St Nicholas is a chapelry within the parish of St Margaret King's Lynn. The area covered lies in the northern end of the town of King's Lynn, traditionally that lying north of the Purfleet. The area has been distinct within King's Lynn for almost a thousand years and has been served by various chapels. As can clearly be seen from the occupations of the fathers in this transcript the docks and the sea have always dominated life in area of the town - the quays today support just a fraction of the bustle that must have present in the Victorian period

The church sits just east of the Tuesday Market Place which marks the northern end of the town. The present church was built in one effort in the early 15th century and is wholly in the Perpendicular style of the period, The church itself is large, as befits the large congregation, with 11 bays to the construction and over 200 foot in length making for a huge internal space. Much of the fabric is a red brick. Although the site is now somewhat hemmed in with busy roads and houses it still present a stunning view from the south as it appears above the houses.

Baptisms restart in the chapel from 1843 after a 30 year gap when all such events were registered at St Margaret. Just two register books cover the period 1843 to 1880, the first a 1600-entry book the second of 2400-entries and continuing beyond the end of the transcript period. Until recently the only images of these registers were on some rather faded fiche but there has recently been a re-filming and both books are now available on Microfilm MF1771 in the collection of the Norfolk Record Office and from which this transcript was prepared.

Thanks to these superior images which have good contrast and clarity the entries are much more readily deciphered than on the fiche. As a result the transcript was a relatively straightforward one to prepare although it must be stated that the standard of the clerks varies immensely over the period from superb to downright difficult. Despite these difficulties it is to be hoped few errors have crept into the production of this transcript.