Church of St Michael is a Grade I listed building in the Herefordshire, County of local planning authority area, England. First listed on 11 June 1959. A C14 Church.

Church of St Michael

WRENN ID
last-cupola-shade
Grade
I
Local Planning Authority
Herefordshire, County of
Constituency
North Herefordshire MP: Dr Ellie Chowns (Green)
Country
England
Date first listed
11 June 1959
Type
Church
Address
Church of St Michael, Croft Park, Croft and Yarpole
OS grid reference
SO 449 654
Coordinates
52.28422, -2.80788
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Church of St Michael is a parish church dating to the mid-14th century, with extensions from the early 16th century (dedicated in 1515), partial rebuilding in the 17th century, and a late 19th-century restoration. It is constructed of coursed rubble with ashlar dressings, covered by a machine-tile roof. The church comprises a chancel and a nave with a bell turret.

The north wall of the nave, dating to the 14th century, has three bays with two windows of two cinquefoiled lights within two-centred heads. The bay to the right (west) features an early 18th-century doorway with a bolection moulded architrave and an oval window above, accented by four key blocks. The south wall of the nave has two windows; one to the east has two cinquefoiled lights under a two-centred head, and one to the west has two ogee cinquefoiled lights with a square head. The C14 south door at the west end has chamfered jambs and a two-centred head. The bell turret is square and largely rendered over timber, topped with a lead-covered ogee capping. Balustered vents surround the belfry.

The chancel is from the 14th century and was extended in the early 16th century. The north wall has a blocked 16th-century four-centred arch, formerly leading to a north chapel, with a blocked 16th-century door to its west. The south wall has two restored 14th-century windows, each with three ogee cinquefoiled lights under a square head. The east window is of four trefoiled lights within a segmental pointed head.

The interior features a tall chancel arch with a two-centred arch of two chamfered orders continuously moulded. A piscina in the south wall of the chancel has a two-centred head. The chancel roof, 16th century, is of three bays with arch-braced collar beams, trusses with V-struts, and moulded wall plates. The bay above the altar is boarded and painted with clouds, with painted cherub heads at the wall-plate on one truss. The nave has a similar roof with cherub heads on one truss. Fittings include a west gallery with a bolection moulded panelled front, a font with an octagonal bowl on a re-used base, and pews featuring 18th-century raised and fielded panelling. Late 15th-century Malvern tiles are used in the chancel steps and nave floor, along with a few 14th-century examples. A 17th-century reredos of panelling with a fluted frieze is also present. A Croft monument, formerly from the north chapel, commemorates Sir Richard Croft (died 1509) and his wife; it is an elaborate altar tomb with recumbent effigies and a canopy carved with saints and figures.

Local climate

Church of St Michael receives an average of 820 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 50% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 60% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 42 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 81% of listed buildings. Of these, 22 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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