St Nicolas's Church, Kings Norton is the Anglican parish church of Kings Norton

Kings Norton

Kings Norton is an area of Birmingham, England. It is also a Birmingham City Council ward within the formal district of Northfield.-History:...

, in the Diocese of Birmingham

Diocese of Birmingham

Diocese of Birmingham could refer to the*Anglican Diocese of Birmingham or the*Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham *Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama, USA...

, West Midlands, United Kingdom.

History

A church has been located on this site as early as the 11th century when the Normans built a small, rectangular chapel. It is not known if this was the result of a rebuild of a previous church. A church on this site has been recorded in documents since 1213. The current St Nicolas's Church dates from the early 13th century, and the spire was constructed between 1446 and 1475. The Norman building was demolished in the 14th century when a new nave, both aisles and the chancel arch were constructed. In the 17th century, almost the whole of the south aisle was re-built, the chancel was re-roofed and the low pitched roof that covered the nave from the 15th century was replaced by a much steeper version. Both north aisle and south aisle were given four separate, high pitched roofs set side-by-side. A parish was assigned to the church in 1846.

The church was restored

Victorian restoration

Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...

 in 1863 by Ewan Christian

Ewan Christian

Ewan Christian was a British architect. He is most notable for the restoration of Carlisle Cathedral, the alterations to Christ Church, Spitalfields in 1866, and the extension to the National Gallery that created the National Portrait Gallery. He was architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners...

 and again in 1871 by W. J. Hopkins

William Hopkins (architect)

-Career:One of Hopkins' earliest works, the Public Hall in Worcester , was Italianate. Most of his work thereafter was of the Gothic Revival. For many years he was the Worcester Diocesan Architect, and as such he mostly built or rebuilt Church of England parish churches in...

. It is a Grade I listed building.

The Revd W. V. Awdry, author of The Railway Series

The Railway Series

The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...

including Thomas the Tank Engine

Thomas the Tank Engine

Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...

was a curate from 1940 to 1946. The church stands next to the historic buildings of Saracen's Head

Saracen's Head

The Saracen's Head is the name usually given to a group of late medieval buildings in Kings Norton, Birmingham. The buildings, together with the nearby Old Grammar School, won the BBC Restoration series in 2004...

, recently restored and named Saint Nicolas Place.

List of vicars

• 1313 Roger Notte,
• ???? Richard de la Fielde,
• ???? John Le Tournour
• 1325 Robert de Clyve
• 1344 William Paas
• 1346-75 Reginald Newton
• 1476 John Shyngler
• 1496-1512 William Dowell
• 1504 Machell Thomas
• 1513 Humphrey Toye
• 1523 Thomas Heregreve
• 1540 Edward Alcock
• ???? Henry Locock
• ???? William Gardefielde
• 1547 Richard Dewhurst
• 1552 John Butler
• 1609-11 Henry Kempster

• 1616 Nathaniel Bradshaw
• 1623-39 Tobias Gyles
• 1640-62 Thomas Hall
• 1662 William Collins
• 1663-70 John Horton
• 1673-75 Timothy White
• 1676-78 John Guest
• 1678-84 John Birch
• 1686-96 John Barney
• 1696-98 Thomas Wilmot
• 1699-1717 John Birch
• 1718-21 Thomas Gem
• 1722-23 John Birch
• 1726-30 Joseph Benton
• 1730-34 John Hancox
• 1735-39 Richard Carpenter
• 1741-43 John Waldron

• 1744-49 S. Collins
• 1752-61 James Hemming
• 1762-70 John Hodges
• 1771-83 Thomas Edwards
• 1784-1824 Hugh Edwards
• 1824-59 Joseph Amphlett
• 1859-80 J. M. L. Aston
• 1880-93 Digby Henry Cotes-Preedy
• 1893-1909 Charles William Barnard
• 1909-23 Hugh Price
• 1924-48 Thomas Shelton Dunn
• 1949-65 Edward George Ashford
• 1965-79 Anthony James Balmforth
• 1979-92 William Beadon Norman
• 1992-99 Martin Leigh
• 1999- Rob Morris

Bells

The church has ten bells with a tenor weight of . The ringing chamber is accessed via a wooden staircase of 54 steps.

There is a poem "The New Bell Wake" about these bells.

Organ

Parts of the organ date from 1857 by J. Halmshaw, but it has been expanded and restored several times since. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

List of organists

• 1857 Henry Halmshaw
• 1884 Charles Thompson
• 1893 Herbert W. Wareing
• 1907 A. W. Hartland
• 1925 John Birch
• 1927 J. W. Brittain
• 1927 W. Sudworth
• 1941 W. R. Masters
• 1950 Mr. Brown
• 1950 David Gwerfyl Davies (later organist of Brecon Cathedral
  Brecon Cathedral
  Brecon Cathedral, in the town of Brecon, is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales, and seat of the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon...
  
  )
• 1953 Dennis Davenport
• 1960 Raymond Isaacson
• 1961 B. W. Purchase
• 1972 Peter Boswell
• 1976 Peter Carder
• 1993 Sylvia Fox

List of assistant organists

• 1928 W. R. Masters
• 1941 W. E. Moore
• 1950 J. Myers
• 1958 R. G. Howells
• 1961 Trevor Jones
• 1968 Reginald Hall
• 1974 Martin Schellenberg (later organist of Christchurch Priory
  Christchurch Priory
  Christchurch Priory is an ecclesiastical parish and former priory church in Christchurch in the English county of Dorset .-Early history:...
  
  )
• 1978 Andrew Lane
• 1980 Ceridwen Evans
• 1990 Sylvia Fox
• 1998 Kevin Blumer

External links

• The King’s Norton Web Site