Sir Charles Nicholson, 2nd Baronet
Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson, 2nd Baronet (27 April 1867 – 4 March 1949), was an English architect and designer who specialised in ecclesiastical buildings and war memorials. He carried out the refurbishments of several cathedrals, the design and build of over a dozen new churches, and the restoration of many existing, medieval parish churches. Nicholson was born in Hadleigh, Essex to Sir Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet, and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth Nicholson Keightley. His younger brothers were stained-glass artist Archibald Keightley Nicholson and Sir Sydney Hugo Nicholson, organist at Westminster Abbey and founder of the  Royal School of Church Music. Nicholson was married first to Evelyn Louise Olivier (1866–1927) and they had three children, a son, John, and two daughters. His second wife was Catherine Maud Warren, who survived him upon his death in 1947. Early life. Nicholson was born in Hadleigh, Essex, to Sir Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet, and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth Nicholson Keightley. His younger brothers were the stained-glass artist Archibald Keightley Nicholson and Sir Sydney Hugo Nicholson, organist at Westminster Abbey and the founder of the Royal School of Church Music. Nicholson attended Rugby School and New College, Oxford, obtaining  a third class in modern history in 1889. He took an interest in architecture and was apprenticed to the architect J. D. Sedding, under whom he learnt the Victorian Gothic style. He worked for a short time for Henry Wilson before founding his own practice in 1893. He won the Tite Prize in 1893 and was elected a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1905. Hubert Corlette later partnered him until 1916. From 1920 Nicholson worked with Theodore Rushton. Career. In addition to designing churches, Nicholson conducted the refurbishments of many medieval churches. In addition to his  ecclesiastical commissions, he was also a prolific designer of public war memorials, including one at his former school in Rugby. Nicholson's Anglican cathedral work included a new east chapel in Norwich, the west front of St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast (where he was the cathedral's architect between 1924–48) various additions to Chelmsford Cathedral, and the reconstruction of Portsmouth Cathedral. His internal restorations were carried out at Brecon, Carlisle, Exeter, Leicester, Lichfield, Lincoln, Llandaff, Manchester, Salisbury, Wakefield, Wells, and Winchester. His works abroad include the ministerial buildings for the Jamaican Government in Kingston. Nicholson's works include 42 new  churches, nine new chapels, and work on nine cathedrals. Nicholson took on the alterations and restorations of many medieval churches, together with the designs of a large amount of church furnishings. The majority of his work was in England, but he also worked in Wales, Northern Ireland, Jamaica and South Africa. He was also an accomplished watercolourist who exhibited at the Royal Academy on 32 occasions. From 1890, Nicholson carried out a lot of restoration work to his local parish church, St Mary the Virgin in South Benfleet. He designed the reredos between 1890–91, completely restored the south aisle between  1924-5, and designed much of the building's furnishings and fittings. His gilded border, which he completed in 1935, incorporated previous paintings by his mother, Sarah. These were repainted in 1958. Barbara Nicholson, one of his daughters, painted the ciborium. Personal life. Nicholson succeeded to the baronetcy in 1903. He largely avoided publicity and preferred to conduct a quiet life with his family. He was married twice: firstly, on 1 October 1895, to Evelyn Louise Nicholson Olivier (1867–1927), daughter of the Reverend Henry Arnold Olivier, and sister of Sydney Haldane Olivier (1859–1943), and aunt of Laurence Olivier. Born on  the Isle of Wight, Evelyn was a diarist and watercolour painter. During the voyages to and from Australia, Nicholson kept a diary in which she described the places, the people and the flora and fauna which she encountered. She and her husband made many watercolour sketches of the scenery along the way, including seascapes, landscapes and buildings. Highlights of the trip were a visit to Sydney University and a coastal voyage from Sydney to Rockhampton, Queensland, and return. At the university they visited the Nicholson Museum, named after Sir Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet. The diary and the book of sketches  were bequeathed to Sydney University in 1988 by her son, Sir John Nicholson, 3rd Baronet, together with the book of paintings. The Nicholsons had a son, John Charles (b. 1904) and two daughters. On 10 June 1931, four years after Evelyn's death, he married Catherine Maud Warren (1883–1962). Nicholson died on 4 March 1949 in Oxford and is buried in the Church of St Mary the Virgin, South Benfleet. He is buried, alongside his first wife, in a stone memorial he designed for her, on the south side of the west tower. His second wife was buried there upon  her death in 1962. The tomb was designated as a Grade II listed building on 9 November 2021 by Historic England. Works. Nicholson's architectural works include: