St Nicholas Church, Great Yarmouth

The Church of St Nicholas in Great Yarmouth, which is the largest parish church in England, was founded in by Herbert de Losinga, the first bishop of Norwich, and consecrated in 1119. It is cruciform, with a central tower, which perhaps preserves a part of the original structure, but by successive alterations the form of the church has been completely changed. The width of the nave is 26 ft, and the total length of the church is 236 ft. The church is the parish church of Great Yarmouth.

The Building

The building itself is located in the central area of Great Yarmouth close to the house of Anna Sewell. There are two main areas of graveyard, one is the old yard which is located directly behind the church and the new yard which stretches for about half a mile to the north. The church is not only used for religious services but is a hub for events. There are choir shows, exhibitions and during festivals and fayres the church opens up to allow stalls and traders inside. The Transitional clerestoried nave, with columns alternately octagonal and circular, was rebuilt in the reign of King John. A portion of the chancel is of the same date. About fifty years later the aisles were widened, so that the nave is now the narrowest part of the building.

Priory School

Also within the confines of the churchyard is the Priory School. It is no longer a school and was moved to the old nursing school in the town centre although it keeps the name of Priory Primary. It is now called the Priory Centre and contains a café, support centre and CLIP information point.

History

Early History

A grand west front with towers and pinnacles was constructed in 1330-1338, but the building was interrupted by a visitation of the plague. In the 16th century the ornamental brasses were cast into weights and the gravestones cut into grindstones. Within the church there were at one time 18 chapels, maintained by guilds or private families, but these were demolished by the Reformers, who sold the valuable utensils of the building and applied the money to the widening of the channel of the harbour.

plit Church

During the Commonwealth the Independents appropriated the chancel, the Presbyterians the north aisle, and the Churchmen were allowed the remainder of the building. The brick walls erected at this time to separate the different portions of the building remained till 1847. In 1864 the tower was restored, and the east end of the chancel rebuilt; in 1869-1870 the south aisle was rebuilt; and in 1884 the south transept, the west end of the nave and the north aisle underwent restoration.

Recent History

St Nicholas was bombed and nearly destroyed by fire during World War II. It was rebuilt and re-opened in approx 1954. Whilst it was closed the business of being the parish church moved to St Peter's Church on St Peter's Road. When St Nicholas re-opened St Peter's became poorly used and in the 1960s was taken over for use by the growing Greek community and in 1981 became St Spiridon's Greek Orthodox Church.