St Nicholas' Church, Nicholforest, is an old and humble parish church
with nave, chancel and apse. There is a small wooden bell turret with a spire. There are many stained glass windows, all by John Scott & son, with a five light East window depicting Christ the Good Shepherd flanked by the four Evangelists.
In ancient times, churches or chapels were usually found in private land established by land owners, bishops or an association of parishioners.

There was a chapel of ease in Nicholforest in the 1700s which was described by Nicolson and Burn in 1779 as ‘which if it had any endowment had been lost (as is not at all difficult to conceive.) This may have been the chapel in the grounds of Kingfield. In 1774 it received an allotment of £200 of Queen Anne’s bounty.

In 1821, according to Whitehead (1883), the chapel was rebuilt and the district of Kirkandrews-on-Esk was allocated to the church. Its bell had a diameter of 18 inches and was, in the 1800s tolled before and after a funeral … the ‘after burial bell’ being of rare occurrence.

The origin of the English ‘parish’ is unclear but it was thought that the original meaning of ‘parish’ was ‘administrative district.’ When the term ‘parish’ was first associated with the church it meant the territory of the bishop. Thus, in today’s terms, would be a diocese.

The church at Nicholforest was entirely rebuilt and enlarged by the addition of a chancel in 1866, at a cost of £2,000. It is a handsome stone building, lighted by several stained glass windows by John Scott & Son.

Church Records of Nicholforest

The following church records are available at the Carlisle office of the Cumbria Archive Service:

Church of England (CRO Reference PR177):

Baptisms Marriage Banns Burial Bishops Trans
1761-1979 1777-1989 1824-1903 1818-1992 1756-1873