St. Nicholas Church - Beverly,UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 50.472 W 000° 24.895
30U E 670077 N 5968951
This church dates from 1880 but there was an earlier St. Nicholas church opposite here until it was demolished between 1653-55.
Waymark Code: WM170KG
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/14/2022
Views: 0
St. Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors and merchants. Not far from here were wharves at the end of a small canal that linked Beverley with the River Hull. The original church was built in 1160 which would indicate that the wharves were already busy with the loading and unloading of sailing ships.
The website of the church has some interesting information about its history.
"The original St. Nicholas Church dates back at least to the 12th century, possibly of Norman architecture, built in Holme Church Lane, opposite the site of the present Church in what was known as Osiers Yard. Certainly the church with a priest was in existence by c. 1160. The ministry of St. Nicholas was largely confined to the Grovehill and Beckside industries of tanneries and boatmen (Neave 1996, 40). The Church fell into disrepair and was demolished between 1653-55 in part as a consequence of the Civil War. Archaeological remains of the original church (Miller et al 1982, 47-48) were found to include a chancel, transepts, aisled nave and a west tower. Part of the tower helped to repair St Mary’s Church and the Minster at the end of the 17th century (Allison 1989, 240-241).
The present church was consecrated on the the 3rd August 1880. This was in memorial to the family of Lord Wolverton for an initial £6,000. The final building overan this budget even after substantial scaling down of architectural ambitions. The final plans were drawn up by Mr. Broderick employing Simpsons and Malone for the build alongside Elwell of Beverley for the woodwork. This design re-used a font (c.1450) originally thought to be from the ancient St.Nicholas Church, though later ideas suggest it's most likely origin to be the Dominican Friary. The church seated 350 people and the first vicar was the Hon & Revd. F.G.Pelham.
Modern Refurbishments
The project to make the interior of the Church building more accessible to the needs of the parish was completed in September 2012. This started with a new heating system, installed in September 2007, followed by improved toilet and refreshment facilities, redesigned worship area, and entrance. The organ loft was converted into a new vestry and meeting room in Autumn 2011. Finally the re-ordering of the chancel was completed at the end of 2012."
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