Church Of St Michael

Church of St Michael

Parish church. Originally built in 1761, the Church of St Michael was mostly rebuilt and enlarged in 1841 by architect Williams Evans, with further alterations made in the early 20th century. The building is constructed of ashlar sandstone with sandstone dressings and a slate roof, hipped to the south aisle, featuring wide overhanging eaves and a western bellcote. The design displays Italianate style characteristics with a plinth, wide clasping corner pilasters, and a plain eaves band.

The church comprises a nave, chancel, south nave aisle, and north vestry and porch. The west elevation displays three adjoining semi-circular headed windows with metal casements beneath a plain sill band. Above these, centred within the gable, is a raised section of wall supported on a corbel table, containing a central bull's eye window in a moulded surround that continues upward into the bellcote. The bellcote features louvred semi-circular headed bell openings to the east and west sides with moulded arches, raised keystones and imposts, corner pilasters, and a widely overhanging roof with bracketed eaves.

The north elevation contains a porch at the west end with a central semi-circular headed window in a raised surround to its north side and a semi-circular headed doorcase to the east, featuring a raised arch, vermiculated keystone, and panelled door. A broad continuous impost band and pedimented roof span above the door. To the east, the nave has three tall semi-circular headed windows with Y-tracery. Beyond these stands the north vestry with a semi-circular headed western door and a northern window matching that of the porch. Further east is a blocked semi-circular headed window with a small 2-light window at its base.

The east elevation features an inserted Caernarvon arched doorcase to the north and, at centre, a large Diocletian window now containing incongruous 1930s tracery. A clockface is positioned above in the gable.

The south elevation retains one original semi-circular headed window with metal casement to the east. The south aisle extends westward, displaying wide semi-circular headed 3-light mullion windows—four to the south and one to the east—with cusped tracery topping the lights. Each window is flanked by full-height stepped buttresses. The west end of the aisle features a circular window in a moulded surround and a low addition at its base.

The interior contains a four-bay south arcade with plain square piers and semi-circular arches. A stepped semi-circular chancel arch with pilaster strips flanks narrow pointed arches leading to separate bays either side of the chancel. Above the southern arch is a shallow 2-light opening. The chancel features a barrel-vaulted ceiling and blind semi-circular headed arches to either side. The nave roof consists of a grid of beams, while the aisle roof is barrel-vaulted with plain transverse ribs. A segmental blind arch spans the full width of the nave at its west end.

The chancel contains elaborate oak fittings from 1938 with carved pierced friezes, including a pulpit in matching style. The nave contains 19th-century pews that are plain in design. A stone font of 18th-century date stands at the west end of the nave, featuring a bulbous stem.

The church retains various wall memorials, the finest being a coloured marble memorial to Thomas Bradshaw Armigen, dated around 1760. Of the remaining four memorials, two are 19th-century slate and white marble, and two are of similar early 20th-century construction.

The east window contains early 20th-century stained glass, while the west window of the south aisle features a painted rose window, probably of early 19th-century date.