St Nicholas - Blakeney, Norfolk - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

The Medieval Octagonal Font with eight sides representing the four evangelists, alternating with the four great Latin Doctors of the church, who interpreted the gospels. In the four shields the emblems of the passion.

By the 15th century Blakeney was one of the few ports allowed to trade in horses, gold and silver. The money generated financed the rebuilding of the nave of the original friars’ church. By 1435 a new tower, 104ft high, had been built declaring to all comers the importance of Blakeney.

For good measure they then built another one, although the smaller east tower had a utilitarian as well as ostentatious function. It seems likely it contained a light to guide shipping; certainly it acted as a navigational aid for centuries and mariners may well have been able to line up the tower at Blakeney with the one at neighbouring Cley to guide themselves in. St Nicholas is probably the only church in Norfolk with twin towers, apart from Wymondham Abbey. One of the benefactors of the church was a landowner named John Calthorp. In his will he stated that “his synful body was to be buried in the myddys of the chancel” – and so it was in 1508; the keen-eyed can read the brass inscription on the floor. Also buried there is Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin, the Bentley racing driver of the 1920s, a regular visitor to Blakeney. An inscription on the buttresses shows a dolphin and three seashells; this motif has been taken in recent years to represent the town.


The church has a good example of a hammerbeam roof with carved figures, of angels and decorative frame work.
Seafarers such as Sir Christopher Myngs, Sir John Narborough and Sir Cloudesley Shovell hailed from the Blakeney area. St Nicholas is awash with inscriptions and memorials to seafarers, particularly the lifeboatmen.
On one wall is a particularly evocative passage recalling a dramatic night in January, 1918. “In a northwest gale and snow and frost 30 lives were saved on two steamers by the crew of the Blakeney lifeboat Caroline,” it recalls.
Most striking is the fact that the average age of the crew was 55, presumably because most of the younger men were at war.

The boat was coxed by George Long, then 62, whose picture above the inscription shows him to have been a man with a weathered face and determined look you would certainly have been glad of beside you in the boat. Five men in his crew bore the same surname ‘Long’, a name shared by several of the names on the war memorial outside the church. Stroll around the churchyard to read some more nautical names on the tombstones.

Major restoration work was carried out on the towers during the 1980s, and dedicated parishioners help keep things going. The church, along with the town, has benefited from the many tourists to the area (perhaps a few too many for some in the summer!) and the spectacular sight of the church with the twin towers can be seen by both sailors and people out birdwatching or walking in the area – a true landmark of this popular coastline. Visitors are welcome to climb the tower for a fine view. Simon Jenkins, in his book England’s 1,000 Best Churches (2001, Penguin) described St Nicholas as “a community centre, market place and museum” while it was voted one of England’s 100 favourite churches in the Daily Telegraph two years ago.

St Nicholas Church, Blakeney, on the scenic A149 between Cromer and Wells, is open to the public.

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1435 Age of Church building determined by?: Historical Society If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Church of England If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: From: 9:00 AM To: 6:00 PM If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Sunday Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 10:30 AM Street address of Church: St Nicholas Blakeney, Norfolk United Kingdom Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/29/2018 The_Senior_Crabbes visited it