Church Of St Michael

PRESTON

SD53SW EGERTON ROAD 941-1/1/98 (North side) 27/09/79 Church of St Michael

II*

Church. 1908, by Austin and Paley. Snecked sandstone with ashlar dressings and red tile roofs. Nave and chancel in one, with north and south aisles, south porch, south tower (uncompleted) and south chapel both attached to south aisle, and north transept with attached vestry. (Recent parish hall attached to north aisle, not of special interest.) Perpendicular style in Arts-and-Crafts manner. The nave has 10 segmental-pointed 2-light clerestory windows on the north side, 7 on the south side, all with 2-stage traceried heads, stepped parapets only at the west end, a large west window of 5-lights with stepped tracery including brattished bands; and a square stair-turret at the south-west corner. The aisles have square-headed mullioned windows mostly of 3 lights, with alternating forms of mouchette tracery (those of the north aisle now covered by addition). The porch has a moulded segmental-pointed doorway with hoodmould, flanked by unusual drum-shaped angle buttresses, a string course and high parapet raised over a triangular headed traceried panel with carving of St Michael. The uncompleted tower, square and of one tall stage, with plain square angle-buttresses and south-west stair-turret, has a large segmental-pointed south doorway with moulded surround and double doors with traceried panels and ornamental strap-hinges, flanked by short bands of blind arcading, a large 2-centred arched 5-light traceried window above this and both offset left; and a shallow pyramidal roof. The chancel has 3 clerestory windows on the south side matching those of the nave, and at the east end a short canted full-height sanctuary, with buttresses flanking a large segmental-pointed east window of 1:3:1 lights with stepped 2-stage tracery, and plain parapet carried round from the side. The chapel has 2 windows in the side like those of the aisle, an embattled parapet with blind-arcaded upstands, and an arched 4-light east window with elaborate tracery including brattishing. The north transept (organ house) has windows like those of the nave, and the vestry, which wraps round it and is single-storeyed, has various windows like those of the aisles. INTERIOR: 5-bay arcades of octagonal columns with moulded caps and moulded 2-centred arches; clerestory windows paired within segmental-arched openings; kingpost roof trusses with curved struts passing through wagon-roof ceiling; semi-octagonal responds in place of chancel arch, with tracery panels and surmounted by very large wooden angels with outspread wings; tall 2-bay arcade to north transept of chancel, lower arcade to chancel aisle and beyond this a 3-bay arcade to chapel.

Listing NGR: SD5186830109