Church Of St Michael

Church of St Michael, Hoby with Brooksby Road, Rotherby

This is a church comprising a tower, nave, chancel, and porches, built in stages over two centuries. The tower was begun in the early 14th century and completed in the 15th century. The main body of the church dates to the early 16th century. The building was substantially restored and the spire was rebuilt in 1874 by R W Johnson. A southwest nave window was inserted in 1911.

The exterior walls are of uncoursed random stone rubble with limestone dressings and portions of old render, except for the east and south walls which are faced with ironstone ashlar. The roof is of slate, with Swithland slate on the south slope.

The east window is a 4-light opening with a straight head, hollow-chamfered mullions, round-arched heads to the lights and a hood mould. Similar 3-light and 2-light windows are positioned to the southeast and either side of the south porch. The south door dates to the 15th or early 16th century and is constructed of massive oak planks with ribs, original hinges, and a pattern of interlocking cusped ogee arches to the head. It is set within a hollow-chamfered doorway with trefoiled spandrels and a rectangular hollow-chamfered surround, all located in a shallow gabled porch of ironstone with a round-arched head.

On the north side, a 4-light window has hollow-chamfered stone mullions and transom with a king mullion and cusping to the straight-headed lights. The north door is also of 15th or early 16th-century date, constructed of ribbed plank with original hinges. It sits within a hollow-chamfered doorway with trefoiled spandrels and hood mould, set in a shallow gabled porch with a chamfered Tudor-arched doorway.

The two-stage tower has a 2-light window to the lower stage with reticulated tracery and hood mould. A canted stair turret projects from the southeast corner. The bell-chamber has 2-light openings with cinquefoil-headed lights, quatrefoils to the heads and hood moulds; tracery is missing to the north opening. A frieze of alternating cusped triangles and quatrefoils runs along the base of the battlemented parapet, which has gargoyles at the angles. The spire is crocketed and features two tiers of gabled lucarnes in alternating directions. Offset buttresses to the west angles have crocketed gables to the second offset; the left buttress bears ball-flower decoration dividing the gable, while the right buttress carries blank cusped tracery. Diagonal offset buttresses support the chancel. The body of the church has a battlemented parapet with cross slits and a frieze of shields within quatrefoils at its base. An east gable with stone cope is set behind the parapet.

The interior contains a fine 19th-century hammerbeam roof with half bays at either end. The tower arch has polygonal responds within a continuous chamfer and wave moulding forming the outer member. A wave-moulded doorway to the stair turret is positioned to the left of the tower arch. The church is fitted with a complete set of 19th-century fittings. Floors are of chequered red and black tiles. A Jacobean-style communion table is present. A series of stained-glass shields in the east and south windows display the alliances of the Villiers family in the seventeenth century. The Union Flag from Admiral Beatty's flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth is displayed; this flag was flown while Beatty received the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet at the end of the First World War.

The church contains significant monuments. In the sanctuary is a large incised alabaster slab commemorating Sir William Villiers, died 1480, and his wives Joan and Agnas. A large wall monument in the chancel commemorates Sir William Villiers, died 1711, and his wife Dame Ann Villiers. The monument features a black marble plinth and veined grey marble architectural background with Corinthian pilasters and two round-headed arches against which stand life-size figures of Sir William in contemporary dress and his wife in classical-style drapery. Two winged cherub heads occupy the spandrels of the arches behind the figures' heads. The pilasters have statuary marble capitals and support an entablature with urns flanking a cartouche of arms; arms and figurative details are all of statuary marble. A large marble wall plaque with a central pedimented oval and side panels with Corinthian pilasters is ornamented with Admiral Beatty's coat of arms and commemorates a group of eight sailors who died at the Battle of Jutland (31 May to 1 June 1916). A bronze bust signed by Ferdinand Forbes and dated 1938 depicts Admiral Lord Beatty, died 1936. The entry was enhanced in 2016 as part of Battle of Jutland centenary commemorations.