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 east-southeast of London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, ...

, England, next to

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is in Rochester, Kent, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Rochester and seat (''cathedra'') of the Bishop of Rocheste ...

. 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 si ...

. It is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

in the 11th century, Rochester had a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

St Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (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 Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

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 (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester, Kent, Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Rochester Cathedral, Cathedral Chur ...

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; Chichele told Pope Eu ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, 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 and theologian. Biography John Buckeridge was born c. 1562 in Draycot Foliat, the son of William Buckeridge of Draycot Foliat and his wife Elizabeth Buckeridge (née Kibblew ...

, 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 th ...

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 or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

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 (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

arch.

Notable burials

Author

William Coles Finch William Coles Finch (23 October 1864 – 6 June 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 ...

is buried in the churchyard.

References

Bibliography

* * * ''via''

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