Saint Nicholas Church

Because it is a very distinctive building, and I am churchwarden there.

Very friendly and open.

This Church I have passed many times during the years visiting Bournemouth area when I lived up in the north of England. I was 11 years old when this building was first started. My uncle use to have a house on the corner of Wildown road and was planting a hedge which is still there to this date. The building of St Nicholas Church was started in 1958 when Bournemouth Corporation made available a site on The Broadway at the approach to Hengistbury Head. The first section was completed by 1961. The ceremony to lay the Foundation Stone of St Nicholas Church took place on 8th April 1961. St Nicholas is the daughter church of St Katharine’s and at that time was the first Anglican church to be built in Bournemouth in seven years. Work continued and on the 25th March 1971 the completed church was dedicated by the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Rev. Falkner Allison. On the 7th March 1977 the 33 foot high Cross was set up outside the East end of the church facing Hengistbury Head. The Cross is set in a concrete base weighing 19 tons and can withstand wind speeds up to 100 mph. Necessary in this part of the area as the Church stands in a very windy location overlooking the Isle of Wight and the needles lighthouse. The history of this part of Southbourne goes back many many years which you can learn all about in the new Visitors centre at Hengistbury Head.

Quiet and peaceful place

Only walked past it