Church Of St Michael

Church of St Michael

Parish church with probable Norman origins. The earliest identifiable features include a circa 12th or early 13th century lancet window, now reset in the north wall of the chancel, and a reset mensa with two possibly 12th-century capital and base elements reused in a 19th-century two-bay arcade to the south chancel aisle. Other medieval survivals include a circa 13th-century font, a 14th-century piscina, and a 15th-century arch to the south door. The circa 15th-century west tower survives largely intact. The church was substantially rebuilt in 1865 with the exception of the tower, with J.P. St Aubyn serving as restoration architect.

The original plan prior to restoration comprised a circa 12th-century cruciform church, with the tower added circa 15th century, probably contemporary with the insertion of the 15th-century arch to the south door. The 1865 restoration removed the north and south transepts, rebuilt the south porch to the west of its earlier location, and added a vestry in the form of a south chancel aisle. A shallow projection was added to the north wall of the chancel to accommodate the reset 13th-century lancet window and mensa. The main body of the church is constructed of snecked stone rubble with a slate roof; the roof to the nave is notably higher than elsewhere. A vestry stands on the south east with a double gabled end.

The circa 15th-century west tower is built of stone rubble with a band of ashlar granite above the moulded string of the plinth. It rises in three stages with a stair turret on the north side, a battlemented parapet, and crocketted finials. The west door has a 4-centred arch with very hollow chamfered jambs and pyramid stops. Above this is a 3-light Perpendicular west window, with a blocked 1-light cusped window above and 2-light belfry openings with cusped heads and hood moulds.

The north side of the nave features three 19th-century windows with geometric tracery and a shallow projection at the east end. The chancel has a 3-light 19th-century window with intersecting tracery and a small reused round window on the south side. The south side of the church has geometric tracery in 19th-century 2-light windows. The gabled south porch has a 19th-century 2-centred granite arch and wavy barge boards. The south door itself retains its circa 15th-century 3-centred arch with carved spandrels, double roll mould, and fluted and curved run-out stops.

The interior, largely dating from the 19th-century restoration by J.P. St Aubyn, is finished with simple and well-designed detailing. The tower arch is 2-centred with chamfered details and granite quoins. The two-bay arcade to the south chancel aisle, used as a vestry, features a capital and base of a column possibly dating to circa 12th century, although its original position is uncertain. The circa 13th-century octagonal font is lined with lead. A well-designed pulpit by J.P. St Aubyn is located in the church. The chancel contains a circa 14th-century piscina with a rectangular chamfered surround, possibly reset in the south wall and lit by a small circular window above. On the north side, a mensa reputed to have been moved from the north transept is set below the reset 13th-century lancet window. At the west end of the church lies a possibly 12th-century scalloped capital that has been hollowed out to form a trough. J.P. St Aubyn's drawings of the church plan are hung on the south wall.

The church interior contains several slate ledger stones of high-quality lettering, including memorials to Christopher Langman (1727), Humphry Prowse of Mamhead, Devon (1638), and William Yeo of Margar (1680).

The church is situated in a hollow in a particularly picturesque setting, with the fine tower forming a notable visual feature. The 19th-century restoration by J.P. St Aubyn is characterised by its simplicity and good detailing.