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Why and how did St Nicholas’ church change?
There has been a church on the site of the current St Nicholas’ church since the twelfth century – that’s over 900 years! For some of that time, the centre of Durham was surrounded by a wall to protect it from attackers. One of the gates that allowed people to enter and leave the city – Walker Gate – was right next to the church. Travellers would often stop in the church to pray.
Take a look at the picture below. It shows St Nic’s (how it is known in Durham) in 1830, just before Queen Victoria came to the throne. Have a closer look then try to answer the questions below. It would be helpful to use a table like the one below to record your answers.
Engraving of St Nicholas’s Church, c. 1830. (DUL ref: XLLL 942.81 DIC/40c). Click on Image to enlarge.
1830 | ||
| 1. Does the church have a steeple or a spire? | ||
| 2. What shape is the alcove around the clock? | ||
| 3. Can you see any stained glass windows? | ||
| 4. How many arches are there along the front of the church? |
This picture shows us what St Nic’s used to look like.
In 1858 it was decided to rebuild the Church. The Vicar, George Townsend Fox, had lots of ideas about how he wanted the church to look. One of the things he insisted on was a spire rather than a tower. He felt so strongly about this that he paid the extra expense himself and even bought a neighbouring building so that he could demolish it and make the Church look nicer in the Market Place.
Let’s see how the new church and old church compare. Look at the image below and then fill in the other column of your table so you can compare the answers.
Engraving of St Nicholas’s Church, c. 1859. (DCRO ref: EP/Du.SN 4/109). Click on image to enlarge.
1830 | post-1858 | |
| 1. Does the church have a steeple or a spire? | ||
| 2. What shape is the alcove around the clock? | ||
| 3. Can you see any stained glass windows? | ||
| 4. How many arches are there along the front of the church? |
So we know how the building changed in appearance.
What happened in the Church?
A church is more than just a building. It’s a place where people come to worship, where their children are baptised, where they get married, where they have their funerals and, sometimes, where they find their final resting place. Have a look at this source. It’s an extract from the burial register of St Nic’s which gives details of all the people who were buried at the church.
Read the source carefully and then try to answer the questions below. Remember that there is a transcript and a larger version to help you if you get stuck.
Extract from the Burial Register of St Nicholas’ Church, 1597. (DCRO ref: EP/Du.Sn 1/2)
1. Did you notice that there is a separate list of the people who died of ‘the affliction’? What do you think this affliction was?
2. Where do you think these people were buried? Can you see a churchyard in any of the pictures of St Nic’s?