Church Of St Michael

The Church of St Michael is a church dating from 1769, with additions made in 1886. It was built for the Cotton family of Combermere. The church is constructed of red Flemish bond brick, with a slate roof. Originally cruciform in plan, the church was extended in 1886 with the addition of two transepts and a chancel, along with a new western wall. A north-western porch and a bellcote were also added during this period.

The western end features a slightly projecting brick plinth with a chamfered top. Pilaster buttresses flank the facade, supporting an ashlar band above which three round-arched windows are positioned, each with ashlar surrounds and keystones. A stone cornice and plain frieze run above the windows, and ashlar fluted drums with conical caps and ball finials rise above the buttresses. A circular clock face is set within a square surround under a swan-necked pediment, which incorporates a stylised wafer and chalice design. The gable is finished with ashlar coping and a cross at the apex. A timber bellcote with a lead roof and splayed wooden body sits behind the gable, featuring round-headed arches on either side and a weather vane at its summit.

The northern side includes a porch from 1886, featuring a round arch with a console keystone, and a pedimental gable displaying a carving of St George slaying the dragon. Porthole windows are positioned on either side of the porch. A blocked round-headed window is situated behind the porch, with two 18th-century bays to the left, each containing a transept with a round arched window of two arched lights and a circular light to the apex. Projecting keystone and springers are present above the windows. Pedimental gables with ashlar surrounds top the transepts. The southern side mirrors this arrangement, with three symmetrically placed bays.

The chancel addition of 1886 includes a vestry and a single-light round-headed window to the south. The northern side features a transept containing three arched-headed lights and a porthole light, topped with a pedimental gable and a cross. A single light round-headed window is positioned to the left. The eastern end has a triple round-headed lancet window set within a round relieving arch. Clasping pilaster buttresses with fluted drum finials and conical caps, echoing the design at the western end, flank the lancet window.

The church was noted by Dr Johnson during his visit to Combermere in 1774.