St Nicolas' is an Anglican

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

church in Guildford,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Location and parish

Location

St Nicolas’ church (spelt ‘Nicholas’ until the early 20th century) is on the west bank of the

River Wey The River Wey is a main tributary of the River Thames in south east England. Its two branches, one of which rises near Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Once combined the ...

, at the bottom of Guildford High Street which extends across the river via the now pedestrianised Town Bridge. The present church, consecrated in 1876, is the third church on the site. It is one of the three ancient parish churches of the town. The other two have combined in their ministry, Holy Trinity and St Mary's, on the east side of the river, which had the majority of the townsfolk until the 20th century when the town expanded westwards across the river.

Parish

The parish is one of the three ancient parishes of Guildford borough together with Holy Trinity and St Mary's,. Those parishes lie on the east bank of the river, but the ancient borough extended across the river to include the westernmost part of the much larger St Nicolas’ parish. The ancient parish was c. 2600 acres, with the easternmost section historically incorporated into Guildford borough, but with a large rural hinterland extending west into Godalming Hundred and including the tithings of

Artington Artington is a village and civil parish in the borough of Guildford, Surrey, England. It covers the area from the southern edge of the built-up centre of Guildford and steep Guildown, the start of the Hog's Back and part of the North Downs AO ...

and Littleton. During the last century, the creation of the new parishes of All Saints in Onslow Village and St Francis Littleton have reduced the size of St Nicolas’ parish. The parish includes Loseley, the home of the More (later More-Molyneux) family since 1509, whose memorial chapel, dating from c. 1550, is attached to the south side of St Nicolas’ church. Also within the parish on St Catherine's Hill is the ruined Grade 1 listed St Catherine’s Chapel dating c. 1300, an enigmatic building with royal and pilgrimage connections.Church of England Guildford postcode GU2 4JX and rest of parish map
Parish Finder. Accessed 18 April 2015.

Literary connections

Hymn and carol writers and composers

John Mason Neale John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar and hymnwriter. He worked and wrote on a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his most ...

wrote and/or composed: ''

Good King Wenceslas "Good King Wenceslas" is a Christmas carol that tells a story of a Bohemian king who goes on a journey, braving harsh winter weather, to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (December 26, the Second Day of Christmas). During th ...

'', ''O happy band of pilgrims'':

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

(junior clergy). John Samuel Bewley Monsell wrote and/or composed ''Fight the good fight'' and ''O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness'':

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

(parish priest).

Secular works

Writer

P.G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jee ...

was baptised with the waters of the font. Son of the rector John Manship (1612-1689)Venn. Alumni Oxonienses; the Members of the University of Oxford, 1500-1714; Their Parentage, Birthplace, and Year of Birth, With a Record of Their Degrees at http://www.mocavo.com/ retrieved 25 October 2015 was Samuel Manship, a London publisher of theology and philosophy.

Architecture

The building is of cut stone and some mortar-infused rubblestone and is

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

in the middle category of statutory listing, Grade II* chiefly for its ashlar-cut, bi-colour stone tower with

quoining Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...

, its internal arches, pillars and its many decorative apertures by Teulon and Ewan Christian. The west end has a straight gable end excepting tall, shallow outside buttresses in light-stone relief. It has matching

pointed arch A pointed arch, ogival arch, or Gothic arch is an arch with a pointed crown, whose two curving sides meet at a relatively sharp angle at the top of the arch. This architectural element was particularly important in Gothic architecture. The earlie ...

windows consisting of tall close lancet lights and a small roundel above. A five-light

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four ring ...

window is above. The church is built from the south and west Surrey yellow ironstone-sandstone (

Bargate stone __NOTOC__ Bargate stone is a highly durable form of sandstone. It owes its yellow, butter or honey colouring to a high iron content. In some contexts it may be considered to be a form of ironstone. However, in the context of stone buildings loca ...

) with 10 consecutive round windows, grouped in pairs, towards the simple string course eave. Above immediately is guttering of equal height before the ascent of a long hipped slate roof surmounted by a simple yellow stone cross on the west end. Its north lower, long vestry and side aisle with west-facing main door is between the height of the main building culminating in a transept matching the width of the square porch tower to which it joins and running equally to the south where it forms the vestry. A square belfry tower with flagpole surmount the chancel in lighter stone than all but the northern additions. The north transept gable end is embellished by a large plate-tracery, three-light-plus-roundel window on a sill and under a hood moulding. The chancel itself, facing east is apsidal (hemi-spherical as to the upper part and rounded as to the lower) with vaulting. It has a marble floor and mosaics.

References

External links

St. Nicolas Guildford website

St.Nicolas Guildford on A Church Near You
{{Guildford Buildings and structures in Guildford Guildford Guildford Guildford Diocese of Guildford