---
title: "St Nicolas, Witham"
description: "Located in Witham, Essex. Built c.1330, retaining earlier fabric; 14th- and 15th-century additions; restored 1849–50 and 1877. Diocese of Chelmsford. Grade I. Decorated Gothic style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Church of England","Essex","Witham","Grade I","Decorated Gothic","Joseph Clarke"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/witham-st-nicolas"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T03:07:44.190Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-07T20:33:20.029Z"
location: "Witham, Essex"
country: "England"
county: "Essex"
town: "Witham"
address: "Chipping Hill, Witham, Essex, CM8 2JS"
postcode: "CM8 2JS"
built: "c.1330, retaining earlier fabric; 14th- and 15th-century additions; restored 1849–50 and 1877"
architect: "Joseph Clarke (1849–50 and 1877 restorations)"
denomination: "Church of England"
dedications: ["Nicolas"]
diocese: "Chelmsford"
grade: "I"
style: "Decorated Gothic"
materials: "Flint and pebble rubble with some Roman brick; stone dressings; slate and lead roofs"
website: "https://www.withamparishchurch.org.uk/welcome.htm"
openingHours: "Monday to Friday. Opens for Morning prayer at 9am, closes after evening prayer at 5pm."
parish: "Witham"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1338236"
gridReference: "TL 817 153"
accessNotes: "Level access to the main areas"
---

# 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](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1338236)
- [Witham Town Trail: St Nicolas](https://www.withamtowntrail.com/copy-of-ch-51-55-the-manor-house)