St Nicholas' Church is an Anglican parish church in Stevenage, a town in Hertfordshire, England.

It occupies a hilltop site above Old Stevenage. It is a Grade I listed building and is composed of a tower, entrance porch, nave, north and south aisles, choir, Lady chapel, Trinity chapel, and vestry.

History The earliest settlement in Stevenage was on the site of the present St Nicholas' Church. It was likely established in the 7th century. This Saxon village of wooden huts may have been centered around a small wooden church on a hilltop, or may have been a more scattered collection of farmsteads. It was at this time that the name "Stevenage" emerged, with early variants including "Stigenace" and "Stithenace" in the 11th century, the meaning of which is generally accepted as "at the stiff or strong oak", though some scholars favour "at the strong gate". In Saxon times, England was divided into parishes, each with its church and a rector or vicar. The boundaries of Stevenage parish were defined at about 1100 and were unchanged for 850 years. The church in this time was enlarged and embellished. Parishes were organised into dioceses; Stevenage was in the Diocese of Lincoln. At this time, England was part of the Roman Catholic Church in Europe.

In the early 12th century (probably around 1120, though perhaps as early as 1100), a thick-walled flint tower was built onto the church, where villagers could find refuge, and fire arrows at attackers through the narrow windows, and the Saxon church was replaced by Norman one. The flints, sourced from hills to the north of the town, were knapped to produce smooth faces, and set into lime mortar. The tower also contains Hertfordshire puddingstone, brownish-white quartzite and speckled black and white volcanic rock. In the 13th century, the town moved away from the church to the Great North Road. Most of the church was completely rebuilt at this time, leaving just the tower, which is now the oldest part of the church. Traces of an earlier nave, which predates the tower, can be found on the eastern face of the tower. Expansion of Stevenage in the 15th century is shown by expansion of the church at the same time. At this time, the aisles were widened, the chancel was rebuilt, and the spire was added in the second half of the 15th century. The church was remote from the main settlement of Stevenage but also served many hamlets and farmsteads.

In the 16th century, Protestant groups emerged, and Catholics and Protestants persecuted each other. There was religious upheaval during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I, from Henry's break with Rome in 1535 to Mary's death in 1558. Stevenage had as its rector at this time the Reverend Thomas Alleyne, who was respected and loved by his parishioners, who saw him as a father figure. The Church of England (Anglican Church) emerged from these tumultuous years. Alleyne was a Protestant, and Stevenage was probably Protestant in its outlook, as much of Hertfordshire was at this time. Stevenage became part of the Diocese of London. During the English Civil War, the church suffered the loss of stained glass windows, murals were whitewashed and ornaments were destroyed by Roundhead supporters.

In 1841, the number of seats in the church was increased from 314 to 634, but this was still inadequate as the population of Stevenage was 1850. As Stevenage expanded in the 1850s, a new church was needed as the population reached 2118. In 1861, a chapel-of-ease, the Holy Trinity Church, was built for the residents of new roads in the south of Stevenage who objected to the long walk to St Nicholas' Church, especially as they would often find the church was full. In 1877, Stevenage was placed in the Diocese of St Albans. St Nicholas' Church was designated a Grade I listed building on 18 February 1948.

Stevenage was designated the first new town in 1946 (the first new town built in England following World War II). Those concerned with the new town realised that new centres for people to meet were needed to create a sense of community, so several new churches were to be built. In 1955, the Reverend Eric Cordingly became rector of Stevenage and led the development and reorganisation of the Church of England in Stevenage. Each neighbourhood of the town would have its own church building and priest-in-charge, and there would be one large, centrally located church as the parish church for the town, St George's (later St Andrew and St George's), to which the title of rector would be attached. St George's took over from St Nicholas' as the civic church of the town. St Nicholas' and its daughter church, the Holy Trinity, became daughter churches of St George's, leading to sarcastic remarks that the daughter was older than the mother, and resentment that the ancient church had been casually demoted.

In 1970, the ecclesiastical parish of Stevenage was divided into seven parishes, each with its own church and vicar (though St George's retained the title of rector), so St Nicholas' regained its parish church status. In 1998, the benefice of St Nicholas was joined with that of St Mary, Graveley.

Clergy The earliest known rector of Stevenage is Nicholas Fitz-Simon, who was appointed in 1213. Notable incumbents who left their mark on the town include Stephen Hellard, who bequeathed a set of almshouses to the town, rent-free, provided the residents commended his soul to God every day, and Thomas Alleyne, who left funds in his will for a free grammar school, which, combined with that of a yeoman, Edward Wilshire, provided The Thomas Alleyne School in 1558, surviving today as The Thomas Alleyne Academy.

In 1960, the new parish church of St George was consecrated and St Nicholas became a district church in the care of a priest-in-charge. In 1970, the parish of Stevenage was divided into seven separate parishes, and St Nicholas regained its status as a parish church, with the incumbent having the title of vicar. In 1998, the benefice of St Nicholas was joined with that of St Mary, Graveley, so from that date, each incumbent was vicar of St Nicholas and St Mary.

Rectors of Stevenage Name Appointed Appointment ended Note 1213 Unknown Unknown Unknown 1255 Unknown Unknown Unknown 15 March 1276 Unknown 5 December 1314 Unknown 8 January 1328 Unknown 1333 Unknown 1340 Unknown 1350 Unknown 1373 Unknown 1382 Unknown 1393 Unknown 1395 Unknown February 1397 1408 July 1408 Unknown Unknown Unknown August 1432 Unknown July 1472 1500 (died) September 1506 Unknown Unknown 1558 (died) 1558 Unknown 1577 Unknown 1578 Unknown December 1579 1629 (died) 1633 April 1664 (died) May 1664 October 1678 (died) January 1678 Unknown April 1680 1688 (died) April 1689 April 1723 (died) September 1723 October 1725 (died) November 1725 October 1733 (died) February 1734 1737 (died) 1737 September 1773 (died) November 1773 1781 (resigned) March 1781 1833 (died) 1833 1834 Cousin of the above 1834 1874 (resigned) Canon of Chester 1874 1912 Father of William Jowitt, 1st Earl Jowitt 1912 1918 Canon of St Albans 1918 1945 Canon of St Albans 1945 1954 1955 1962 Chaplain to the Queen 1962 1969 Priests-in-charge of St Nicholas 1960 1966 (resigned) 1966 1969 (resigned) 1970 1971 (became vicar, see below) Vicars of St Nicholas 1971 1987 (resigned) 1987 1999 (resigned) 1999 2010 (resigned) 2011 (present)

Architecture and fittings The church now comprises the tower, an entrance porch, nave, north and south aisles, choir, Lady chapel, Trinity chapel and vestry. The square-shaped font dates to the early 13th century and has a medieval carved wooden cover. The tower's walls are thick on three sides at the base and at the top. It measures by and is aligned about ° west of north. The church is entirely embattled.

The wooden church attached to the 12th century stone tower was replaced in the 13th century. Aisles were added circa 1230, and the present chancel was built in around 1330, the aisles were widened and the font was installed. The interior was decorated with paintings and stained glass, and it had a decorated roof and a gilded and painted screen between the chancel and the nave. Faint traces of murals dating to this period can still be seen. A spire of the traditional Hertfordshire design was added to the tower in the 14th or 15th century. The roof may have been raised and later lowered, evidenced by the presence of a door high on the tower, above the present roof, which presumably enclosed a higher nave roof.

Around 1836, the walls were damp from soil accumulating on the outside walls to a height of above the floor of the interior, so the soil was removed, leaving a ditch wide, a low wall was built to keep the ditch banks up and the ditch was paved with bricks. Following this, repairs were carried out to the tower; the spire was repaired and re-leaded, the battlements were restored, a cornice was run around the tower, the windows and doors were repaired and the whole surface of the tower was repaired.

In 1841, the north-east vestry, south transept (since converted to a parish room) and south porch were added, and the pews were replaced. The rector at the time, George Becher Blomfield, set about repairing leaks and draughts, and had a musicians' gallery at the west end of the church and its two supporting pillars removed to enable the repairs, and they were not replaced. The pillars were moved to a coaching inn on the High Street where they remain to this day. The entire ceiling was coloured to resemble oak; the chancel ceiling of plain plaster was taken down and renewed with transverse beams supported by angels painted in fresco. Two concealed windows were discovered in the chancel with the mullions and tracery nearly perfect, as were the remains of three sedilia and a double piscina. The damaged font was repaired and moved.

In 1914, the rector, Canon Molony, set about to restore the church where "the rain has been streaming down the inside walls in the south-west corner of the transept and the boarding of the nave has required further temporary repairs in order to save people from going through the flooring." The south aisle was enlarged at around this time.

The tower houses eight bells, though in a 1553 list of church goods, four bells were listed, and it was increased to six before 1700. The church also contains six 14th- or 15th-century oak misericords, including one with a carved image of a woman with a branks in her mouth (though sometimes interpreted as a Green Man) and another of an angel. Three of the others have foliage carved on them, and the sixth is plain.

An organ was installed in 1836, and it was enlarged in 1858, however, a new organ was erected in 1885. Alterations were made in the church for the new organ and new choir stalls. The brass lectern was presented to the church in 1871. There are nine stained glass windows in the church. A carved reredos dates from 1890. The oak pews installed in 1964 are by Robert (Mouseman) Thompson. St Nicholas' Church underwent redecoration in 2009, and the parish room was refurbished in the 2010s with a kitchen and two upstairs toilets.

Memorials