings in Birmingham, West Midlands Grade I listed churches in the West Midlands (county) Grade I listed buildings in Birmingham 14th-century church buildings in England Ewan Christian buildings