The grey-blue spire of St Nicholas, patron saint of sailors (and, as Santa Claus, of children) has soared to the sky above Lynn for over nine centuries. This radiant town centre chapel is the largest in England, full of stories illustrating King’s Lynn’s long history as a busy commercial port and some darker tales, for it’s reputed the ground along the path is high due to the number of plague victims buried beneath. The carved woodwork is of such quality that some is now in the V&A Museum. In the fifteenth-century wooden roof, carved angels sing with wings outstretched, while in the medieval stalls strange cavorting figures suggest an older faith.

Situated in what was once ‘Newland’, St Nicholas was known as the Fishermen’s Chapel, spiritual home for the North End fishing community. The fine Christian folk of the town sniffed at sitting next to rough dressed fisherfolk so a pew system prevented anyone of low status sitting in the front seats. One hopes the good Lord gave special attention to the people at the back.

When the chapel was reseated in the 1860s, Canon Wodehouse announced a new service, opening the whole chapel every Sunday evening, ‘when old dresses and thread-bare coats would come perhaps with less restraint’. This achievement led to what in 1868 was described as ‘the largest congregation in town, fishermen may be seen in their white and blue slops, and they confess…it is the happiest day of the week.’