The tower of St Nicholas’ Church stands in the busy centre of Georgian Whitehaven.
Surrounded by its beautiful award winning gardens, St Nicholas’ Centre and Chapel stands as an unmistakable landmark. It is a focus for a whole variety of activities – café, meeting place, chapel for worship and private prayer and contemplation, as well as the administrative centre for the work of the busy and active Parish of Whitehaven.
The first place of worship was known to exist in 1642 This was a small building with five windows and measured forty five feet long by twenty one feet wide, and was classed as a chapel of ease. It was used by the fishermen and their families who lived in and around the town, and was served by the Vicar of the Priory Church at St. Bees. As the population grew, so did the congregation, so a bigger church was deemed necessary.
The site for this was a piece of land consisting of sand dunes which were close to Sandhills Lane. The hard white stone used for the building was quarried from Tom Herds Rock at a cost of £70 This stone also gave Whitehaven its name. When completed, the new Church was consecrated by the Rt Rev. Dr Nicholas Stratford, Lord Bishop of Chester on the 16th July 1693. The Church was not originally dedicated to any saint- the later dedication to St Nicholas, the Patron Saint of Sailors and Children is obscure. The cost of the building was One Thousand Four Hundred and Twelve pounds Three shillings and Twopence Halfpenny. This Church served the needs of the community for almost two hundred years and the stone doorway dating from 1693 has been preserved and is at the inner entrance of the present building. Until June 1867 this Church remained as a Chapel of Ease to St. Bees (although wholly independent of its Mother Church). On 4th June 1867 St. James, Holy Trinity and St. Nicholas all became Parishes in their own right.
The third St. Nicholas was constructed of red sandstone from the Beggarhill Quarry, Egremont, about five miles south of Whitehaven. This was a magnificent building which consisted of Nave, Chancel, Side Chapel, Clerestory, Tower and an Organ Chamber that housed one of the finest church organs in the country, and had a seating capacity of 600 but could accommodate up to 1000 when the need arose. It was consecrated on the 31st of August 1883. The ceremony was performed by the Rt Rev. Harvey Goodwin, Bishop of Carlisle. The building was a gift to the town by Miss Margaret Gibson, in memory of her parents, and stood as a magnificent addition to the town until it was practically destroyed by fire 93 years later almost to the day.
Fire destroyed the Nave and Sanctuary on the afternoon of August 31st 1971. The High Altar, a fine example of Renaissance carving was lost in the fire and the Altar piece which had been brought from the earlier church was also lost. This depicted the Last Supper and was painted by Matthias Read. His paintings of Moses and Aaron were both saved, and after they were cleaned and restored, now hang in St James' Church on the Gallery. Rebuilding the Church was considered, but in April 1973 the Diocesan Pastoral Committee decided against this, so the Congregation united with Christ Church to form the Parish Church of Christ Church / St Nicholas in 1974.
Ultimately they both united with St James Church to form the Parish of Whitehaven. The St Nicholas Tower was fitted out as an auxilliary chapel for services, and regular coffee mornings were held there. A plan was submitted to, and approved by the Parochial Church Council to make more use of the Tower by providing more facilities that would be of benefit to the community. An appeal was launched by the Mayor and the development went ahead, and became a Centre for Worship, Social activities and Tourism. (the latter facility is now to be found in the Market Hall ) Just one year later the centre was opened by the Mayor, and was dedicated by the Bishop of Carlisle. Since then it has become a welcoming focal point in the town centre for locals and visitors alike.
The Cache.
As you stand in the gateway facing the church, look to your right on the pavement. There is a memorial to the first Whitehaven soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross. To find the Northings find the date on which the VC was awarded and write it down thus -
dd/mm/yyyy = ab/cd/efgh
Then N54 3a. (dxh)(b-c)(a+b+c+d+e+g)’
For the Westings you need to visit two more locations within the grounds of the church.
The first location is Waypoint 1. Here you should be adjacent to a mosaic displaying the names of local collieries - all long since closed. Add the number that begin with ‘G’ to the number that begin with ‘W’. This will give you ‘w’ below.
Now go to Waypoint 2. This is a memorial to the 96 (at least) children who died in the pits. Using the age of the children
Ann Bainbridge - Abraham Taylor = x
Jane McGaa - William Savage = y
Moses Westmoreland - Daniel Todd = z
Then complete W03 3w.xyz’
The final is in another quiet location of the town.
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