St Nicholas Church, Durham

Who we are

• What we believe
• Mission statement
• History
• Church guide
  • First impressions
  • The rebuilding of 1858
  • The Fish window
  • The Holy Table
  • The lectern
  • The Cross
  • Rumours of life
  • The church registers
  • The fonts
  • The pillars
  • The stained glass windows
  • The quiet chapel
  • The screens
  • The Holy Table in the chapel
  • The chapel organ
  • The Gateway World Shop
  • The statue of St Nicholas
  • What is a Church?
• Staff team
• PCC

St. Nicholas Church, Durham - A Guide for Visitors

A bridge between the Christian Church and the Outside World

Welcome to St Nicholas church. There has been a church on this site from at least 994, though this particular building dates only from 1858. The present interior is the result of a major restoration programme which took place in 1980-81. The story of that restoration has been fully told in The Church in the Market Place (G. L. Carey, Kingsway Publ, 1984).

St Nicholas stands on Walker Gate, next to the site of Clayport, one of the ancient gates of the city. A plaque on the outside wall commemorates its removal in 1791. In former times, travellers arriving safely in Durham would pause to give thanks to God for his protection on their journey. Others, about to leave the city would ask him to watch over them as they faced the dangers of the open road. We, just as much as those early travellers, need to commit our goings out and our comings in to God.

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise.
You discern my going out and my lying down.
You are familiar with all my ways.
(Psalm 139)

The church was once part of the city's fortifications and though the need for a city wall has passed, St Nicholas is inextricably woven into the life of the city. It is literally a church in the market place and makes up one side of the commercial and civic heart of Durham. It is near shops, banks, building societies, the Town Hall, the tourist information centre and the market. All these centres of real life raise questions for the church in the 21st century. What is the place of the Christian faith in the modern world? How can church buildings reflect the relevance of Christ in contemporary society?

George Carey, vicar of St Nicholas from 1975-1982, later to be Archbishop of Canterbury, had a vision of a church at the heart of the city. He wanted it to be 'an open, attractive building, properly furnished, decorated and equipped. A centre where there would be activity seven days a week...offering hospitality and social care.. .a place, in fact, that would be a natural bridge between the Christian church and the outside world.'