Church Of St Michael And All Angels

Church of St Michael and All Angels

This parish church originates from around 1200, with significant alterations and extensions made in the early 14th century, and further changes from the late 14th to early 15th centuries. The chancel was rebuilt and shortened around 1750. The church underwent restoration in 1835 and again in 1890-91 by Sir Arthur Blomfield.

The building is constructed partly of coursed sandstone rubble with ashlar dressings, partly of sandstone ashlar, and incorporates some tufa. It has plain tiled roofs and parapets with cross finials at the gable ends. The plan comprises a west tower, a three-bay aisled nave with clerestory, a sanctus bellcote and north porch, north and south transepts, and a two-bay chancel with a north vestry.

The west tower is of early 14th-century date with three stages. It has a moulded plinth band and offsets to the upper stages, with angled buttresses featuring offsets at the west end. The lower stage contains a restored west doorway with a hoodmould formed by the plinth band, and above it a two-light window with a hoodmould. The second stage has cusped ogee-arched lights on the north, south and west sides, with a clockface on the north side and a loophole on the south side. The belfry stage has Y-traceried louvred bell chamber openings. Above is a plain parapet with finialed corner pinnacles and cusped blind panels. The octagonal recessed stone spire was never completed; it has ogee-arched two-light lucarnes at its base and a pyramidal roof with a ball finial and weathervane. The tower stairs are situated in the north-west corner.

The nave is of 12th-century origin, with aisles added in the early 14th century. The easternmost bay of each aisle was altered or heightened around 1400 to form a transept. The main arcades were also heightened, and the former gabled aisles were given lean-to roofs. The nave has three square-headed two-light clerestory windows on both sides and two two-light windows in the east wall above the chancel arch. The small sanctus bellcote is gabled with a cross finial and a single pointed archway. The aisles have angled buttresses at their western corners. The north aisle has two Y-traceried windows and a three-light west end window. The south aisle has two similar cusped windows flanking a four-centred arched doorway with ballflower mouldings and a hoodmould. At the western end are the remains of two wall memorials. There is a plain Y-traceried window at the west end. The north aisle windows flank a gabled 14th-century north porch with a pointed archway of two orders and a roof with swept wind-braces and an arch-braced collar truss above the north doorway; the latter is of similar detail to the south doorway. The gabled transepts have angled corner buttresses and large three-light windows at their gable ends with transoms, reticulated tracery and hoodmoulds, as well as smaller three-light windows in their east sides. The north transept has an ogee-arched doorway beneath the east window. The south transept has a wall memorial (illegible) beneath its east window, to the right of which is an ogee-arched squint.

The chancel was rebuilt in 1750 and 1890-91. It features a reset early 14th-century east window of three lights with reticulated tracery and a hoodmould. On the south side are two two-light windows with hoodmoulds and returns flanking a reset early 14th-century blocked doorway. On the north side is attached a mid-19th-century memorial to James Turberville, died 1839. The lean-to north vestry has a catslide roof and two square-headed windows on the north side.

The interior contains four-bay nave arcades with two-centred arches of two chamfered orders and octagonal columns. East of the north arcade is an ogee-arched opening to the former rood loft. The chancel arch is of similar 19th-century date but with an inner order on semi-octagonal responds on corbels and a hoodmould. The tower arch is of three continuous orders. The west wall of the transepts has similar arches to the arcades but the outer order is continuous and the inner order ends at the responds. On the inner side of both archways is an ogee-arched squint. The nave and transepts have wagon roofs with partly renewed moulded wall-plates. The aisle roofs have swept wind-braces and similar, partly renewed, moulded wall-plates. The 19th-century chancel roof has moulded arch-braced collar trusses. There is the remains of a 14th-century piscina in the north transept and also in the east respond of the south arcade with a cusped ogee-arched head. The octagonal stone font is 14th-century and has cusped ogee-arched blind panels on the sides of the basin. The pulpit is 19th-century. In the north aisle is a parish chest inscribed "1684 Ex do HB".

Memorials include a 14th-century tomb recess in the north wall of the chancel with the reclining figures of a woman and child. Above this are an obelisk-shaped memorial to Reverend Josiah Smart died 1769 by T Symonds of Hereford, a Gothic-style memorial to Henrietta Thorneycroft died 1844, and a sarcophagus memorial with a swagged urn relief to Nicholas Mann died 1811 by Preece of Hereford. On the south side of the chancel is a brass inscription panel with a moulded stone surround to John Pember died 1677, and another memorial with a festooned urn relief to Wilson Bewicke died 1799. There are also two large illegible memorials at the west end of the south aisle, one obelisk-shaped and by T Powell of Leominster. Ledger slabs in the north porch include one to Lily died 1701-2 and several later ones. The east window is by Heaton, Butler and Bayne.