Church Of St Michael

Church of St Michael, Blewbury

This is a church of considerable architectural importance, with building works spanning from the 11th century to the 19th century. The original 11th-century structure comprised a nave and sanctuary. The 12th century saw major expansion with the addition of a chancel, central tower, and transepts. A south aisle was added in the 13th century, followed by a north aisle and Lady Chapel to the south in the 14th century. The 15th century brought significant changes, including a new west tower, reduction of the central tower, and the construction of north and south porches. In the 19th century the north porch was rebuilt and the south porch restored, while the nave roof dates to approximately 1875.

The building is constructed of stone and flint mixture, with stone ashlar used for the tower. The roofs are a mix of materials: old plain tiles to the Lady Chapel and chancel, 20th-century plain tiles to the nave, and a lead roof to the north aisle. The roofs of the south aisle and tower are not visible from the exterior.

The church comprises a 2-bay chancel, crossing, 2-bay north transept, 3-bay Lady Chapel, 5-bay nave and south aisle, 2-bay north aisle, and a west tower. A wood porch with a shallow gabled roof projects from the centre of the south aisle. The south porch features a ribbed and studded door set within a 4-centred arched doorway with foliate decoration to the spandrels. Windows on the south side include 3-light panel tracery windows flanking the aisle, a lancet to the left of the Lady Chapel, 2-light reticulated tracery windows to the centre and right of the Lady Chapel, and a Y-tracery window to the west end of the south aisle. The Lady Chapel's east end has a 3-light reticulated tracery window. The chancel's east end features a 3-light reticulated tracery window with a round window above.

On the north side, a 19th-century flint porch with stone dressings stands to the right of the aisle. Its ribbed and studded door is set within a 4-centred arched doorway with carved spandrels and a hood mould. Above the doorway is an image niche containing 19th-century carved figures of St Michael. The north side also includes a 2-light stone mullion window to the left of the aisle with cusped lights and a hood mould, a lancet to the west end of the aisle, and a lancet to the north end of the transept. The transept's east side features a 3-light reticulated tracery window. The chancel has a lancet to its left and a 2-light reticulated tracery window to its right. A Romanesque lancet appears to the right of the nave.

The west tower comprises three stages. The first stage has a 4-light panel tracery window on its west face, the second stage has a 2-light panel tracery window on its west face, and the third stage has 2-light panel tracery louvred openings on each face. An open quatrefoil stone balustrade with cusped finials at the corners finishes the roof level.

The interior contains significant medieval features. The chancel has a rib-vault on corbels, and the central tower crossing also features rib-vaulting. The right side of the chancel retains a 14th-century piscina and sedilia. Fifteenth-century choir stalls are present, and a 15th-century screen separates the chancel from the Lady Chapel. The north transept has an arch-braced collar-truss roof and a 15th-century rood loft door with blind Perpendicular tracery. An altar stone has been re-sited here, surrounded by 14th-century encaustic tiles. The Lady Chapel features a 3-bay crown-post roof and a trefoil-headed piscina to the right. The nave contains a 15th-century octagonal stone font with quatrefoil panels on each side of the bowl. Its arcades are notable: the north arcade features two-centred arches, while the south arcade has five two-centred arches with internal reveals on half-columns. The 19th-century roof of the nave is an arch-braced collar-truss design with curved windbraces spanning 7 bays. Perpendicular lean-to roofs cover both the north and south aisles.