St Nicholas Church, Durham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Nicholas Church, Durham |
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| St Nics | |
The church viewed from the marketplace
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 St Nicholas Church, Durham
Location in Durham, England
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| 54°46′39″N 1°34′31″W / 54.77750°N 1.57528°W | |
| Location | Durham, County Durham |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Open Evangelical |
| History | |
| Status | Civic church |
| Dedication | Saint Nicholas |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Architect(s) | James Pigott Pritchett junior |
| Completed | 1858 |
| Specifications | |
| Bells | 6 (1687) |
| Administration | |
| Parish | St Nicholas Durham |
| Deanery | Deanery of Durham |
| Archdeaconry | Archdeaconry of Durham |
| Diocese | Diocese of Durham |
| Province | Province of York |
St Nicholas Church, often called St Nics, is a Church of England parish church. You can find it in Durham in County Durham, England. This church follows an "open evangelical" way of thinking within the Church of England. This means it focuses on sharing its Christian faith in a welcoming way.
Contents
A Look Back: The History of St Nics
The First St Nicholas Church
The very first St Nicholas Church was probably built in the early 1100s. It was started by Ranulf Flambard, who was the Prince Bishop of Durham. He cleared an area called Palace Green and created the marketplace we see today. The church was built next to it. It was named after Saint Nicholas, who is the patron saint of merchants (people who buy and sell goods). The first known vicar, a church leader, was Galfrid de Elemer in 1133.
This old church had strong walls and a square tower. Part of its north wall was actually part of the city's old walls. It was next to the ancient Clayport Gate until that gate was removed in 1791. There were also graveyards around the church.
Over many years, the building was changed a lot. For example, part of the east end was made shorter to make the road wider. In the 1800s, a market area was built right against its south wall. People described the church as "very ruined" in 1803. Another visitor in 1825 said it was a "large structure" but that many old parts had been removed. He also noted that its windows were "too sad" to mention.
Building the New Church in 1858
In 1854, a competition was held to find an architect to fix up the church. A 24-year-old architect named James Pigott Pritchett junior won. However, when the market area was taken down, they found the church was too damaged to repair. So, Pritchett was asked to design and build a brand new church instead. The vicar at the time, George Townshend Fox, gave £1000 to help pay for the new building.
The old church was taken down in June 1857. Almost the only things left from it are its font, which is a basin used for baptisms from 1700, and its five bells. These bells are from 1687, making them the oldest set of bells in the whole area. The bells were not rung for a while because people worried about the tower's safety. But ringing started again in 2000. These old bells, plus a sixth one added in 1889, are now rung often.
— This message is written on the five original bells.
Pritchett's new church was built in a style called "decorated gothic." It was expected to cost about £3,600. The church officially opened with a big celebration in December 1858. The Illustrated London News newspaper called it "the most beautiful example of church architecture in the north of England." A famous expert, Nikolaus Pevsner, thought it was one of Pritchett's best works. It was the first church in Durham to have a spire, which is a tall, pointed tower. The spire wasn't in Pritchett's first plan, but the vicar, George Townshend Fox, asked for it and paid the £400 cost himself. Today, the church is a Grade II listed building, which means it's an important historic building.
Changes and Modern Times
George Carey, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury, was the vicar of St Nicholas from 1975 to 1982. During his time, he led a project to change the inside of the church. The old pews (long benches) and most of the Victorian features were removed. This made the church more flexible for worship and community activities. Carey wrote a book called The Church in the Marketplace about these changes and how they helped the church.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the church moved many of its activities online. They offered morning and evening services every Sunday, as well as daily prayers. The vicar, Arun Arora, said that more people attended some online services than had come to in-person events before. Because of this, the church planned to keep livestreaming its services even after in-person gatherings started again.
The Church's Community and Location
The area, or "parish," that St Nics serves is quite small. It covers only the area around the Market Place, Claypath, and The Sands. It is surrounded by the parishes of Durham's three other old city churches: St Giles', St Oswald's, and St Margaret's. In the past, many people lived in this parish. However, in the 1920s, many old houses were removed to make way for new buildings and businesses. This greatly reduced the number of people living in the parish.
Even though some new buildings have added a few more residents, most people who attend St Nics come from outside its immediate area. The church has many students in its congregation. The Diocese of Durham sees St Nics as a special place. This means its goals are different from other churches in the city center. The church has a long history of being an evangelical church. Since the mid-1800s, its leadership has been supported by the Church Pastoral Aid Society.
Helping Others: St Nics' Outreach
One special part of the redesigned church was the Gateway World Shop. This shop was in the south-east corner of the church and had its own entrance from outside. It sold fair trade goods. Fair trade means that the people who make the products get a fair price for their work. This shop showed the church's long history of supporting fair trade. Richard Adams, who started the fair trade company Traidcraft, was a member of this church. The shop closed in February 2023. This happened after Traidcraft had problems, and the shop faced rising costs and lower profits, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, fair trade goods became easier to find in regular supermarkets.
St Nics has a long history of supporting Christian missions in other countries. For example, the first bishop of Uganda, Alfred Tucker, worked at St Nics before going to Uganda to share Christianity. Today, the church helps financially support groups like the Church Mission Society, the South American Missionary Society, the Bible Society, Spanish Outreach Ministries, and the Diocese of Lesotho.
Important People: Notable Clergy
Many important church leaders have worked at St Nicholas Church. Here are a few:
- Arun Arora, who was previously in charge of communications for the Church of England, was the vicar from 2017 to 2022. He later became the Bishop of Kirkstall.
- Pete Broadbent, who later became the Bishop of Willesden, worked here in the late 1970s.
- George Carey, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury, was the vicar of St Nicholas from 1975 to 1982.
- David V. Day, a former leader of St John's College, Durham, was a minister here from 1999 to 2007. He is still part of the church's ministry team.
- Alistair Magowan, who later became the Bishop of Ludlow, was a curate here from 1984 to 1989.
- George Marchant, who later became the Archdeacon of Auckland, was the vicar of St Nicholas from 1954 to 1974.
- Maeve Sherlock, Baroness Sherlock, became a curate here in 2018 and an Associate Minister in 2022.
- Alfred Tucker, who later became the Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, worked here in the 1880s.
- John Wenham, a scholar who studied the Bible, was the vicar from 1948 to 1953.
- Frank White, who later became the Bishop of Brixworth, worked here in the 1980s.
