St Nicholas is a small village in Thanet, Kent, England, the UK. It comprises some 1000 people, with no shops, one post office, one primary school (to search for people who once attended the school try Friends Reunited), one church and two pubs. The name derives from the fact that St Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, and that one used to "wade" across a channel here to get to the mainland. The Norman church dates from the 13th century, and there are remains of earlier buildings. The history of various village schools was described in Richard Parker's "The Schools of St Nicholas-at-Wade, 1640-1957" (pub. Millbank 1957; out of print but possibly locatable via AbeBooks). The history of the village in general was depicted in "The Changing Face of St Nicholas-at-Wade" by Anneli Jones, which was a limited edition published privately in 1977 (an updated version is under consideration). Concerts are held in the church two or three times a year. Other village events include the biennial Open Gardens (beginning of June), the ancient tradition of Hoodening, and Father Christmas, who comes around in a pony-drawn sleigh on Christmas morning distributing presents. We used to have a torch-lit procession to the sea on Guy Fawkes' Night but this no longer takes place. You can get a good idea of life in the village from this November 2005 copy of the Parish Magazine (BEWARE though as it is a 7 megabyte PDF file).
I'd like to say St Nicholas was "immortalized" in the song "St Nicholas-at-Wade" by Royden Barrie (words) and Kennedy Russell (1883-1954) (music), (pub. Boosey & Co., 1924; this pair went on to produce "hits" such as Poor Man's Garden) ... but even the people of the village only rediscovered the song recently. The description in the lyrics is however quite glowing, and of course absolutely true (here is a simple MIDI file of the song). The music is listed on Amazon UK, although it is not clear if it is actually available for purchase.
There's a quaint little sleepy town Not so far from the sea, But you'll get no particulars But the bare name from me, Or you'd crowd there in millions, In your best clothes arrayed, To St Nicholas, St Nicholas, St Nicholas-at-Wade, St Nicholas-at-Wade Now the men of St Nicholas Are the best in the land, And there ain't much in politics That they don't understand, 'Twould surprise 'em in parliament At the wisdom displayed At St Nicholas, St Nicholas, St Nicholas-at-Wade, St Nicholas-at-Wade But as cute as we fellows are, The maids have us beat, They're so rosy and cuddlesome, So winsome and sweet; Any evening in summer time It is two in the shade At St Nicholas, St Nicholas, St Nicholas-at-Wade Now your London's a finer place, Aye and smarter, may be, But altho' it was twice as fine, You can keep it for me, All I want is a cottage And just my own little maid At St Nicholas, St Nicholas, St Nicholas-at-Wade, St Nicholas-at-Wade |
The church choir singing an anthem at the annual Harvest Festival:
|
The Germans were evidently aware of what was happening, as shown by the recently discovered analysis and aerial photos (this map shows the area covered by the photograph).
Photographs of the village (mainly old, with a few aerial views)
Maps showing the village's location (including satellite views)
Old maps of St Nicholas
