Church of St Michael is a Grade II* listed building in the Rutland local planning authority area, England. First listed on 14 June 1954. A Medieval Church.
Church of St Michael
- WRENN ID
- ragged-kitchen-equinox
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Rutland
- Constituency
- Rutland and Stamford MP: Alicia Kearns (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 14 June 1954
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Medieval
- Address
- Church of St Michael, Main Road, Whitwell
- OS grid reference
- SK 923 088
- Coordinates
- 52.66911, -0.63554
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St. Michael is a small parish church, with its earliest parts dating back to the 13th century, although it may incorporate the core of an aisle-less 12th-century church. Much of the structure is from the 14th century, though it underwent significant restoration in 1881. The building is constructed of sandstone rubble and consists of a nave, a south aisle, and a chancel.
The west bellcote, from the 13th century, features two round-arched openings set in paired gables. The west wall has a single lancet window, and there is a round-arched south doorway with banded outer shafts that include fillet mouldings and nailhead decoration. The medieval south porch is gabled and topped with a cross finial, and it has a former sundial below the gable. The south aisle is adorned with windows that have heavy tracery and hoodmoulds, which are supported by carved heads on stops. The church has buttresses with gablets, coped gables throughout, and a pitched roof without a parapet. The north wall of the nave features a blocked square window to the east and a blocked north door.
Inside, the nave has three bays, with an arcade that has double chamfered arches resting on octagonal piers. The bases of the easternmost piers have probable mortice holes for a former screen. There is a trefoiled piscina to the east of the aisle and some medieval encaustic tiles on the aisle floor. A tiny fragment of wall painting can be found on the north wall of the nave. The chancel is at the same level as the nave and has a barrel-vaulted roof with a stone cornice decorated with ball flowers and floral motifs. The east window features Victorian tracery, and there is a reredos. The altar rails date from the 17th to 18th century. The church contains much 19th-century stained glass and one early 14th-century crucifixion in the southwest window of the chancel. The pulpit is possibly from the 18th century, and the font is octagonal with incised decoration from the 14th century.
Local climate
Church of St Michael sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 78% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 79% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 50% of listed buildings. Of these, 17 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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