St Nicholas Cole Abbey is a church in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

located on what is now Queen Victoria Street. Recorded from the twelfth century, the church was destroyed in the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

in 1666 and rebuilt by the office of

Sir Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was acc ...

. The church suffered substantial bomb damage from German bombs during the

London Blitz London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was reconstructed by Arthur Bailey in 1961–62.

History

The church is dedicated to the 4th century

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

of Myra. The name "Cole Abbey" is derived from "coldharbour", a medieval word for a traveller's shelter or shelter from the cold. The church was never an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

. The earliest reference to the church is in a letter of Pope

Lucius II Pope Lucius II (died 15 February 1145), born Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1144 to his death in 1145. His pontificate was notable for the unrest in Rome associated with ...

in 1144–5. Spire of St Nicholas Cole Abbey

Saint Nicholas of Myra is patron saint of, among other groups, children and fishermen, and the church has special ties with both. An inventory of the church's possessions taken at the time of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

includes vestments for children, suggesting that the church maintained the tradition of electing a boy bishop on

Saint Nicholas Day Saint Nicholas Day, also called the "Feast of Saint Nicholas", observed on 6 December (or on its eve on 5 December) in Western Christian countries, and on 19 December in Eastern Christian countries using the old church Calendar, is the feast d ...

. Deeds in the reign of

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

refer to a new fish market near St Nicholas Cole Abbey. In a Charter of 1272, the church is referred to as "St Nick's behind Fish Street". During the 16th century, several fishmongers were buried here and

John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of History of England, English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe C ...

records that, during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

, a lead and stone cistern, fed by the Thames, was set up against the north wall "for the care and commodity of the Fishmongers in and about Old Fish Street". Like all English churches, St Nicholas Cole Abbey became Protestant during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. Upon the accession of Queen

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

, it was the first church to celebrate

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

(on 23 August 1553). The incumbent rector, Thomas Sowdley, had obtained a licence to marry during the reign of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

and was deprived of his living as a result. In the same month as the coronation of Mary I,

John Strype John Strype (1 November 1643 – 11 December 1737) was an English clergyman, historian and biographer from London. He became a merchant when settling in Petticoat Lane Market, Petticoat Lane. In his twenties, he became perpetual curate of Theydo ...

recorded "Another priest called sir Tho. Snowdel, .e. Sowdleywhom they nicknamed 'Parson Chicken', was carted through Cheapside, for assoiling an old acquaintance of his in a ditch in Finsbury field; and was at that riding saluted with chamber-pots and rotten eggs". Sowdley regained his living on the accession of

. A century later, the living of St Nicholas Cole Abbey was owned by Colonel Francis Hacker, a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

who commanded the execution detail of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. The church was destroyed in the Great Fire. Charles II promised the site to the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

community but lobbying prevented this from being granted and the parish was combined with that of

St Nicholas Olave St Nicholas Olave was a church in the City of London, on the west side of Bread Street Hill in Queenhithe Ward. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London and was never rebuilt. Instead the parish was united with that of St Nicholas Cole Abbey ...

, a nearby church also destroyed but not rebuilt. The church was rebuilt between 1672 and 1678 at a cost of £5042. Included in the building accounts are the items "Dinner for Dr Wren and other Company – £2 14s 0d" and "Half a pint of canary for Dr Wren's coachmen – 6d". It was the first church of the fifty-one lost in the Great Fire to be rebuilt. In 1737, the early

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

leader

George Whitefield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican minister and preacher who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke Coll ...

preached a sermon on "Profane swearing in church" at St Nicholas Cole Abbey. The post-Fire church was built with its façade to the north on what was then Fish Street (and what is now Distaff Lane) and the east on Old Fish Street Hill.

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

urban redevelopment changed the local street plan and the south wall of the church, instead of being hemmed in by buildings, now overlooked the newly built Queen Victoria Street. This necessitated a reordering of the church, in 1874, with windows being opened up to the south and the main doorway moving from the northwest tower to the south. Smoke generated by underground trains so blackened the exterior that in the late 19th century, the church became known as "St Nicholas Cole Hole Abbey". In May 1881,

church attendance Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians; some Christian denominations require church attendance on the Lord's Day (Sunday). The Catholic Church teaches that on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithf ...

under the Reverend Henry Stebbing was down to one man and one woman. Then, in 1883, Henry Shuttleworth was appointed rector, a position he held until 1900. Shuttleworth was a

Christian Socialist A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

who installed a bar, established a prodigious musical programme and made the church a centre for debate. This had an effect, as by 1891 St Nicholas Cole Abbey had the largest congregation of any City church, numbering up to 450 worshippers on a Sunday evening. A contemporary vicar commented: "In St. Nicholas Cole Abbey there is good preaching and divine worship is also carried out in the most reverential manner. In other City churches ... as a rule, they he rectorsare themselves the most wretched preachers and bad readers." On 10 May 1941 London suffered its worst air raid during the entire

, with 1,436 people killed and several major buildings destroyed or severely damaged. Among them was St Nicholas Cole Abbey. The church remained a shell until restored under Arthur Bailey and reconsecrated in 1962.

Recent history

The parish was combined with that of St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe. St Nicholas Cole Abbey became the headquarters of the Diocesan Council for Mission and Unity. Between 1982 and 2003, the church was leased to the Free Church of Scotland (Presbyterian). In 2006, the Church of England announced that St Nicholas Cole Abbey would become a national centre for Religious Education: the Culham Institute, a Church of England educational body which promotes and develops RE in schools, would move its headquarters to St Nicholas Cole Abbey from

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. This did not come to pass. In 2014 the building reopened as the home of the St Nicholas Cole Abbey Centre for Workplace Ministry, with a supporting cafe known as The Wren.

Present day

In November 2016, Sunday services re-started, alongside midweek meetings, under the name St Nick's Church. The parish is within the

conservative evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian go ...

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

of the Church of England, and it has passed resolutions to reject the

ordination of women The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...

and/or female leadership. In November 2022, St. Nicholas announced that it was making a "visible differentiation" from the Church of England's

House of Bishops The House of Bishops is the third House in a General Synod of some Anglican churches and the second house in the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

, in protest at the bishops' engagement with the Living in Love and Faith process which considered the possibility of blessing same-sex sexual relationships. In March 2023, after the church's General Synod approved the principle of blessings for same-sex couples, the Senior Minister of St Nicholas, along with the guild vicar of

St Botolph's, Aldersgate St Botolph without Aldersgate (also known as St Botolph's, Aldersgate) is a Church of England church (building), church in London dedicated to St Botolph. It was built just outside Aldersgate, one of the gates on London Wall, London's wall, in ...

, announced they had established a new "

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

chapter", separate from the official diocesan structures, for clergy who felt "compelled to resist all episcopal leadership from the House of Bishops". This move was described by the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

as a "unilateral move" with "no legal substance", and by the

Church Times The ''Church Times'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London and published in the United Kingdom on Fridays. History The ''Church Times'' was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer, a printer. It fought for the ...

as " schismatic".

Architecture

The church was designated a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

on 4 January 1950.

Exterior

The church is a stone box with

quoins 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, ...

. Some medieval work remains in the south and west walls, the latter of which is of brick and rubble. On top of the body of the church is a balustrade. The windows are arched with square brackets – a favourite device of Wren. On the northwestern corner of the church is a square tower surmounted by a lead spire in the shape of an upside down octagonal trumpet. On each corner of the tower is a small flaming urn. The spire has two rows of lunettes and a small balcony near the top, resembling a crow's nest. At the very top is a vane in the shape of a three-masted

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

in the round. This came from St Michael Queenhithe (demolished 1876), and was added to the spire in 1962. The pre-War vane was in the shape of a pennant with 4 "S" shapes back to back. The tower is 135 feet tall and contains one bell.

Interior

The east wall is dominated by three stained glass windows designed by Keith New, who also helped design the stained glass windows of

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midla ...

. They are reminiscent of the work of

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

. They replace windows designed by

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August 183317 June 1898) was an English painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding part ...

which were destroyed in 1941. From left to right they depict St Nicholas Cole Abbey as the centre of the world with crosses pointing to the four corners of the world; the Rock of Christ with the ark (representing the church) on four rivers (representing the Gospels); seven lamps, representing the extension of the church around the world. Swags have been recreated over the east windows. The interior is otherwise plain, other than Corinthian pilasters. In the vestry to the north west is

crazy paving Crazy paving is a means of Pavement (material), hard-surfacing used outdoors, most frequently in gardens. Paving stone (flooring), Paving stones of irregular size and shape are laid in a haphazard manner sometimes with Mortar (masonry), mortar f ...

made from shattered tombstones. Surviving from the 17th century are the carved pulpit, (although on a modern base and lacking its tester), the font cover, part of the

communion rail The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and ot ...

, parts of the original Wren era reredos, now installed on the south wall and the Charles II coat of arms. Behind a panel near the south door is a medieval stone head found during the restoration. The organ was built by

Noel Mander Noel Percy Mander Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, MBE, FSA (19 May 1912 – 18 September 2005) was a British organ builder and founder of the firm N.P Mander later known as Mander Organs Limited. A native of Crouch, Se ...

for the restored church. In 2006, as part of a planned redevelopment of the church as a centre for Religious Education, it was announced that a free-standing glass box would be built inside the shell of the church. This redevelopment did not come to pass.

Services and other activities

St Nick's Church meets each Sunday at 11am. Services are contemporary in style and there are Sunday clubs and a crèche for youth and children. Before the service, coffee and pastries are served from 10.30 and there is an informal lunch afterwards. Small groups are held on Wednesday evenings, at 6.15pm for a meal and 7pm for bible study and prayer. St Nick's Talks run every Thursday lunchtime at 1.05pm. The aim of the talks is to explain, from the Bible, the good news of Jesus Christ to those working nearby.

St Nicholas Cole Abbey in culture

* Henry Shuttleworth is the model for James Morrell, the Socialist preacher in

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's 1898 play ''

Candida Candida, or Cándida (Spanish), may refer to: Biology and medicine * ''Candida'' (fungus), a genus of yeasts ** Candidiasis, an infection by ''Candida'' organisms * Malvasia Candida, a variety of grape Places * Candida, Campania, a ''comu ...

''. * The gutted shell of St Nicholas Cole Abbey is the scene of the gold bullion heist in the 1951 Ealing comedy ''

The Lavender Hill Mob ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 British comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers ...

''. * The church features in

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her fi ...

's first novel ''

Under the Net ''Under the Net'' is a 1954 novel by Iris Murdoch. It was Murdoch's first published novel. Set in London, it is the story of a struggling young writer, Jake Donaghue. Its mixture of the philosophical and the picaresque has made it one of Murdo ...

'', published in 1954. * St Nicholas Cole Abbey was used as a location in 1968 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' serial '' The Invasion''.

References

*Bradley, Simon & Pevsner, Nikolaus. ''The Buildings of England: London 1: The City of London'', Penguin Books 1997 *Clarke, Rev. Henry. ''The City Churches'', Simpkin, Marshall, Kent & Co., 1898 *Cobb, Gerald. ''London City Churches'', B. T. Batsford Ltd., 1977 *Jeffery, Paul. ''The City Churches of Sir Christopher Wren'', Hambledon Press, 1996 *Middleton, Paul & Hatts, Leigh. ''London City Churches'', Bankside Press, 2003 *Weinreb, Ben & Hibbert, Christopher (eds.) . ''The London Encyclopedia'', Macmillan, 1992

External links

St Nicholas Cole Abbey

from Architecture Week

from Church bells of the City of London
360° panorama inside St Nicholas Cole Abbey

St Nick's Church

St Nick's Talks (the St Nicholas Cole Abbey Centre for Workplace Ministry)

The Wren coffee shop
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Nicholas Cole Abbey Christopher Wren church buildings in London Church of England church buildings in the City of London English Baroque church buildings Grade I listed churches in the City of London 17th-century Church of England church buildings Cole Abbey Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom Diocese of London Conservative evangelical Anglican churches in England