Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church located in Micheldever, with origins dating back to the late 13th century and significant alterations in the mid 16th century. The nave was rebuilt in 1808 by architect Dance, and the chancel was added in 1880 by architect Colson, both for the Baring family. The church is constructed from rubble flint with stone dressings, featuring brick and render, and has a plain tiled roof.

The layout includes a large octagonal nave, a west bay from the 13th century with flanking vestries to the north and south, and a 16th-century west tower. The chancel is rendered brick with stone dressings and features a perpendicular style east window. The nave is plain brick with pointed arch-headed windows at clerestory level, and the north and south faces have small 1880 reticulated windows. The nave bay includes small windows leading to the vestries.

The late perpendicular tower has a higher stair turret in the southwest corner and a 19th-century four-centred head to the west door. Above this door is a square-headed window with three uncusped lights and a transom. The belfry windows on all faces are similar but contain four lights filled with pierced stonework decorated with lettering. Inside the tower, the east arch features a chamfered order on half-octagonal responds, with 13th-century blind arches of the west bay of the nave meeting the tower wall on either side of the arch above their springing. The west arch of the nave, which may be a reused 13th-century chancel arch, is pointed and has half-octagonal moulded capitals.

The nave is plastered and boasts large panelled plaster star vaulting, with shallow coved niches featuring pointed heads in the diagonals. Deeper niches on the north and south sides contain inserted stained glass reticulated windows. The chancel arch is a pointed arch from 1881. Within the chancel, there are three monuments by Flaxman, created between 1801 and 1813 for the Baring family, including a central piece of a seated praying woman with a Gothic surround and smaller side pieces with square Baroque panels. On another wall, there is a monument featuring two kneeling angels, created in 1905 by Sir J E Boehm. Other furnishings from 1880 include a perpendicular-style font and a stone pulpit. The tower walls display three armorial shield boards, and the church houses five bells from 1703, three of which were recast in 1903 when a sixth bell was added.