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St Nicholas (Church of England)

St Nicholas (church Of England)

Great Munden

Hertfordshire

Early C12 nave and chancel, mid C14 S aisle, late C15 W tower and chancel arch

Architectural Features

S porch 1874 (replacing C16 brick porch shown in 1832 drawing by J C Buckler) repaired 1929

Steep old red tile roof to chancel and timber S porch

Original C12 features include round arched N door (blocked) with external colonettes, cushion capitals and bowtel moulded arch

A Norman arch is said to be covered over in N side of chancel

Wide S aisle c1350, probably built as a burial place by the de Boys family, has a 3-bay arcade with octagonal piers (restored), fine Dec windows to E (3-light) and W (2-light), 2 wide ogee headed tomb-recesses and a piscina in the S wall, an early C15 panelled stone reredos with ogee headed niches and embattled moulding, 2 3-light windows in the S wall (restored) and S door with 2 moulded orders

The nave has a C14 doorway into the W tower, a C15 image niche on the N wall crocketted and finialled with traces of painting, 3 C15 3-light N windows each with a different head, and a late C15 4-centred depressed chancel arch widened to S. 3-bay C15 queen-post open roof to nave with braces to purlins and principals, moulded wall- posts on carved stone musical angel corbels and curved braces with pierced quatrefoil spandrels

E window C19, C14 S doorway and C15 2-light window

Narrow windows in 2 lower stages repaired with tile slips by SPAB technique

Fittings include an hexagonal Jacobean oak pulpit said to have been a bequest of Sir Robert Cecil, early C16 chancel stalls with carved ends and initials 'RK' for rector Robert King (1510-1538), and octagonal font c1891 carved with floral panels and on an octagonal rose marble shaft with moulded stone base

2 monuments on S wall of aisle to Sarah and Gratiana Spence 1753 and 1776 in the form of bellied cartouches with hatchment carved at top.