St Nicholas Cole Abbey

The church is dedicated to the 4th-century Saint Nicholas of Myra. The name "Cole Abbey" is derived from "coldharbour", a medieval word for a traveller's shelter or shelter from the cold. The church was never an abbey. The earliest reference to the church is in a letter of Pope Lucius II in 1144–5. Saint Nicholas of Myra is patron saint of, among other groups, children and fishermen, and the church has special ties with both. An inventory of the church's possessions taken at the time of the Protestant Reformation includes vestments for children, suggesting that the church maintained the tradition of electing a boy bishop on Saint Nicholas Day. Deeds in the reign of Richard I refer to a new…

The east wall is dominated by three stained glass windows designed by Keith New, who also helped design the stained glass windows of Coventry Cathedral. They are reminiscent of the work of Marc Chagall. They replace windows designed by Edward Burne-Jones which were destroyed in 1941. From left to right they depict St Nicholas Cole Abbey as the centre of the world with crosses pointing to the four corners of the world; the Rock of Christ with the ark (representing the church) on four rivers (representing the Gospels); seven lamps, representing the extension of the church around the world. Swags have been recreated over the east windows. The interior is otherwise plain, other than Corinthian…

In November 2016, Sunday services re-started, alongside midweek meetings, under the name St Nick's Church. The parish is within the conservative evangelical tradition of the Church of England, and it has passed resolutions to reject the ordination of women and/or female leadership. In November 2022, St. Nicholas announced that it was making a "visible differentiation" from the Church of England's House of Bishops, in protest at the bishops' engagement with the Living in Love and Faith process which considered the possibility of blessing same-sex sexual relationships. In March 2023, after the church's General Synod approved the principle of blessings for same-sex couples, the Senior Minister…