Music at St. Nicolas
It has been established that Joseph Key was a local composer of hymns and anthems and that the 18th Century curate of St. Nicolas, Thomas Liptrott, and the wealthy banker William Craddock, subscribed to publications of his works. A ‘Flight and Robson’ organ was installed in the Church in 1829. This is likely to have altered the services considerably. Hymn singing with a robed choir was now replacing the previous arrangements which may have consisted of a few instrumentalists or some simple chants.
Congregational singing now came to the fore.
Previous incumbents
A good deal more information has been found out regarding some previous vicars of the parish.
St Nicolas’ History: latest findings
Here are some findings from the latest researches into the History of St. Nicolas, published in 2007. For further details consult the new edition of the History of St. Nicolas on sale in Church
The living of Nuneaton was certainly seen as a desirable one. In 1655 the famous Quaker leader George Fox, who came from nearby Fenny Drayton, records in his Journal the excitement when news came of the death of the vicar of St. Nicolas and that there was a great demand to replace him.
Dispute over who should be vicar in 1660.
In 1660 soon after the restoration of the Monarchy there was an attempt to remove Richard Pyke who had been appointed vicar by Oliver Cromwell in 1655.
Two petitions were sent to King Charles II , by Thomas Hollyoke hoping to remove Pyke. But Pyke survived and two years later even made his son his Curate.
The Leeke Chapel The Leeke Chapel, situated at the south east end of the church is well documented. It was originally a Chantry Chapel set up by John Leeke who had given money for priests to be employed to pray for his soul after his death. But in the 1540s the English Reformation rejected the idea of Chantries on theological grounds. The funds were diverted to pay for the construction of a school nearby, an institution which soon became King Edward VI Grammar School.
Dean Savage of Lichfield, son of the 19th Century vicar, came to re-dedicate the Leeke Chapel in 1928 after extensive refurbishment.
However, it has now been established that there was also a Chapel on the north east side. This was originally St Katherine’s Chapel.
Research into the wills of John Everard and William Astell, who both died in the 1520s, reveals that they made a similar arrangement to John Leeke. John Everard specifically refers to the ‘newe chapel of St. Kateryn’. The Chapel is unlikely to have lasted long as a Chantry and presumably went the same way as the Leeke Chapel. Some of the space is now filled by the modern organ. The wording of the wills gives us a valuable insight into the Catholic beliefs of the people of the area on the eve of the Reformation.
