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

Kings Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council war ...

, in the Diocese of Birmingham, West Midlands, England.

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 musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...

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 (London), National Portrait Gallery. He was Arch ...

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

. 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 ...

which later became

St Agnes' Church, Cotteridge St Agnes’ Church is a former Church of England parish church in Cotteridge, Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midl ...

. The Revd W. V. Awdry, 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 Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by Wi ...

'' including ''

Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional, anthropomorphised tank locomotive who originated from the British children's books ''The Railway Series'', created and written by Wilbert Awdry with his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, first publish ...

'' 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 one of 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 res ...

, 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 A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

of eleven service personnel of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and seven of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.
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 Swinner ...

*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 (), 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 and then the Parish Church of S ...

) *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, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bristol. The cathedral was originally an abbey dedicated to St ...

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 o ...

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

References

External links

The Kings Norton Parish Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings Norton, Saint Nicolas 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