As someone who spends all of their free time going on Church Adventures, it's fair to say that I've been to a lot of churches. Today I want to tell you about a church which is simultaneously the oldest and the queerest I've ever been to.

St Nicholas was built in 879, and, unlike most churches which claim that age based on some stones under a pillar somewhere, St Nicholas is, substantially original. The Victorians added aisles to the building, but much of the Nave, Chancel, and Crossing Tower date to the 800's.

Not only was St Nicholas built over 1140 years ago, but much of the fabric is older still. St Nicks is built next to a Roman baths complex, and when they were building her they stole pieces of brick and tile from the buildings which had already been ruins for a few hundred years.

The Roman bricks and tiles that were taken from the ruins in the 800's and used to build the church of St Nicholas were made by human hands around the years 110-130. That means they were made just one hundred years after the crucifixion of Christ.

Ironically, despite the builders stealing Roman bricks and tiles to build St Nicholas, they built it so close to the ruins that they led to the accidental preservation of what is now one of the largest pieces of Roman masonry in England.

How close is the church? This close.

It's thought that back in the Saxon era St Nicholas was a Cathedral, though nobody can be certain, but it fell from favour as newer bigger churches were built nearby, and spent hundreds of years serving poor congregations and going into a slow decline.

The Victorians decided that they didn't care that the church was built in the 800's - they were going to knock it down, and replace it. Luckily they couldn't raise enough money to build the new church they planned to replace her with, and instead they renovated the old church.

The Victorians added aisles to the church, and knocked out much of the south wall of the nave, adding in this big brick arch to shore up the crumbling church and stop it falling down. They also took apart, rebuilt, and stabilised the top tiers of the tower.

By the 1980's things began to change for the worse, again. Most of the homes in St Nicholas' parish no longer existed, it was a city centre church, with no money, near a series of closed factories. But instead of the congregation disappearing, something magical happened.

In the 80's and 90's word began to get around the gay scene in the city. St Nicholas was a place you could go and not be yelled at from the pulpit.

One by one, the gays trickled in. And they were welcomed.

St Nicholas' Church isn't just a thousand year old former cathedral.

St Nicholas' Church is a thousand year old former cathedral filled with Queers.

These days St Nick's doesn't have a parish, not really. It sets itself as a home for those who cannot find a home elsewhere. For refugees, the homeless, the scared, and anyone else who comes.

That means she's back to being a fairly poor church. But she's so clearly loved.

You see, St Nicholas isn't just any church, she's my church.

Tomorrow, on the 24th of October, I am being baptised there, in this unutterably ancient church, that has survived against all the odds, and become a sanctuary for those who need it.

Like myself, most of those who worship at St Nicholas' Church don't have much money to spare, so if you liked this thread, and want to protect her for the future, you can donate to the church here: https://givealittle.co/campaigns/cfeca756-7e23-40e5-b677-1b5fa0c03861

Perhaps consider your donation my baptism present.

Literally any amount will help. The church chandeliers are currently partially made out of bakewell tart and mince pie tins.

And that's St Nicholas, Leicester. A 1140 year old church made out of Roman rubble and filled with queers. I adore her. I hope you do too. She really is a hidden and forgotten gem.

(and again, you can donate here to keep this magical place going: https://givealittle.co/campaigns/cfeca756-7e23-40e5-b677-1b5fa0c03861)