Church Of St Michael

The Church of St Michael is a parish church dating from the medieval period with later additions and alterations. It is constructed primarily of flint, with ashlar and brick dressings, and has lead, slate, and pantile roofs. The church comprises a west tower, an aisled nave with a south porch, and a chancel.

The west tower, designed by James Woderofe in the mid 16th century, features diagonal buttresses and a stair turret to the north-east. The west doorway has dying mouldings, traceried spandrels, and a traceried frieze incorporating the letter ‘M’ alternating with blank shields. Above the doorway is a tall, three-light panel-traceried window. A clock face is located on the second floor, with cusped ogee-headed single-light windows to the north and south. Two-light bell openings with cusped soufflets are also present, topped by a crenellated parapet with blind tracery and corner finials.

The south porch, also by James Woderofe, is ashlar faced to the south and west; it has a moulded entrance arch on shafted responds with a niche displaying a mutilated carving of St. Michael above. A flushwork plinth frieze of the letter 'M' is visible, and the south doorway has a late medieval two-leaf door. The south aisle has five three-light panel-traceried windows, while a blocked doorway of two hollow-chamfered orders is present in the north aisle. The clerestory contains eight fine two-light windows in the Decorated style with multi-cusped soufflets. The chancel has eight two-light windows with simple cusped tracery, possibly dating to the late 13th century. A priest's doorway and a blocked leper's window are located to the south, and the east window is an exceptional five-light Perpendicular design with staggered carved transoms, mouchettes, and daggers. Clasping buttresses, surmounted by grouped shafts that resemble late 12th and early 13th-century pier forms, are also present, topped with pinnacles.

Inside, the church has four-bay arcades dating from 1885, in the Perpendicular style. Surviving elements of earlier arcades include polygonal bases and a south-eastern respond. The southwest respond and bell capital are 13th century, with grouped shafts, and a 14th or 15th-century heightening that reuses the original deeply carved capital. A massive tower arch has mouldings dying into plain jambs, and a hollow-chamfered chancel arch rests on triple-shaft responds, with the north respond and arch having been renewed. The north aisle roof is restored from the 15th century, featuring roll-moulded principals. The nave roof is a hammerbeam design with carved hammers and wooden wall post corbels depicting angels, prophets, and prelates. Wall plates have brattishing. The chancel has four bays of 13th-century wall arcading consisting of single, practically freestanding shafts on water-holding bases supporting deeply moulded bell capitals and very pointed plain chamfered arches, with evidence suggesting they were intended to open into aisles. A surviving rood stair to the north also served as a squint from the north aisle. Other features include a fine 14th-century multi-cusped piscina, Jacobean panelling in the south aisle, some late medieval poppy-head bench ends, and medieval brasses.