St Nicholas Church in Leeds is an incredible building steeped in history which you can read about below. It’s an amazing space inside the church which we want to utilise to help build community and to offer our worship. With this in mind there is a cafe inside the church which creates an inviting social space and can be used for social events and after services.
By the cafe there is a toddler area with play mats, toys, books and a play house so children can feel at home playing in a safe environment and allows parents to still engage with the service. The services themselves have historically been organ led with full choir but as time has gone by, we are reimagining the services to incorporate more modern and informal styles as focussing on connecting with people who increasingly have had little or no experience of church previously.
One of the best attended and exciting events is a deanery wide worship service called Inspire which you can read about clicking here.
There are often music concerts, coffee mornings, bell ringing and various events including the famous Great Leeds Book Sale
The the church itself has a great relationship with Leeds and Broomfield School and Rev Mark and Cpt Graham are often there doing assemblies or enjoying lunch with the children.
In addition Rev Mark can often be found every other Thursday evening at the George Pub down the road for a ‘Pint with the Vicar’. Please keep an eye on our events page to find out the next date for this.
Regular Services on 1st and 3rd Sundays at 9.30 am
Inspire occurs every other month on the 3rd Sunday at 3.30pm
History
St. Nicholas Church is in the village of Leeds, Kent, close to Leeds Castle. It originally had just a rectangular Anglo-Saxon nave about the size of the present nave and now has a tower, nave with two aisles and a chancel bounded by North & South chapels. The arcade of the north aisle is the sole visible remains of the Saxon church; the tower is Norman and the nave aisles date to about 1400. The chapels and chancel are 14th Century, with much 16th century modification and the chancel is separated from the nave by a remarkable 15th century rood screen which extends across the whole width of the nave and side aisles – the full width of the church. From 1115 until 1540 (the dissolution) the church was controlled by Leeds Priory. It is a grade I listed building, on the “at list” register of English Heritage due mainly to the poor state of the tower stonework.
The tower contains the clock, made in 1730 by William Gill of Maidstone, and 10 bells in an 18th Century wooden bell frame. The latter is one of the oldest 10-bell frames in the country, much visited by visiting bell-ringers, and the church was the base of the famous 18th century ringer James Barham
The church has a small modern kitchen and full disabled toilet facilities. The Butcher Library, in the upper tower room, contains a comprehensive collection of books in Kent and is available to scholars or members of the parish.
The churchyard is some 4.25 acres is area, open and in use. It contains a number of grade II listed tombs, the memorial to 18th century ringer James Barham, and three commonwealth war graves. There is also a very large ancient yew tree.