CHURCHES RICH IN HISTORY.

St Nicholas Church, Teddington

From the outside St Nicholas Church, Teddington, appears an unexceptional building but the interior provides several items of particular interest. The oldest part is probably the semi-circular chancel arch which is similar to examples in the famous Saxon church at nearby Deerhurst and dates from the late 11^th or early 12^th century.

The nave was probably built in the 13^th century, although the north door appears to be considerably older. On the porch side are two carved head stops – one a man’s head, the other a dragon – which are both in a style prevalent after the Norman Conquest. The chancel itself is probably 14^th century and has an east window of that period with three trefoiled ogee lights. There are windows of Jacobean design on both the north and south walls, the former with some pieces of 15^th century stained glass.

The Commonwealth period seems to have been a time of some expenditure on the church. The easternmost of the two windows in the south wall of the nave is dated 1654 and the fine pulpit is inscribed with the names of churchwardens in office in 1655. The altar rails and priest’s stall are Jacobean. On the front of the desk is carved ‘Quench ye not the spirit. Despise not prophesying’. On the side is ‘Pray continually’.

The west end is an interesting mixture of styles. The west window itself has 14^th century stonework and the east end of the tower vault rests on a pair of 13^th century clustered columns, four each side with a pointed arch above. Archaeological detective work in 1930 established that this stonework came from the dissolved Hailes Abbey, near Winchcombe. The tower itself, which has a tablet on the east face bearing the date 1567, is crenellated and has fine gargoyle water spouts. There are two bells, one inscribed ‘Christus est Via, Veritas, Vita 1605’ and the other ‘God save King James 1609’. The porch leading to the north door is of 13^th century design and the roofs of both chancel and nave are of the trussed rafter type, probably 14^th century. The base and stem of the font are 14^th century but the bowl is modern, its predecessor having been described in a 1676 inspection as held together with rope and not fit for purpose!

A striking feature of St Nicholas’s Church is the fine 1688 mural of the arms of William and Mary covering much of the south wall of the nave. On the north side there are traces of 16^th century lettering of the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed. A modern addition is the striking altar front, which is the work of the leading ecclesiastical embroiderer, Jacquie Binns, who also created the pulpit fall in memory of the Garvey family of Teddington, tragically murdered in 1993.

The churchyard has a number of old headstones and memorials, notably that of William Creese, one of the founders of the YMCA, who lived at Home Farm and died in 1910.

The church has undergone a substantial programme of refurbishment and repair in recent years. The nave and porch have been re-roofed, the windows re-leaded and the lighting upgraded.

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