Church Of St Michael

A parish church of coursed and squared ironstone and dressed limestone with ashlar dressings and lead roofs, dating from the 13th to 19th centuries. The church comprises a west tower, nave with clerestory, north aisle, north porch, chancel, south aisle, and south porch.

The west tower rises in three stages and features two chamfered string courses, a quatrefoil frieze, four gargoyles, and a crenellated parapet with four pinnacles topped by a pyramidal roof with weathercock. Two 19th-century angle buttresses stand to the west, while to the south-east is a three-stage semi-circular stair turret with a stair light on each stage and clasping buttresses to the third stage. The first stage contains a 13th-century lancet to the west. The second stage has on each side a blocked and altered double lancet opening with ringed shafts and hood moulds. Clock dials face west and north. The third stage has on each side a double lancet bell opening with quatrefoil head, moulded reveal and hood mould.

The clerestory, dating from the 15th century, comprises three bays with moulded parapet and gable. Each side displays three triple lancets with intersecting tracery, moulded four-centred arched heads and hood moulds.

The north aisle, of 14th-century date, extends four bays and is built with chamfered and moulded plinth, coved eaves with ballflowers, and coped gables with kneelers. It has an angle buttress to the west and two buttresses to the north, each with two setoffs. The north side features three ogee triple lancets with reticulated tracery, flat heads and hood moulds. The west end contains an untracieried 13th-century triple lancet with hood mould, while the east end has a triple lancet with cusped intersecting ogees, chamfered reveal and hood mould.

The north porch, of 14th-century construction, has a chamfered plinth, two flanking buttresses, and a coped gable with cross. The double chamfered and rebated doorway is topped with a hood mould. The interior contains stone benches, a 19th-century roof, and a 14th-century double roll-moulded inner doorway with shafts, hood mould and mask stops.

The chancel, of 13th-century origin but raised in the 15th century, spans two bays and features a moulded plinth and coved eaves. To the east, north and south are square panels at ground level containing blocked quatrefoils. The north side shows a 13th-century cove and roll-moulded blocked doorway with shafts and hood mould with foliate stops, together with a small buttress to the west. Above are three 14th-century cusped double lancets with Y tracery and coved flat-headed reveals. The east end has two angle buttresses and a 14th-century cusped ogee triple lancet with flowing tracery, hood mould and mask stops. The south side displays three cusped double lancets with Y tracery and coved flat-headed reveals.

The south aisle spans four bays and is built with chamfered plinth, coved eaves with ballflowers, and coped west gable, with two angle buttresses. The south side contains an off-centre porch; to its right is a buttress, flanked to the left by a 14th-century triple ogee lancet with reticulated tracery and to the right by an altered opening containing an ogee double lancet with reticulated tracery. Both lancets have flat heads and hood moulds with mask stops. The east end has a blocked 14th-century untracieried triple lancet with hood mould and mask stops. The 14th-century south porch features a double chamfered and rebated doorway with octagonal responds, hood mould and mask stops, flanked by single buttresses and topped by a coped gable with a block sundial finial. The porch interior is fitted with a pair of 20th-century doors with glazing bar overlight.

The interior displays a triple chamfered tower arch of 13th-century date, with triple shaft responds and hood mould. The nave arcades, of 14th-century construction, comprise four bays with octagonal piers featuring moulded bases and capitals. The north-west respond is 13th-century and half-round; the remaining responds are half-octagonal. The arches are double chamfered and rebated with hood moulds and mask stops. A low-pitched 19th-century roof with straight struts to wall shafts spans the nave. The north aisle north wall features a large 14th-century tomb recess with crocketed gable and finial to the east, followed by a rebated square aumbry. The east end has a window flanked on either side by a re-set mask corbel. The south-east corner contains a 14th-century moulded piscina. Both north and south aisles have restored roofs with bosses.

The chancel contains a 13th-century double chamfered and rebated arch with hood mould and mask imposts, and an altered 15th-century traceried oak screen with billeted crest. To its left is a square aumbry. The north side has to the east a blocked low-level opening with a four-centred arched head and to its right an aumbry with gabled head. The south side features to the east a 13th-century piscina and a window seat with below it a blocked opening with a four-centred arched head. To its right is a 13th-century double sedilia altered to form a monument, with inscribed tablets added by Rev. P. Boundy circa 1730. The chancel has a restored low-pitched roof with straight struts to wall shafts.

The church contains numerous fittings and monuments of note. A 14th-century moulded round font rests on a square stem with four ringed shafts and is topped by a turned, bracketed 18th-century cover. A late 17th-century altar table with turned legs stands beside an 18th-century altar rail with barley-sugar twist balusters, a small 18th-century table and chair, and an early 18th-century benefactions board. A 19th-century octagonal pulpit, desk, stalls, benches and brass lectern are present. Royal Arms of George III dated 1777 are displayed, along with two large 19th-century oil paintings.

The monuments include a large marble, slate and alabaster structure to Sir Roger Smith, his two wives, his son and grandson, dated 1655, featuring a stepped-forward central pedestal with inscribed panels and figures on three tiers above, with a crested semi-circular panel flanked by obelisks and pedestals carrying keystoned segmental-headed crested niches containing demi-figures. A Baroque monument to Sir Edward Smith alias Heriz, dated 1707, comprises marble and slate with a pedestal bearing two inscribed tablets and crests, supporting Ionic columns carrying a crested stepped-forward cornice and a swagged, scrolled broken pediment enclosing an inscribed tablet. A Classical marble monument to Olivia Smith, dated 1710, features a moulded pedestal with two crests carrying two Corinthian columns with full entablature and crested segmental pediment, enclosing an inscribed tablet. A Rococo monument to Edward Smith, dated 1762, is executed in coloured marbles with an inscribed sarcophagus, crested apron and urn set on an obelisk back panel. A Pedimented Classical marble tablet to Margaret Smith is dated 1780. Additional items include an 18th-century hatchment, a marble tablet of 1879, and two 20th-century tablets.