Building record 0222400000 - ST NICHOLAS' CHURCH, CUDDINGTON

Dimensions - Length 28m, Width 15m.
Thoroughly restored 1858 (B2).
Detailed description. Restored by Street in 1857 (B5).
Negative watching brief (B8).
A watching brief was carried out during the buidling a a french drain and soakway. A small amount of pottery and parts of two decorated floor tiles (possibly Brill-Borstall industry) were recovered. 9 burials were also recorded with other disturbed bones. The footings of the tower were uncovered and shown to be tabular limestone forming a plinth projecting 0.30m beyond the tower wall. The footings on the north side of the tower were shown to be in poorer condition. The butresses were revealed to be of contemporary build with the tower. The burials were encountered in the soakaway excavations at levels between 0.35m-1.10m - five of the burials were adult and three of young persons. Three sherds of pottery were recovered - dish rim 16-17th century, sherd from a 13-15th century Brill-Boarstall jug, and a base-angle sherd from medieval cooking pot. The floor tiles were both decorated with white-clay filled designs (B9).
Watching brief carried out by TVAS in January 2009 during removal of underfloor heating ducts and installation of a new floor identified two brick-built burial crypts beneath the north aisle, both probably of 18th and early 19th century date. Crypt 1 contained 5 coffins, the chamber measuring 2.5m X 2.6m and 2.2m high and was reached by a flight of 6 concrete steps. Crypt 2 contained 4 coffins (1 of a child), the chamber measuring approximately 3m X 2.5m and 2m high. See report for detail (B10).
Grade II+. Parish church. C13. North aisle widened c1330, south porch C14. West Tower C15. North vestry C19. Rubblestone with limestone dressings. Old tile roofs. 2 bay chancel with north east vestry. 4 bay nave with 2 bay south chapel and 2 bay south aisle, porch, and 3 bay north aisle. West tower. Chancel has angle buttresses and weathered buttress between bays. East window 3-lights of intersecting foiled tracery. North west and south east windows 2-light flat-headed C15 with cinquefoil heads. North aisle and south chapel east windows 3-lights of intersecting tracery. North aisle north wall has C14 2-light east window, 2 centre arched doorway and west window of 2 Tudor arched lights. West wall has 4-centred arched window of 3 ogee lights. South chapel south windows of 2 trefoiled ogee lights and tracery in a square head with moulded labels and decayed headstops. Inside are C13 jambs with remains of nook shafts, bases and capitals. South aisle has at left 2-centred 2-light window. Porch has 2 continuous orders and hoodmould. Inner doorway to aisle C13 of 2 moulded orders with dogtooth. Outer order has angle shaft with caps. Chamfered inner order. West Tower of 3 stages with moulded string courses and embattled parapet. Diagonal buttresses at west. Stair turret rising above north east corner. West doorway has 4-centred moulded arch. 3-light window above. Single light ringing chamber windows on south and west sides. Bell chamber has 2-light cinquefoil windows. Church has stone coped gables with finials. Interior. Chancel has octagonal moulded corbel cap piscina in south east angle. Chancel arch of 2 square orders with bowtells. Semi-octagonal responds. Simple bell caps. Moulded bases and abaci. Nave north arcade has east arch of 2 chamfered orders. Octagonal column. 2 west bays later C13 of 2 hollow chamfered orders. West column has moulded base and fluted and scalloped cap. South nave arcade: East and west responds semi-octagonal. 3 Cylindrical piers, east one with scalloped-cap. Arches of 2 hollow chamfered orders. South chapel has trefoil head piscina. Arch into south aisle of 2 moulded orders. Crude moulded caps and bases on attached segmental shafts. Tower arch of 2 continuous chamfered orders. Victorian roofs, arch braced collar trusses to chancel, wagon roofs to south chapel and north aisle. Collar purlin roof to nave. Stained glass: C14 angels in south chapel east window. Chancel east window by Powell 1857, designed by G.E. Street. Early English style pulpit by Street. Font: C13 circular bowl, ornamented with shallow arcade of pointed arches. RCHM I. 109. MON.1 (B7).

Parish Church of St Nicholas. Built of rubble with limestone dressings. The roofs are tiled except for that of the South aisle which is lead-covered. The C12th church probably consisted of a chancel and an aisleless nave, the nave being shorter than the present nave. This building seems to have enlarged four times during the C13th, the work of each period being sufficiently marked to distinguish it from the others:
a: a North transept was added to the nave, and the chancel rebuilt ca.1220;
b: a short and narrow South aisle of two bays was added to the Eastern half of the nave ca.1230;
c: a North aisle, which was probably narrow, with an arcade of three bays was built West of the transept ca.1260, a short length of walling being retained between the transept arch and the first arch of the arcade, and at the same time, the South aisle was lengthened by two bays towards the West;
d: ca.1290, the Eastern half of the South aisle was widened to form a South chapel. The North aisle was widened, probably to the depth of the original transept which was incorporated with the aisle, ca.1330, when the West respond of the transept arch was converted into a pillar and the first arch of the C13th arcade was rebuilt with a wider span. The South porch is also of the C14th. In the C15th, the West tower was added, and several windows were inserted in other parts of the building. In the second half of the C16th, the North aisle was shortened by one bay from the West. The North vestry was added and the church restored and re-roofed in the C19th. Grade II* (B4).
The chapel of Cuddington was appendant to the church at Haddenham, and was held by the Priory of St Andrew, Rochester,
until the Dissolution in 1540. The font is a late C12th tapering circular bowl on a short stem (B3).

This record includes National Record of the Historic Environment Information provided by Historic England on 4 June 2025 licensed under the Open Government Licence.

Cuddington church was resored by Street in 1856-7, for Rev J M Price. The work included a new reredos, south aisle gable, and remoddeled south porch (B12).