St Nicolas' Church, Kings Norton

St Nicolas's Church, Kings Norton is the Anglican parish church of Kings Norton, in the Diocese of Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom.HistoryA church has been located on this site as early as the 11th century when the Normans built a small, rectangular chapel. It is not known if this was the result of a rebuild of a previous church. A church on this site has been recorded in documents since 1213. The current St Nicolas's Church dates from the early 13th century, and the spire was constructed between 1446 and 1475. The Norman building was demolished in the 14th century when a new nave, both aisles and the chancel arch were constructed. In the 17th century, almost the whole of the south aisle was re-built, the chancel was re-roofed and the low pitched roof that covered the nave from the 15th century was replaced by a much steeper version. Both north aisle and south aisle were given four separate, high pitched roofs set side-by-side. A parish was assigned to the church in 1846.The church was restored in 1863 by Ewan Christian and again in 1871 by W. J. Hopkins. It is a Grade I listed building.In 1898 the church started a mission in Cotteridge which later became St Agnes' Church, Cotteridge.The Revd W. V. Awdry, author of The Railway Series including Thomas the Tank Engine was a curate from 1940 to 1946. The church stands next to the historic buildings of Saracen's Head, recently restored and named Saint Nicolas Place.