St. Nicholas' Church is a medieval,

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church located in Gayton, in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

county of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. St. Nicholas' dates from the Fourteenth Century and has been Grade I listed since 1960.

Exterior

St. Nicholas' is built of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

with lime mortar, which suggests that the church was not expanded in the Fourteenth Century as many of Norfolk's churches were due to the prosperous trade in wool. The domed crest of the church tower is visible from most of the roads approaching the village and has an emblem of the four evangelists on each corner. The depictions of include a winged man for

Saint Matthew Matthew the Apostle was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist. The claim of his g ...

, a lion for

Saint Mark Mark the Evangelist ( Koinē Greek: Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Mârkos''), also known as John Mark ( Koinē Greek: Ἰωάννης Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Iōánnēs Mârkos;'' Aramaic'': ܝܘܚܢܢ, romanized: Yōḥannān'') or Saint Ma ...

, an ox for

Saint Luke Luke the Evangelist was one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Prominent figu ...

and an eagle for

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

Interior

St. Nicholas has a Fourteenth Century

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

and a modern sculpture by the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

artist, Britt Wikstrom depicting

Jacob wrestling with the angel Jacob wrestling with the angel is described in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 32, chapter 32:22–32; also referenced in the Book of Hosea, Hosea 12, chapter 12:3–5). The "Angels in Judaism, angel" in question is referred to as "man" (: ''Ish'') a ...

. The

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

were carved during the

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

by a refugee from

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

using wood from an

oak tree An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the Fagaceae, beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northe ...

grown in the grounds of Gayton Hall. In 2023, the Nineteenth Century wooden benches were removed due to

woodworm A woodworm is the Xylophagy, wood-eating larva of many species of beetle. It is also a generic description given to the infestation of a wooden item (normally part of a dwelling or the furniture in it) by these larvae. Types of woodworm Woodbo ...

and were replaced with more modern seating. There is also a memorial in the church to Captain Douglas H. Marsham who was killed serving with the

British South Africa Police The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' Britis ...

at the

Siege of Mafeking The siege of Mafeking was a 217-day siege battle for the town of Mafeking (now called Mahikeng) in South Africa during the Second Boer War from October 1899 to May 1900. The siege received considerable attention as Lord Edward Cecil, the son o ...

Church Life

Today, St. Nicholas' is part of the Benefice of Gayton, Grimston & Great Massingham and though it remains open daily, does not hold regular church services. The priest for St. Nicholas' is the Reverend Jane Holmes. In September 2013, James Meade, the son of equestrian champion

Richard Meade Richard Meade may refer to: *Richard Meade, 2nd Earl of Clanwilliam (1766–1805), Irish peer *Richard Meade, 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam (1795–1879), British ambassador *Richard Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam (1832–1907), British Royal Navy officer ...

, and Lady Laura Marsham, daughter of Julian Charles Marsham, 8th Earl of Romney, who lives in nearby Gayton Hall, got married in this church.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

and

Pippa Middleton Philippa Charlotte Matthews (née Middleton; born 6 September 1983) is a British socialite, author and columnist. She is the younger sister of Catherine, Princess of Wales. Born in Reading, Berkshire and raised in Bucklebury, Middleton atte ...

were in attendance at the wedding.

Gallery

References

{{Reflist Gayton Gayton 1604 establishments in England