Church of St Michael and All Angels

Church of St Michael and All Angels

An Anglican church built in 1957-58 by Francis Johnson. The design combines Neo-Georgian and Scandinavian influences. The church is constructed of brick in Flemish bond with a tiled roof and is positioned on an east-west alignment. A hall is attached to the south side, though this derives from the former church of 1933-34, which is not included in the listing.

The plan comprises a wide, seven-bay nave with a west gallery and narthex, a shallow south transept and southwest porch, a narrower two-bay chancel, a west tower, and a two-storey north wing containing a vestry, office and first-floor chapel.

The exterior walls are of brick with a brick plinth and brick band beneath the nave and chancel windows, crowned by a dentil eaves band. The nave and chancel share a continuous roof, though the chancel is narrower. The nave features tall, segmental-arched windows with circular windows above, the panes formed of small pieces of plain glass with patterned leading. The chancel displays two tall, segmental-arched windows in the south elevation, the inner having patterned leading and the outer stained glass; the north elevation has a single tall, segmental window with stained glass; and the east elevation has a circular window in the gable apex flanked by air vents.

The south elevation of the nave contains a shallow, projecting porch in the first bay and a similar shallow, projecting transept in the seventh bay, both with curved front elevations and flat roofs with dentil eaves cornices. The porch incorporates a projecting curved concrete canopy over a wide segmental-arched doorway with double doors of diagonal zig-zag boarding. Above stands a metal Latin cross on a brick corbel. The south transept displays a tall, segmental-arched window with patterned leading and a foundation stone inscribed with a Latin cross and the date 1957. The left-hand side elevation of the transept has a segmental-arched doorway, while the right-hand elevation is blind except for a narrow, round-headed window with stained glass in the return wall of the nave.

The square west tower has a brick plinth, paired round-headed windows to each side, and lower circular windows on the three outer sides. Its flat roof is topped with a concrete cornice bearing small concrete corner obelisks and an octagonal brick cupola with round-headed louvred openings, an octagonal copper roof, and a central finial crowned by a Latin cross.

The north elevation features a small stair outshot with a flat roof and central vertical rectangular window with metal mullion and transom frame. A two-storey wing projects from the left end of the nave for four bays, abutting the south transept of the former church. The east side includes a projecting stair bay with a round-headed window and flat roof bearing a bellcote containing a sanctus bell. The remaining three bays have vertical rectangular windows on ground and first floors with two-light timber casements; the fourth bay on the west elevation is slightly projecting with similar casements, save the second ground-floor bay which has a narrower casement with a top-opening light.

The spacious interior is plastered with arcaded walls and segmental-arched ceilings. The nave is laid with herringbone parquet flooring while the chancel has black and white diamond tiling. At the west end is a narthex with a gallery over, accessed by timber doors with lower panels and upper lights with slender diamond glazing bars. A small room opens from the west side. The gallery houses a central pipe organ set into a three-centred arch. Two right-hand bays of the north wall contain first-floor balconies serving the first-floor chapel, reached by a curved staircase. The east return walls of the nave feature a first-floor round-headed archway on the north side (containing a Madonna and Child statue by Norman Cawthra) balanced by a round-headed stained-glass window on the south side depicting the Lamb of God by Leonard Evetts.

The shallow south transept contains a small east wall altar with an adjacent mahogany pulpit designed by Johnson in Georgian manner, complete with steps and sounding board. Before the pulpit stands a Norman drum-shaped stone font with nailhead-decorated arches, recovered from Wharram Percy. The chancel is furnished with curved iron communion rails bearing a pattern of angels' wings by Wilfrid Dowson. Over the altar is a baldachino with fabric canopy and a large, shallow niche behind (originally containing a mural). The south stained-glass window flanking the altar depicts St Michael with a sword, signed 'L.C.EVETTS.fecit 1960'. The north window depicts St Stephen holding a stone with an image of the destroyed St Stephen's Church above, signed 'L.C.EVETTS. fecit 1959 SB'.

Fronting Orchard Park Road is a boundary wall and gateways comprising a low brick wall with concrete coping and iron railings set between tall square brick piers topped by concrete obelisks. The wall forms a large concave semi-circle with a wide gateway aligned with the south porch of the church, containing decorative iron double gates. A second, wide gateway with plain iron double gates has been inserted within the semi-circle.