St Nicolas, Witham

St Nicolas is a Grade I parish church at Chipping Hill, Witham, Essex, in the Diocese of Chelmsford, a substantial Decorated rebuilding of about 1330 on an older core.

Overview

Historic England dates the church to about 1330, retaining some earlier fabric, with fourteenth- and fifteenth-century additions, restored in 1849–50 and 1877 by Joseph Clarke. Materials are flint and pebble rubble with some Roman brick, stone dressings, and slate and lead roofs. The plan is a nave with north and south aisles, west tower and south porch, and a chancel with north chapel and vestry and south chapel. Chancel and tower sit on a different alignment from the nave, suggesting rebuild around an older, possibly cruciform, core. The late-twelfth-century south door was presumably reset in the fourteenth century.

Historic England’s listing and local accounts note strong evidence for a pre-Conquest minster, possibly from the eighth century, beside Edward the Elder’s burh at Chipping Hill. The early-fourteenth-century church comprised an arcaded nave, aisles, chancel and west tower. Late-fifteenth-century chapels were added. A fifteenth-century chancel screen survives. The tower’s upper stage was rebuilt in brick in 1743 and again in 1862; a clock of 1887 commemorates Mary Bramston. The church is open on weekdays for morning and evening prayer.

Further Information

• Historic England list entry 1338236
• Witham Town Trail: St Nicolas