St Nicolas' Church, Kings Norton

St Nicolas' Church, Kings Norton, is the Anglican parish church of Kings Norton, 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 in 1863 by Ewan Christian and again in 1871 by W. J. Hopkins. It is a Grade I listed building.

In 1898 the church started a mission in Cotteridge which later became St Agnes' Church, Cotteridge.

The Revd W. V. Awdry, author of The Railway Series including Thomas the Tank Engine was a curate from 1940 to 1946. The church stands next to the historic buildings of Saracen's Head, 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 of eleven service personnel of World War I and seven of World War II. 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 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

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 the National Pipe Organ Register.

List of organists

1857 Henry Halmshaw 1884 Charles Thompson 1893 Herbert Walter Wareing 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 (later organist of Brecon Cathedral) 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 and then Director of Music (Organist & Master of the Choir) at Christchurch Priory) 1978 Andrew Lane 1980 Ceridwen Evans 1990 Sylvia Fox 1998 Kevin Blumer

St Nicolas' Church, Kings Norton

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