St Nicholas, Blakeney
Encyclopedia
St Nicholas is the Anglican
parish church
of Blakeney, Norfolk
in the deanery
of Holt
and the Diocese of Norwich
. It stands just inland of and about 30 m (100 ft) above the small port. Of the original 13th-century building only the chancel
remains, the rest having been rebuilt in the prosperous 15th century; the chancel may have survived owing to its link to the nearby friary
. Unusual architectural
features include a second tower, used as a beacon, at its east end, a stepped seven-light window in the chancel, and a hammerbeam roof
in the nave
. Much of the original church furniture was lost in the Reformation
, but a late-Victorian restoration
recreated something of the original appearance, as well as repairing and refacing the building.
The Victorian woodwork was created to match the few older pieces that remained, or to follow a similar style; thus, the new wooden pulpit
follows the themes of the medieval
font
. Of the stained glass
smashed in the Reformation only fragments have been recovered, and these have been incorporated in a window in the north aisle
of the church. Nine Arts and Crafts
windows by James Powell and Sons
are featured on the east and south sides of the church, and the north porch has two modern blue-themed windows. St Nicholas contains some notable memorials, including several plaques for the Blakeney lifeboat
s and their crews, and much pre-Reformation graffiti
, particularly depictions of ships. The location of the latter suggests that they were votive
in nature, although the saint concerned is now unknown. St Nicholas is a nationally important building, with a Grade I listing for its exceptional architectural interest.
of Blakeney, Norfolk
, a small English town with a history dating back to at least early Neolithic
times. It was one of a number of small ports opening onto the sheltered inlet of Blakeney Haven
, and exported a range of products including fish, grain, and timber. In the Domesday Book
of 1086 the town is recorded under the name "Esnuterle" (Snitterley); the present-day name first appears in 1340.
Domesday recorded an early church at Snitterley, but its location is unknown, and it may not have been the present site of St Nicholas. There are scheduled monument and Grade II listed ruins of a medieval building in the salt marsh
es north of the present town described as "Blakeney Chapel
", but, despite the name, it now seems likely that this was a domestic dwelling rather than a religious edifice. Another possible chapel site east of the Glaven
was shown on an 1835 map, but there is no documentation to support that identification.
The nearby Carmelite
friary
had its own church by 1321, built on land donated by tenants of William de Roos
, "that the Carmelite friars, by the King's license, and that of Sir William Roos, might inhabit therein for ever, and might build a chapel". The friars were also given 100 marks to build their church, in return for which they undertook "to pray for the good estate of the said Sir William Roos and his Lady Maud ... and to have and to hold that lord and lady, and their heirs, for their principal founders".
The original building on the present site was constructed in the late 13th or early 14th century, at around the same time as the friary, which was founded in about 1296. Its hilltop location is unusual for the area; most nearby churches are built on mounds near water. The new church was dedicated to Saint Nicholas
, the patron saint
of sailors, and the living
was first recorded as being in the gift of Sir John de Cockfield, passing to his Bacon descendants before its acquisition by the Abbot and Convent of Langley
in 1375. The abbey controlled more than 60 Norfolk parishes, and the living of Blakeney was within its gift for the next sixty years, ending with the dissolution
of the abbey in 1435. The patronage seems then to have passed to the Earl of Sussex
, but quickly transferred to John Calthorpe, a descendant of the original founder, John Cockfield, and it remained with his family until 1922. Sir Alfred Jodrell
then acquired the patronage, bequeathing it to Keble College, Oxford
on his death in 1956. Since 1989, the benefice has been in the gift of Keble College, and the Bishop of Norwich
.
Blakeney gained its market charter in 1222, and by the early 15th century it was one of the few ports permitted to trade in horses, gold and silver, through "merchants sworn by oath to the king", which contributed to the town's growing wealth. Few Early English churches survive in Norfolk owing to extensive rebuilding amid the prosperity of the 15th century, and the thriving port of Blakeney was no exception. Only the chancel
avoided major reconstruction in 1434, probably because of its association with the Carmelite friary; John Calthorpe specified in his will of 1530 that he was to buried "in the White ffryes of Sniterlie [Blakeney] in the myddys of the chancel". The Perpendicular nave
and the 31 m (104 ft) west tower were part of the 1434 rebuilding, but the unusual second, slender, tower at the north-east corner of the church was of a later date.
inevitably affected St Nicholas. Edward VI's
1547 injunction decreed that all images in churches were to be dismantled or destroyed, including stained glass
, shrines, rood
s, statues and bells, and altar
s were to be dismantled and replaced by wooden tables. Blakeney did not escape these changes; an Inventory of Church Goods of 1552 and official visitations later in the century revealed that the chancel was falling into decay and "the church porche defiled with cattel". The reports continue "the pavement is much broken ... the walls are in decaie ... east window is much broken ... the chancel needs paving" – it was even alleged that graves were left uncovered. The rector from 1590 to 1621, Jacob Poynter, and his curate, Mr Aldriche, were keen Puritan
reformers who refused to wear the surplice
or use the Book of Common Prayer
, and seemed to have had little concern for the fabric of the church. One positive outcome of the Reformation was that registers were to be kept in every church to record baptisms, marriages and burials; the Blakeney registers are very largely complete from 1538.
By 1717, the local population seems to have been very homogeneous in terms of belief: "Persons, servants included, above the age of sixteen, the men chiefly sea-faring are supposed to be rather above three hundred. Papist none. Protestant dissenter none". Nevertheless, in 1854 there were Non-conformist
chapels of three denominations, of which only the Methodist
remains.
The church was originally constructed of flint with stone dressings, but was substantially refaced with knapped flint in the 1880s; the tower was restored
at the same time. A wall was built behind the altar in 1886 to create a separate sacristy
for storing vestment
s and other items. The west tower was restored again in 1989, and the current doors to the sacristy were added in the same year.
Electric lighting was installed in 1938 and an outer door for the north porch added in 1962. Major renovations were carried out from 1981 to 1983; these comprised repairs to the north aisle roof and the east tower, plaster
ing and limewashing
of the chancel, replacement of the old electrical and heating systems, and minor work on the organ. The most recent round of restoration was the 2000 reflooring of the nave, installation of a vestry
, toilet and kitchen, a new heating system with a detached boiler house, and reglazing of the north porch. Because of the remoteness of the altar from the congregation
, a second altar was erected between the parclose screens (extensions forward from the ends of the rood screen) to enable a more intimate celebration of the Eucharist
. St Nicholas was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1959, which recognizes it as a building of exceptional interest.
The benefice has expanded during the long history of its church. Cockthorpe and Little Langham
parish was added in 1606, Glandford in 1743, Wiveton
in 1922, and Cley
in 1935. The parish is in the deanery of Holt, the Diocese of Norwich and the Province of Canterbury
. The rector originally received tithes to support himself and the church, but this was later replaced by rent from the glebe
(church lands). Rector Pointer, for example, received tithes and also had the income from the sales of his corn
and saffron
crops. The state had supported poorer clergy since the introduction of Queen Anne's Bounty
in 1704, but since 1947 the Church Commissioners
have been responsible for arranging the stipend
s and pensions of Anglican priests.
es at each corner. The buttresses are constructed from flint and stone, and have arched insets on the faces. They rest on stone plinth
s, each bearing carved shields. That on the north buttress has an inaccurate rendition of the arms
of the see
, the other has a design featuring a cross and a dolphin, The tower is surmounted with crenellations and pinnacle
s, and has three Perpendicular lights in the belfry
and a large four-light west window in the same style.
The 30 m (100 ft) long and 14 m (47 ft) high nave
, and the aisle
s on its north and south sides, have six bays
lit by Perpendicular windows, each aisle bay window having four lights apiece, with three-light windows in the clerestory
above. The north porch, rebuilt in 1896, occupies the westernmost bay in the north aisle. The nave's oak and chestnut hammerbeam roof
dates from the 15th century, and features carved angels on the hammers. These rest on arched braces, except above each window, where the hammers rest on corbel
s instead. The only trace of the earlier 13th-century nave is the reuse of some older stone, mainly in the north aisle, and the raised chancel walls, and some Purbeck Marble
fragments beneath the west tower.
The Lady Chapel in the south aisle and St Thomas' Chapel in the north aisle were dedicated to St Mary
and St Thomas of Canterbury
respectively. They fell into disuse in the Reformation, but were restored in the 1880s.
The 13th-century chancel has two rib vaulted bays, making it one of only six extant Early English vaulted chancels. Its walls were raised in the 15th century by constructing a chamber above the vaulting using stone from the demolished 13th-century nave, but, from the outside, this end of the church is still lower than the western section. Internally, the chancel vault is much lower than the adjacent nave because of the room above. It has three 15th-century Perpendicular windows down each side, and is notable for the unusual east window with seven stepped lights, a feature found in only two other Early English churches, Lincoln Cathedral
and St Martins in Ockham
. The chancel contains three simple sedilia
, or priest's seats, with trefoil
arches and round columns. The sacristry behind the altar has a small lancet window, and the chamber above the chancel, which is floored only by the curved upper surface of the vault below, is lit by a single two-light window.
The polygon
al eastern tower has stepped buttresses at its corners and louvred
belfry
windows just below the parapet. Its origins are not entirely clear, but it was possibly originally a turret for stairs leading to a room over the chancel, later extended upwards as an aesthetic enhancement and to act as a beacon for mariners. Its date is uncertain, but it is much later than the chancel. Although its lack of height compared to the west tower has led to some questioning of its suitability as a beacon, it has been suggested that lining up the two towers guided ships into the navigable channel between the inlet's sandbanks; this is the "leading light" practice later achieved using pairs of lighthouse
s at different levels.
dates from the 15th century; its carved panels alternate images of the symbols of the Four Evangelists
with seated figures of the Doctors of the Church
(Saint Ambrose
, Saint Augustine
, Saint Jerome
, and Pope Gregory I
). The central column carries shields depicting the Instruments of the Passion
and the Holy Wounds
. The eastern shield is unusual in that a sword is shown with an ear stuck to it. This refers to the story of Saint Peter
striking off the ear of Malchus
, the High Priest's servant, in the garden of Gethsemane
.
Most East Anglian churches lost their medieval furnishings in the upheavals of the Reformation, and Blakeney is no exception. Apart from the hammerbeam roof, there is little original wood work in the nave; a few benches in the aisles, the fleur-de-lis-decorated
beam supporting the rood
, and two panels of the rood screen
. The chancel retains four of its original choir stalls with their misericord
s, which are decorated with head and leaf motifs on the arms. St Nicholas benefited from sympathetic restoration
in the late 19th and early 20th century. The new stalls and misericords match the style of the old, and the 1886 pulpit
echoes the font, with the Instruments of the Passion on the stone stand, and the twelve Apostles
carved on the woodwork. The pulpit has been described as "Victorian craftsmanship of matchless quality". The north porch was restored in 1896, and in the following year the west tower was repaired, and pew
s of a 15th-century pattern placed in the nave.
1910 saw the restoration of the rood screen in a style consistent with that of the two ancient panels, the reconstruction of the rood loft, and the installation of a Norman and Beard
two-manual
organ
with more than a thousand pipes. The organ pipe
s are above the parclose screens; the bellow
s, wind chest and electric blower are concealed in the chamber above the chancel. The stalls with their misericord
s were restored in 1913. The rood crucifix
, flanked by St Mary and St John
, came from Germany in 1913.
Much church plate, such as the chalice
and pyx
had been confiscated, sold or stolen in the heat of the Reformation. In the more tolerant climate of Elizabethan
England, the excesses of extreme Protestantism were curbed by centralised control of the Church of England
, the Act of Uniformity
and the Book of Common Prayer. Most churches then had to buy a new chalice
; Blakeney's was purchased in 1567, and exchanged for another in 1716. One lost treasure is a "Map of the World" (Mappa Mundi et Chroniculum Mundi), which was recorded as present in the church in 1368. This is thought more likely to be a version of Ranulf Higdon's
Polychronicon, a geographical text, than a true map like the Hereford Mappa Mundi
.
The stained glass
is mostly late 19th-century Arts and Crafts
by James Powell and Sons
. Powell, coincidentally based at Whitefriars, a former Carmelite friary in London, used leading members of the movement such as Edward Burne-Jones
as designers, and his nine windows at Blakeney are regarded as fine examples of his work. The east window dating from 1895 represents the Te Deum
, and the south windows, glazed in 1900, tell the story of the early British church. Some 15th-century fragments of the original Norwich School
glass that had been buried in the churchyard during the Reformation were incorporated into one of the otherwise plain windows in the north aisle in 1938, showing "Christ rising from the tomb", with six figures above. Five of the figures are angels; there would have been nine originally, one for each order. The sixth image depicts a female saint wearing a crown. The angel's legs are clothed in "feather tights
", believed to have been derived from costumes worn in medieval religious plays. The north porch is flanked by two blue-themed modern stained glass windows by Jane Gray
from 2002, one dedicated to the RAF
, the other to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
(RNLI). The stained glass, taken as a whole, has been described as showing a "phenomenal standard of composition and artistry ... Few churches contain such a treasury." The current reredos
and altar were erected in 1923, as was a wooden war memorial in the north aisle.
Most churches prior to the Reformation had painted walls, often with mural
s; these were whitewashed by the reformers, and often religious texts or the Ten Commandments
replaced the images. These inscriptions were in turn obliterated under the Catholic Queen Mary
. At Blakeney, as elsewhere, the formerly coloured walls are now the plain white typical of English churches.
and a Latin inscription describing him as , "a founder [benefactor] of the convent of friars". It is possible that he was originally buried in the chancel of the Carmelite friary, as he requested, but was re-interred in the nave of St Nicholas at the Dissolution. A number of other stones carry standard tags in Latin or English requesting prayers or simply stating the identity of the internee, but Sir John Smyth's 1460 memorial enjoined "As I am that shall you be, Pray for the sowle of me".
Blakeney was a lifeboat
station from around 1825 to 1924. Various wall plaques commemorate the boats' rescues and crew losses from 1862, when the RNLI took over the running of the service, up to the station's closure. There are two blue wooden boards from the RNLI listing the earlier lifeboats and their achievements; the Brightwell (1862), another Brightwell (1863), the Zaccheus Burroughs (1891), and the Hettie (1873). Next to these is a stone plaque listing the rescues from 1877 to 1924, including those of the last lifeboat, the Caroline (1908), and further along the north aisle a painting of George Long, coxswain
of the Caroline, is placed above the record of its most famous rescues on consecutive days on 7 and 8 January 1918, when 30 people were saved from two steamers in a storm. A large wooden board acts as a war memorial
, listing those locals who died in various military engagements. The clock in the west tower was donated by a Mrs Cooke in 1945 in memory of her late husband and sons.
, unless they have been heavily limewashed or resurfaced. The churches of the Glaven ports in general, and Blakeney in particular, conform to this pattern. St Nicholas has an extensive array of prayers, merchant's mark
s and other symbols, but is notable for the large number of depictions of ships, at least 30, heavily concentrated in the nave towards the eastern end of the south aisle. There is a side altar there of unknown dedication, and an empty niche that would have once held the image of a saint. The pillars were painted red in the Middle Ages, and ship images scratched into the soft, chalky stone would have been much more conspicuous than they are now. It is likely that the images, mostly of smaller ships, were created as votive offering
s by the seafaring inhabitants of the port. The carving of ship graffiti in religious buildings is a tradition in ports going back to the Bronze Age
, and has been found across Europe.
Mason's mark
s were used by the stonemason
to identify his work, and in the days of the medieval craft guild
s may also have had mystical or religious significance. In England, the use of these marks became widespread after the Norman Conquest
. Similarly, merchants had their own marks to identify their products, and these frequently appeared on houses, gravestones and church walls.
, Gough-Calthorpes
and Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpes
has already been noted. A Henry Calthorpe was rector from 1743 to 1781, and was followed by Richard Thomas Gough, who held the living for 43 years. Gough and Richard Henry Tillard, incumbent from 1858 to 1906, are commemorated by plaques in the chancel. Of the other rectors, Mowbray O'Rorke had been Bishop of Accra
from 1913, but accepted the Blakeney living in 1924, remaining until he retired in 1939, and Clifford Leofric Purdy (Jim) Bishop, rector from 1949 to 1953, rose to become Bishop of Malmesbury
from 1962.
The graveyard
, as in many coastal parish churches, contains mainly local people and seafarers. Several stones bear the surname "Long", a name carried by five of the crew of the Caroline on its epic rescues in January 1918. A notable outsider buried here is Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin a leading British racing driver and one of the "Bentley Boys
" of the 1920s.
for healing, and sometimes other variants from the standard format involving music or Taizé-influenced
worship. The parish accepts the diocese's guidance on permitting baptism
and marriage in church after a divorce
, and claims to work closely with its Catholic and Methodist neighbours.
St Nicholas is also used for non-religious events such as flower festivals, craft workshops and musical performances, and it has won diocesan tourism awards for its in-church information facilities. The church appeared in Simon Jenkins’
book, 1000 Best Churches, where it was described as having "a sense of vigorous activity" and as a "a rare example of what every large parish church should aspire to being, also a community centre, market place and museum". It was also featured in the Daily Telegraph's list of 100 favourite churches, and a Norfolk tourism website rated it one of the top ten churches in the county.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of Blakeney, Norfolk
Blakeney, Norfolk
Blakeney is a coastal village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Blakeney lies within the Norfolk Coast AONB and the North Norfolk Heritage Coast. The North Norfolk Coastal Path passes through the village...
in the deanery
Deanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
of Holt
Holt, Norfolk
Holt is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...
and the Diocese of Norwich
Diocese of Norwich
Diocese of Norwich can refer to*the English Anglican Diocese of Norwich, England*the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, USA...
. It stands just inland of and about 30 m (100 ft) above the small port. Of the original 13th-century building only the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
remains, the rest having been rebuilt in the prosperous 15th century; the chancel may have survived owing to its link to the nearby friary
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. Unusual architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
features include a second tower, used as a beacon, at its east end, a stepped seven-light window in the chancel, and a hammerbeam roof
Hammerbeam roof
Hammerbeam roof, in architecture, is the name given to an open timber roof, typical of English Gothic architecture, using short beams projecting from the wall.- Design :...
in the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
. Much of the original church furniture was lost in the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
, but a late-Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
recreated something of the original appearance, as well as repairing and refacing the building.
The Victorian woodwork was created to match the few older pieces that remained, or to follow a similar style; thus, the new wooden pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
follows the themes of the medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
. Of the stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
smashed in the Reformation only fragments have been recovered, and these have been incorporated in a window in the north aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
of the church. Nine Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
windows by James Powell and Sons
James Powell and Sons
The firm of James Powell and Sons, also known as Whitefriars Glass, were English glassmakers, leadlighters and stained glass window manufacturers...
are featured on the east and south sides of the church, and the north porch has two modern blue-themed windows. St Nicholas contains some notable memorials, including several plaques for the Blakeney lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
s and their crews, and much pre-Reformation graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
, particularly depictions of ships. The location of the latter suggests that they were votive
Votive offering
A votive deposit or votive offering is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for broadly religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally made in order to gain favor with supernatural...
in nature, although the saint concerned is now unknown. St Nicholas is a nationally important building, with a Grade I listing for its exceptional architectural interest.
Foundation to 1547
St Nicholas is the parish churchParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of Blakeney, Norfolk
Blakeney, Norfolk
Blakeney is a coastal village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Blakeney lies within the Norfolk Coast AONB and the North Norfolk Heritage Coast. The North Norfolk Coastal Path passes through the village...
, a small English town with a history dating back to at least early Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
times. It was one of a number of small ports opening onto the sheltered inlet of Blakeney Haven
Blakeney Haven
Blakeney Haven was a inlet on the north coast of Norfolk into which the River Glaven flowed. Sheltered behind Blakeney Point, it was a major shipping area in the Middle Ages, with important ports at Wiveton, Cley next the Sea and Blakeney. Cley and Wiveton silted up in the 17th century, but...
, and exported a range of products including fish, grain, and timber. In the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 the town is recorded under the name "Esnuterle" (Snitterley); the present-day name first appears in 1340.
Domesday recorded an early church at Snitterley, but its location is unknown, and it may not have been the present site of St Nicholas. There are scheduled monument and Grade II listed ruins of a medieval building in the salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es north of the present town described as "Blakeney Chapel
Blakeney Chapel
Blakeney Chapel is a scheduled monument and Grade II listed building on the Norfolk coast. Despite its name, it is in the parish of Cley next the Sea, not the adjoining village of Blakeney, and was probably not a chapel. Only the foundations and a ruined wall remain, the ruins indicating that the...
", but, despite the name, it now seems likely that this was a domestic dwelling rather than a religious edifice. Another possible chapel site east of the Glaven
River Glaven
The River Glaven is 10½ miles long and flows through picturesque North Norfolk countryside. Rising from a tiny headwater in Bodham the river starts just 2 miles before Selbrigg Pond where three streams combine at the outfall...
was shown on an 1835 map, but there is no documentation to support that identification.
The nearby Carmelite
Carmelites
The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
friary
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
had its own church by 1321, built on land donated by tenants of William de Roos
William de Ros, 2nd Baron de Ros
William de Ros, 2nd Baron de Ros of Helmsley was a claimant to the crown of Scotland. He was the son of Robert de Ros, 1st Baron de Ros....
, "that the Carmelite friars, by the King's license, and that of Sir William Roos, might inhabit therein for ever, and might build a chapel". The friars were also given 100 marks to build their church, in return for which they undertook "to pray for the good estate of the said Sir William Roos and his Lady Maud ... and to have and to hold that lord and lady, and their heirs, for their principal founders".
The original building on the present site was constructed in the late 13th or early 14th century, at around the same time as the friary, which was founded in about 1296. Its hilltop location is unusual for the area; most nearby churches are built on mounds near water. The new church was dedicated to Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
, the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of sailors, and the living
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
was first recorded as being in the gift of Sir John de Cockfield, passing to his Bacon descendants before its acquisition by the Abbot and Convent of Langley
Langley Abbey
Langley Abbey was an abbey in Norfolk, England.There are remains of the church and barn as well as earthworks of other buildings and fish ponds. The site was partially restored and opened to the public to a museum in 2010....
in 1375. The abbey controlled more than 60 Norfolk parishes, and the living of Blakeney was within its gift for the next sixty years, ending with the dissolution
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
of the abbey in 1435. The patronage seems then to have passed to the Earl of Sussex
Earl of Sussex
Earl of Sussex is a title that has been created several times in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The early Earls of Arundel were often also called Earls of Sussex....
, but quickly transferred to John Calthorpe, a descendant of the original founder, John Cockfield, and it remained with his family until 1922. Sir Alfred Jodrell
Alfred Jodrell
Alfred Jodrell was the fourth and last of the Jodrell Baronets, assuming the title in 1882. The title became extinct on his death. He founded a shell museum in Glanford, near his Norfolk home at Bayfield Hall, to house his collection accumulated over six decades...
then acquired the patronage, bequeathing it to Keble College, Oxford
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to the south by Museum Road, and to the west by Blackhall...
on his death in 1956. Since 1989, the benefice has been in the gift of Keble College, and the Bishop of Norwich
Bishop of Norwich
The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers most of the County of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The see is in the City of Norwich where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided...
.
Blakeney gained its market charter in 1222, and by the early 15th century it was one of the few ports permitted to trade in horses, gold and silver, through "merchants sworn by oath to the king", which contributed to the town's growing wealth. Few Early English churches survive in Norfolk owing to extensive rebuilding amid the prosperity of the 15th century, and the thriving port of Blakeney was no exception. Only the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
avoided major reconstruction in 1434, probably because of its association with the Carmelite friary; John Calthorpe specified in his will of 1530 that he was to buried "in the White ffryes of Sniterlie [Blakeney] in the myddys of the chancel". The Perpendicular nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and the 31 m (104 ft) west tower were part of the 1434 rebuilding, but the unusual second, slender, tower at the north-east corner of the church was of a later date.
Reformation and after
The English ReformationEnglish Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
inevitably affected St Nicholas. Edward VI's
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
1547 injunction decreed that all images in churches were to be dismantled or destroyed, including stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
, shrines, rood
Rood
A rood is a cross or crucifix, especially a large one in a church; a large sculpture or sometimes painting of the crucifixion of Jesus.Rood is an archaic word for pole, from Old English rōd "pole", specifically "cross", from Proto-Germanic *rodo, cognate to Old Saxon rōda, Old High German ruoda...
s, statues and bells, and altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
s were to be dismantled and replaced by wooden tables. Blakeney did not escape these changes; an Inventory of Church Goods of 1552 and official visitations later in the century revealed that the chancel was falling into decay and "the church porche defiled with cattel". The reports continue "the pavement is much broken ... the walls are in decaie ... east window is much broken ... the chancel needs paving" – it was even alleged that graves were left uncovered. The rector from 1590 to 1621, Jacob Poynter, and his curate, Mr Aldriche, were keen Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
reformers who refused to wear the surplice
Surplice
A surplice is a liturgical vestment of the Western Christian Church...
or use the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
, and seemed to have had little concern for the fabric of the church. One positive outcome of the Reformation was that registers were to be kept in every church to record baptisms, marriages and burials; the Blakeney registers are very largely complete from 1538.
By 1717, the local population seems to have been very homogeneous in terms of belief: "Persons, servants included, above the age of sixteen, the men chiefly sea-faring are supposed to be rather above three hundred. Papist none. Protestant dissenter none". Nevertheless, in 1854 there were Non-conformist
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
chapels of three denominations, of which only the Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
remains.
The church was originally constructed of flint with stone dressings, but was substantially refaced with knapped flint in the 1880s; the tower was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
at the same time. A wall was built behind the altar in 1886 to create a separate sacristy
Sacristy
A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building...
for storing vestment
Vestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially among Latin Rite and other Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans...
s and other items. The west tower was restored again in 1989, and the current doors to the sacristy were added in the same year.
Electric lighting was installed in 1938 and an outer door for the north porch added in 1962. Major renovations were carried out from 1981 to 1983; these comprised repairs to the north aisle roof and the east tower, plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
ing and limewashing
Whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a very low-cost type of paint made from slaked lime and chalk . Various other additives are also used...
of the chancel, replacement of the old electrical and heating systems, and minor work on the organ. The most recent round of restoration was the 2000 reflooring of the nave, installation of a vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
, toilet and kitchen, a new heating system with a detached boiler house, and reglazing of the north porch. Because of the remoteness of the altar from the congregation
Local church
A local church is a Christian congregation of members and clergy.Local church may also refer to:* Local churches , a Christian group based on the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and associated with the Living Stream Ministry publishing house.* Parish church, a local church united with...
, a second altar was erected between the parclose screens (extensions forward from the ends of the rood screen) to enable a more intimate celebration of the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
. St Nicholas was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1959, which recognizes it as a building of exceptional interest.
The benefice has expanded during the long history of its church. Cockthorpe and Little Langham
Cockthorpe, Norfolk
Cockthorpe is a hamlet within the civil parish of Binham, in the English county of Norfolk. It is north-west of Holt, north-west of Norwich and north of London. The nearest railway station is at Sheringham for the Bittern Line which runs between Sheringham, Cromer and Norwich. The nearest...
parish was added in 1606, Glandford in 1743, Wiveton
Wiveton
Wiveton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the west bank of the River Glaven, inland from the coast and directly across the river from the village of Cley next the Sea...
in 1922, and Cley
Cley next the Sea
Cley next the Sea is a village on the River Glaven in Norfolk, England, 4 miles north-west of Holt and east of Blakeney. The main A149 coast road runs through the centre of the village, causing congestion in the summer months due to the tight, narrow streets. It lies within the Norfolk Coast AONB...
in 1935. The parish is in the deanery of Holt, the Diocese of Norwich and the Province of Canterbury
Province of Canterbury
The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England...
. The rector originally received tithes to support himself and the church, but this was later replaced by rent from the glebe
Glebe
Glebe Glebe Glebe (also known as Church furlong or parson's closes is an area of land within a manor and parish used to support a parish priest.-Medieval origins:...
(church lands). Rector Pointer, for example, received tithes and also had the income from the sales of his corn
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
and saffron
Saffron
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...
crops. The state had supported poorer clergy since the introduction of Queen Anne's Bounty
Queen Anne's Bounty
Queen Anne's Bounty was a fund established in 1704 to augment the incomes of the poorer clergy of the Church of England. The bounty was funded by the tax on the incomes of all Church of England clergy, which was paid to the Pope until the Reformation, and thereafter to the Crown.In 1890, the total...
in 1704, but since 1947 the Church Commissioners
Church Commissioners
The Church Commissioners is a body managing the historic property assets of the Church of England. It was set up in 1948 combining the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners formed in 1836...
have been responsible for arranging the stipend
Stipend
A stipend is a form of salary, such as for an internship or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from a wage or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work performed, instead it represents a payment that enables somebody to be exempt partly or wholly from waged or salaried...
s and pensions of Anglican priests.
Description
The west tower of this large, lead-roofed church is supported by stepped buttressButtress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es at each corner. The buttresses are constructed from flint and stone, and have arched insets on the faces. They rest on stone plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
s, each bearing carved shields. That on the north buttress has an inaccurate rendition of the arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the see
Diocese of Norwich
Diocese of Norwich can refer to*the English Anglican Diocese of Norwich, England*the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, USA...
, the other has a design featuring a cross and a dolphin, The tower is surmounted with crenellations and pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s, and has three Perpendicular lights in the belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
and a large four-light west window in the same style.
The 30 m (100 ft) long and 14 m (47 ft) high nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, and the aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s on its north and south sides, have six bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
lit by Perpendicular windows, each aisle bay window having four lights apiece, with three-light windows in the clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
above. The north porch, rebuilt in 1896, occupies the westernmost bay in the north aisle. The nave's oak and chestnut hammerbeam roof
Hammerbeam roof
Hammerbeam roof, in architecture, is the name given to an open timber roof, typical of English Gothic architecture, using short beams projecting from the wall.- Design :...
dates from the 15th century, and features carved angels on the hammers. These rest on arched braces, except above each window, where the hammers rest on corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s instead. The only trace of the earlier 13th-century nave is the reuse of some older stone, mainly in the north aisle, and the raised chancel walls, and some Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods....
fragments beneath the west tower.
The Lady Chapel in the south aisle and St Thomas' Chapel in the north aisle were dedicated to St Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
and St Thomas of Canterbury
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
respectively. They fell into disuse in the Reformation, but were restored in the 1880s.
The 13th-century chancel has two rib vaulted bays, making it one of only six extant Early English vaulted chancels. Its walls were raised in the 15th century by constructing a chamber above the vaulting using stone from the demolished 13th-century nave, but, from the outside, this end of the church is still lower than the western section. Internally, the chancel vault is much lower than the adjacent nave because of the room above. It has three 15th-century Perpendicular windows down each side, and is notable for the unusual east window with seven stepped lights, a feature found in only two other Early English churches, Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...
and St Martins in Ockham
Ockham, Surrey
Ockham is a tiny English village near East Horsley, in Surrey, England. The village lies to the east of the A3 which runs between Cobham and Guildford. Other neighbouring villages include Ripley, Wisley and Effingham....
. The chancel contains three simple sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
, or priest's seats, with trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
arches and round columns. The sacristry behind the altar has a small lancet window, and the chamber above the chancel, which is floored only by the curved upper surface of the vault below, is lit by a single two-light window.
The polygon
Polygon
In geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
al eastern tower has stepped buttresses at its corners and louvred
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
windows just below the parapet. Its origins are not entirely clear, but it was possibly originally a turret for stairs leading to a room over the chancel, later extended upwards as an aesthetic enhancement and to act as a beacon for mariners. Its date is uncertain, but it is much later than the chancel. Although its lack of height compared to the west tower has led to some questioning of its suitability as a beacon, it has been suggested that lining up the two towers guided ships into the navigable channel between the inlet's sandbanks; this is the "leading light" practice later achieved using pairs of lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s at different levels.
Furnishings and fixtures
The octagonal fontBaptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
dates from the 15th century; its carved panels alternate images of the symbols of the Four Evangelists
Four Evangelists
In Christian tradition the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following titles:*Gospel according to Matthew*Gospel according to Mark...
with seated figures of the Doctors of the Church
Doctor of the Church
Doctor of the Church is a title given by a variety of Christian churches to individuals whom they recognize as having been of particular importance, particularly regarding their contribution to theology or doctrine.-Catholic Church:In the Catholic Church, this name is given to a saint from whose...
(Saint Ambrose
Ambrose
Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose , was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was one of the four original doctors of the Church.-Political career:Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family between about...
, Saint Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, Saint Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
, and Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...
). The central column carries shields depicting the Instruments of the Passion
Arma Christi
Arma Christi , or the Instruments of the Passion, are the objects associated with Jesus' Passion in Christian symbolism and art....
and the Holy Wounds
Holy Wounds
The Five Holy Wounds or Five Sacred Wounds refer to what are believed to be the five piercing wounds that was suffered during the crucifixion of Jesus....
. The eastern shield is unusual in that a sword is shown with an ear stuck to it. This refers to the story of Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
striking off the ear of Malchus
Malchus
In the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Bible, Malchus is the servant of the Jewish High Priest, Caiaphas, who participated in the arrest of Jesus...
, the High Priest's servant, in the garden of Gethsemane
Gethsemane
Gethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where, according to Biblical texts, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.- Etymology :...
.
Most East Anglian churches lost their medieval furnishings in the upheavals of the Reformation, and Blakeney is no exception. Apart from the hammerbeam roof, there is little original wood work in the nave; a few benches in the aisles, the fleur-de-lis-decorated
Fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...
beam supporting the rood
Rood
A rood is a cross or crucifix, especially a large one in a church; a large sculpture or sometimes painting of the crucifixion of Jesus.Rood is an archaic word for pole, from Old English rōd "pole", specifically "cross", from Proto-Germanic *rodo, cognate to Old Saxon rōda, Old High German ruoda...
, and two panels of the rood screen
Rood screen
The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or wrought iron...
. The chancel retains four of its original choir stalls with their misericord
Misericord
A misericord is a small wooden shelf on the underside of a folding seat in a church, installed to provide a degree of comfort for a person who has to stand during long periods of prayer.-Origins:...
s, which are decorated with head and leaf motifs on the arms. St Nicholas benefited from sympathetic restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in the late 19th and early 20th century. The new stalls and misericords match the style of the old, and the 1886 pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
echoes the font, with the Instruments of the Passion on the stone stand, and the twelve Apostles
Apostle (Christian)
The term apostle is derived from Classical Greek ἀπόστολος , meaning one who is sent away, from στέλλω + από . The literal meaning in English is therefore an "emissary", from the Latin mitto + ex...
carved on the woodwork. The pulpit has been described as "Victorian craftsmanship of matchless quality". The north porch was restored in 1896, and in the following year the west tower was repaired, and pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s of a 15th-century pattern placed in the nave.
1910 saw the restoration of the rood screen in a style consistent with that of the two ancient panels, the reconstruction of the rood loft, and the installation of a Norman and Beard
Norman and Beard
Norman and Beard were a major pipe organ manufacturer originally based in Norfolk. They were founded in Diss in 1870 by E.W. Norman, but soon moved to Norwich to a building which still exists, and formerly had its own rail link. The company merged with Hills of London in 1916, moving its production...
two-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
with more than a thousand pipes. The organ pipe
Organ pipe
An organ pipe is a sound-producing element of the pipe organ that resonates at a specific pitch when pressurized air is driven through it. Each pipe is tuned to a specific note of the musical scale...
s are above the parclose screens; the bellow
Bellows
A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location.Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle. When the volume of the bellows is decreased, the air escapes through the outlet...
s, wind chest and electric blower are concealed in the chamber above the chancel. The stalls with their misericord
Misericord
A misericord is a small wooden shelf on the underside of a folding seat in a church, installed to provide a degree of comfort for a person who has to stand during long periods of prayer.-Origins:...
s were restored in 1913. The rood crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
, flanked by St Mary and St John
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
, came from Germany in 1913.
Much church plate, such as the chalice
Chalice
A chalice is a goblet or footed cup intended to hold a drink. This can also refer to;* Holy Chalice, the vessel which Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve the wine* Chalice , a type of smoking pipe...
and pyx
Pyx
A pyx or pix is a small round container used in the Catholic, Old Catholic and Anglican Churches to carry the consecrated host , to the sick or invalid or those otherwise unable to come to a church in order to receive Holy Communion...
had been confiscated, sold or stolen in the heat of the Reformation. In the more tolerant climate of Elizabethan
Elizabethan Religious Settlement
The Elizabethan Religious Settlement was Elizabeth I’s response to the religious divisions created over the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. This response, described as "The Revolution of 1559", was set out in two Acts of the Parliament of England...
England, the excesses of extreme Protestantism were curbed by centralised control of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, the Act of Uniformity
Act of Uniformity
Over the course of English parliamentary history there were a number of acts of uniformity. All had the basic object of establishing some sort of religious orthodoxy within the English church....
and the Book of Common Prayer. Most churches then had to buy a new chalice
Chalice
A chalice is a goblet or footed cup intended to hold a drink. This can also refer to;* Holy Chalice, the vessel which Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve the wine* Chalice , a type of smoking pipe...
; Blakeney's was purchased in 1567, and exchanged for another in 1716. One lost treasure is a "Map of the World" (Mappa Mundi et Chroniculum Mundi), which was recorded as present in the church in 1368. This is thought more likely to be a version of Ranulf Higdon's
Ranulf Higdon
Ranulf Higden was an English chronicler and a Benedictine monk of the monastery of St. Werburgh in Chester....
Polychronicon, a geographical text, than a true map like the Hereford Mappa Mundi
Hereford Mappa Mundi
The Hereford Mappa Mundi is a mappa mundi, of a form deriving from the T and O pattern, dating to ca. 1300. It is currently on display in Hereford Cathedral in Hereford, England...
.
The stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
is mostly late 19th-century Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
by James Powell and Sons
James Powell and Sons
The firm of James Powell and Sons, also known as Whitefriars Glass, were English glassmakers, leadlighters and stained glass window manufacturers...
. Powell, coincidentally based at Whitefriars, a former Carmelite friary in London, used leading members of the movement such as Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
as designers, and his nine windows at Blakeney are regarded as fine examples of his work. The east window dating from 1895 represents the Te Deum
Te Deum
The Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered literally as "Thee, O God, we praise"....
, and the south windows, glazed in 1900, tell the story of the early British church. Some 15th-century fragments of the original Norwich School
Norwich School (glassmakers)
The Norwich School of glassmakers was a mediaeval Norwich-based community of stained glass makers, mostly active between the mid-14th century and the English Reformation, when much of the glass was destroyed as part of the general injunction against stained glass, shrines, roods, statues and bells...
glass that had been buried in the churchyard during the Reformation were incorporated into one of the otherwise plain windows in the north aisle in 1938, showing "Christ rising from the tomb", with six figures above. Five of the figures are angels; there would have been nine originally, one for each order. The sixth image depicts a female saint wearing a crown. The angel's legs are clothed in "feather tights
Feather tights
Feather tights is the name usually given by art historians to a form of costume seen on Late Medieval depictions of angels, which shows them as if wearing a body suit with large scale-like overlapping downward-pointing elements representing feathers, as well as having large wings. Other sources...
", believed to have been derived from costumes worn in medieval religious plays. The north porch is flanked by two blue-themed modern stained glass windows by Jane Gray
Jane Gray (stained glass artist)
Jane Gray is a British stained glass artist. She trained at the Kingston School of Arts from 1949 to 1951, where she specialised in weaving and stained glass, and then studied at the Royal College of Art until 1955...
from 2002, one dedicated to the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, the other to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
(RNLI). The stained glass, taken as a whole, has been described as showing a "phenomenal standard of composition and artistry ... Few churches contain such a treasury." The current reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
and altar were erected in 1923, as was a wooden war memorial in the north aisle.
Most churches prior to the Reformation had painted walls, often with mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s; these were whitewashed by the reformers, and often religious texts or the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
replaced the images. These inscriptions were in turn obliterated under the Catholic Queen Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
. At Blakeney, as elsewhere, the formerly coloured walls are now the plain white typical of English churches.
Memorials
John Calthorpe's "synfull body" lies at the eastern end of the nave under a marble gravestone and a brass plaque that carries his armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
and a Latin inscription describing him as , "a founder [benefactor] of the convent of friars". It is possible that he was originally buried in the chancel of the Carmelite friary, as he requested, but was re-interred in the nave of St Nicholas at the Dissolution. A number of other stones carry standard tags in Latin or English requesting prayers or simply stating the identity of the internee, but Sir John Smyth's 1460 memorial enjoined "As I am that shall you be, Pray for the sowle of me".
Blakeney was a lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
station from around 1825 to 1924. Various wall plaques commemorate the boats' rescues and crew losses from 1862, when the RNLI took over the running of the service, up to the station's closure. There are two blue wooden boards from the RNLI listing the earlier lifeboats and their achievements; the Brightwell (1862), another Brightwell (1863), the Zaccheus Burroughs (1891), and the Hettie (1873). Next to these is a stone plaque listing the rescues from 1877 to 1924, including those of the last lifeboat, the Caroline (1908), and further along the north aisle a painting of George Long, coxswain
Coxswain
The coxswain is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives us a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cox, a coxboat or other small vessel kept aboard a ship, and swain, which can be rendered as boy, in authority. ...
of the Caroline, is placed above the record of its most famous rescues on consecutive days on 7 and 8 January 1918, when 30 people were saved from two steamers in a storm. A large wooden board acts as a war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
, listing those locals who died in various military engagements. The clock in the west tower was donated by a Mrs Cooke in 1945 in memory of her late husband and sons.
Medieval graffiti
The interiors of most Norfolk churches contain much pre-Reformation graffitiGraffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
, unless they have been heavily limewashed or resurfaced. The churches of the Glaven ports in general, and Blakeney in particular, conform to this pattern. St Nicholas has an extensive array of prayers, merchant's mark
Merchant's mark
Merchants' marks are as old as the sealings of the third millennium BCE found in Sumer that originated in the Indus Valley. Impressions of cloth, strings and other packing material on the reverse of tags with seal impressions indicate...
s and other symbols, but is notable for the large number of depictions of ships, at least 30, heavily concentrated in the nave towards the eastern end of the south aisle. There is a side altar there of unknown dedication, and an empty niche that would have once held the image of a saint. The pillars were painted red in the Middle Ages, and ship images scratched into the soft, chalky stone would have been much more conspicuous than they are now. It is likely that the images, mostly of smaller ships, were created as votive offering
Votive offering
A votive deposit or votive offering is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for broadly religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally made in order to gain favor with supernatural...
s by the seafaring inhabitants of the port. The carving of ship graffiti in religious buildings is a tradition in ports going back to the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, and has been found across Europe.
Mason's mark
Mason's mark
A mason's mark is a symbol often found on dressed stone in buildings and other public structures.-In stonemasonry:Scottish rules issued in 1598 stated that on admission to the guild, every mason had to enter his name and his mark in a register....
s were used by the stonemason
Stonemasonry
The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. These materials have been used to construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts, cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures...
to identify his work, and in the days of the medieval craft guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s may also have had mystical or religious significance. In England, the use of these marks became widespread after the Norman Conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
. Similarly, merchants had their own marks to identify their products, and these frequently appeared on houses, gravestones and church walls.
People
The long patronage of the Calthorpes under their various incarnations as the Lords CalthorpeBaron Calthorpe
Baron Calthorpe, of Calthorpe in the County of Norfolk, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1796 for Sir Henry Gough-Calthorpe, 2nd Baronet, who had previously represented Bramber in Parliament. Born Henry Gough, he had assumed the additional surname of Calthorpe upon...
, Gough-Calthorpes
Gough-Calthorpe family
The Gough-Calthorpe family is descended from ancient and notable families who both held lands in the area around Birmingham, England.Sir Henry Gough, 1st Baronet, Member of Parliament, was made a Baronet in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom in 1728...
and Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpes
Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe Baronets
The Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe Baronetcy, of Elvetham Hall in Elvetham in the County of Hampshire, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom.It was created on 1 July 1929 for Fitzroy Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe...
has already been noted. A Henry Calthorpe was rector from 1743 to 1781, and was followed by Richard Thomas Gough, who held the living for 43 years. Gough and Richard Henry Tillard, incumbent from 1858 to 1906, are commemorated by plaques in the chancel. Of the other rectors, Mowbray O'Rorke had been Bishop of Accra
Bishop of Accra
-Bishops:*1909 The Right Revd Nathaniel Temple Hamlyn*1913 The Right Revd Mowbray Stephen O'Rorke*1924 The Right Revd John Orfeur Aglionby*1951 The Right Revd John Charles Sydney Daly*1956 The Right Revd Reginald Richard Roseveare...
from 1913, but accepted the Blakeney living in 1924, remaining until he retired in 1939, and Clifford Leofric Purdy (Jim) Bishop, rector from 1949 to 1953, rose to become Bishop of Malmesbury
Bishop of Malmesbury
The Bishop of Malmesbury was an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Bristol, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title took its name after the town of Malmesbury in Wiltshire. In 1994, the suffragan title changed its name to become the Bishop of...
from 1962.
The graveyard
Graveyard
A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...
, as in many coastal parish churches, contains mainly local people and seafarers. Several stones bear the surname "Long", a name carried by five of the crew of the Caroline on its epic rescues in January 1918. A notable outsider buried here is Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin a leading British racing driver and one of the "Bentley Boys
Bentley Boys
The Bentley Boys were a group of wealthy British motorists who drove Bentley sports cars to victory in the 1920s and kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive...
" of the 1920s.
Services and congregation
The rector of this Church of England parish as of 2011 is the Rev Neil Batcock. The benefice rotates its services among its five constituent churches, with typically five services in total on Sundays, and two mid-week Holy Communions. As with most Anglican churches in England, the congregation is mainly elderly, although there are monthly family services focussed on children. There is also a monthly laying on of handsLaying on of hands
The laying on of hands is a religious ritual that accompanies certain religious practices, which are found throughout the world in varying forms....
for healing, and sometimes other variants from the standard format involving music or Taizé-influenced
Taizé Community
The Taizé Community is an ecumenical monastic order in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France. It is composed of about 100 brothers who come from Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Catholic traditions. The brothers come from about 30 countries across the world. The monastic order has a strong...
worship. The parish accepts the diocese's guidance on permitting baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
and marriage in church after a divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, and claims to work closely with its Catholic and Methodist neighbours.
St Nicholas is also used for non-religious events such as flower festivals, craft workshops and musical performances, and it has won diocesan tourism awards for its in-church information facilities. The church appeared in Simon Jenkins’
Simon Jenkins
Sir Simon David Jenkins is a British newspaper columnist and author, and since November 2008 has been chairman of the National Trust. He currently writes columns for both The Guardian and London's Evening Standard, and was previously a commentator for The Times, which he edited from 1990 to 1992...
book, 1000 Best Churches, where it was described as having "a sense of vigorous activity" and as a "a rare example of what every large parish church should aspire to being, also a community centre, market place and museum". It was also featured in the Daily Telegraph's list of 100 favourite churches, and a Norfolk tourism website rated it one of the top ten churches in the county.