Description

TG5208SW
839-1/11/22

GREAT YARMOUTH
CHURCH PLAIN (North side)
Church of St Nicholas

27/06/53

GV
II*

Parish church. Founded in association with a Benedictine Priory 1101 by Bishop Herbert de Losinga and completed in 1119. The base of the tower is early C12, the remainder rebuilt in stages throughout C13. Derelict state in C17 and C18: north nave aisle removed 1705, replaced 1847 by JH Hakewill. East end rebuilt 1813 by PH Wyatt, again rebuilt and lengthened 1862 by JP Seddon. Further restorations in 1847, 1862 and 1889 (the last by JL Pearson). Fire-bombed in 1942 and gutted completely leaving only the external walls, most of which were by then C19, rebuilt 1957-60 by Stephen Dykes Bower. Quaternary and Quarry flint, mostly knapped, chert and Lincolnshire Limestone ashlar dressings. Copper roof cladding.

PLAN: cruciform plan of nave, nave aisles, transepts with central tower, chancel and chancel aisles.

EXTERIOR: the west front presents three gables, the central one lit through three early C13 lancets over an arched and moulded doorway. Wide south aisle added c1250 showing three stepped lancets each with two Y-tracery lights and cusping of C19 design. Punched trefoils in the spandrels. Equally wide north aisle of 1847 lit through stepped lancets with Y-tracery. Four polygonal turrets with C19 pinnacles. Eight nave aisle bays, the windows to the south side of three lights each of Geometric Decorated design. Gabled south porch with an arched and moulded doorway, corner pinnacles and flushwork panelling. Inside a two-bay quadripartite rib-vault and an inner doorway with three orders of shafts carrying stiff-leaf capitals. Two three-light flowing side windows. The porch restored in 1991. The north nave aisle has seven three-light Perpendicular windows of C20 origin and a re-used C13 doorway with multiple roll mouldings and a string course carried over it. In the angle with the north transept is an altar tomb of 1851 protected by iron railings. Seven-light transept windows with Decorated tracery; angle pinnacles again. The chancel has three-light cusped north and south windows and a five-light east window by JP Seddon. In the angles between the chancel and the transepts are various low C19 and C20 vestries. The tower has an arcade of C12 arches, then a string course below round-arched windows lighting the ringing chamber. The belfry is almost all 1862, by Seddon: three tall lancets to each face, a punched parapet and corner pinnacles.

INTERIOR: four-bay nave arcade entirely of 1957, in design and execution: rectangular piers with engaged shafts and fan capitals. Boarded nave and aisle roofs. The west end has an internal wall passage. Wide arches from the aisles into the transepts and four transept arches re-cased in C19. The chancel has five aisles (since 1960), the outer two aisles separated by a four-bay octagonal arcade of 1960. Pitched boarded central roof, flat boarded aisle roofs. Chancel pulpitum with two arched C13 doors decorated with quatrefoils in the jambs and in the arch and with encircled quatrefoils in the spandrels. Norman octagonal font with a 12-sided bowl with waterleaf decoration from Highway, Wiltshire. Simple nave pews from St George's, Yarmouth, 1714. Panelled pulpit also from St George's.

Listing NGR: TG5243508036

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Great Yarmouth Minster at Wikipedia
• Great Yarmouth Minster official website
• Wikidata Q5600303

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)