St Nicholas is the Anglican parish church of Blakeney, Norfolk, in the deanery of Holt and the Diocese of Norwich. The church was founded in the 13th century, but the greater part of the church dates from the 15th century when Blakeney was a seaport of some importance. Of the original structure only the chancel has survived rebuilding, perhaps owing to its link to a nearby Carmelite friary. An unusual architectural feature is a second tower, used as a beacon, at the east end (the church stands just inland from, and about above, the small port). Other significant features are the vaulted chancel with a stepped seven-light lancet window, and the hammerbeam roof of the nave. St Nicholas is a nationally important building, with a Grade I listing for its exceptional architectural interest.
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 windows of predominantly blue colour. St Nicholas contains some notable memorials, including several plaques for the Blakeney lifeboats 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.
History
Foundation to 1547
St Nicholas is the parish church of Blakeney, Norfolk, a small English town with a history dating back to at least early Neolithic times.Birks (2003) p. 11 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.Hinde (1997) pp. 182–183
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 marshes 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. Retrieved 19 September 2011 Retrieved 19 September 2011Birks (2003) p. 26 Another possible chapel site east of the Glaven was shown on an 1835 map, but there is no documentation to support that identification.Birks (2003) p. 2
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 licence, 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.Pevsner & Wilson (2002) p. 398 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, Retrieved 11 September 2011 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."Holt hundred: Blakeney or Sniterley" in Blomefield & Parkin (1808) pp. 361–365 The abbey controlled more than 60 Norfolk parishes, and the living of Blakeney was within its gift for the next sixty years,Linnell (1984) Appendix: List of Rectors 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,Pevsner & Wilson (2002) p. 49 and the thriving port of Blakeney was no exception.Linnell (1984) pp.1–9 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.Pevsner & Wilson (2002) pp. 394–397
Reformation and after
The English Reformation 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, roods, statues, and bells,Haigh (1987) pp. 119–121 and altars were to be dismantled and replaced by wooden tables.Nye (1965) p. 71 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"."Register bill of baptisms marriages and burials 1776–1777" Parish records of Blakeney PD619/19 at Norfolk Record Office Nevertheless, in 1854 there were Non-conformist chapels of three denominations, of which only the Methodist remains.White (1854) pp. 768–769
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 vestments 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."Faculties, 1923–1962" Parish records of Blakeney PD619/34 at Norfolk Record Office Major renovations were carried out from 1981 to 1983; these comprised repairs to the north aisle roof and the east tower, plastering 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. Retrieved 10 September 2011
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, Retrieved 23 September 2011 and Cley in 1935. Retrieved 23 September 2011 The parish is in the deanery of Holt, the Diocese of Norwich and the Province of Canterbury. Retrieved 29 September 2011 Retrieved 18 October 2011 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 stipends and pensions of Anglican priests. Retrieved 22 September 2011 Retrieved 22 September 2011
Description
St Nicholas, Blakeney, is a large Gothic parish church with an aisled nave, a deep chancel of two bays, a large tower at the western end, and a smaller tower at the eastern end, to the north of the chancel. The north porch was rebuilt in 1896.
The west tower is surmounted with crenellations and pinnacles and is supported by stepped buttresses at each corner. The buttresses are constructed from flint and stone, and have arched insets on the faces.Brandon (1860) p. 20 They rest on stone plinths, each bearing carved shields, that on the north buttress with an inaccurate rendering of the arms of the see, and the other with a cross and a dolphin. The tower has three Perpendicular windows in the belfry and a large Perpendicular window in its western face, giving light to the west end of the nave.
The nave is 30 m (100 ft) long and 14 m (47 ft),St Nicholas Welcome Group (1992) Tea in the Tower leaflet and is separated from the aisles on north and south sides by arcades of six bays. It is lit by Perpendicular windows, each aisle bay window having four lights apiece, with three-light windows in the clerestory above. 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 corbels 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.