Church Of St Michael The Archangel

Church of St Michael the Archangel

This parish church stands on the site of a previous church destroyed by lightning around 1611. The present church was completed by around 1614 by Sir William Smith of Hill Hall. It is built of red brick with a red plain tiled roof and a small shingle spire with weathervane.

The church comprises a chancel, nave, tower, and south porch. The chancel has a stone east window of 3 lights with intersecting tracery in a two-centred arch, moulded jambs and label. Beneath this window is a stone vault opening. Brick buttresses support the chancel, with moulded plinth and moulded coping to the gable, topped with a finial. Two-light windows with four-centre heads and square labels light the north and south walls. The chancel arch is plastered and moulded, with a two-centred head and semi-octagonal responds.

The nave has an east gable and plinth, with two two-light windows to the north and south walls matching those of the chancel. The west tower rises in 3 stages, with angled buttresses to the west corners, moulded plinth and crenellations. A stair turret rises to the base of the bell chamber, with a dentilled and corbelled semi-circular head lit by two angled windows with joined double semi-circular arches. Above these are a circular and a square brick plaque. The bell chamber has 2-light openings in pointed four-centre heads, below which is a stone pointed arch window. The west window is of stone with 3 lights and intersecting tracery, containing seven panels of ancient stained glass fragments. The south porch has a curvilinear gable with moulded coping. The outer archway has four-centred form with chamfered jambs and classic imposts, flanked by classic pilasters standing on the imposts and supporting an entablature and pediment. The porch walls feature two-light stone windows with flat labels to the east and west, with a cant roof of three bays.

The nave roof comprises 4 bays, and the chancel roof 3 bays, both of Queen strut construction with arched braces to collars and framed side purlins.

The church is famous for the monuments to the Smith family. The chancel contains an alabaster effigy of Sir Thomas and his wife "Philip" (1577/8), a recumbent alabaster effigy of Sir William Smith (1631) and his two wives Helegenwagh and Anne, and an alabaster and dark marble altar tomb with kneeling figures and reclining effigy of Sir William Smyth and his wife Bridget. A recumbent alabaster effigy commemorates Sir Thomas Smith Bart (1668), and wall monuments record Sir Edward Smith Bart (1713) and his wife Jane (1720). A vault beneath the chancel floor contains many Smith family coffins, with additional wall monuments in the nave. The south wall of the nave bears 16th-century lettering in black with the Creed and Lord's Prayer. Nine hatchments of the Smith family hang in the church, and a helmet, surcoat and shield hang on the south wall of the chancel.

The font, positioned against the wall by the church door, is unique and reportedly brought by Sir William Smith from Italy when the church was being built. It has a black marble basin on a Corinthian column, above which is a panel with foliated spandrels and a central recessed fluted fan alcove with a bearded face, whose inserted eyes are missing. Royal arms of George I hang above the tower arch. 16th-century panelled dado and seating survive, along with 17th-century black and white diagonal stone paving. The reredos around the east window comprises 17th-century fluted Corinthian pilasters. A 17th-century oak chest stands close to the porch. An oak altar rail installed in 1929 is in memory of Sir Robert Hudson C.B.E. In 1955, the hall box pew and the high reading desk attached to the pulpit were removed and the pulpit was reconstructed. The altar and reredos were installed in 1957. A remnant floral coronal hangs from the nave ceiling—the last of three, two having perished with age.