Church Of St Michael And All Angels

CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS

Parish Church (Anglican). Built in 1785 by Charles Evans of London, designed after Gibbs' St. Martin-in-the-Fields. The chancel and apse were added in 1875. The church is constructed in ashlar with a hipped slate roof behind a coped parapet that is balustraded to the apse, and features a moulded cornice.

The building comprises a west tower with flanking single storey entrance wings to the north and south, a nave with north and south aisles, a chancel, and an apse. The plain west tower breaks the pediment of the west elevation and rises in three stages with a balustraded parapet and obelisk pinnacles surmounted by urns. The second stage contains a single round window and the third stage has a round headed window, both with louvres. Flanking the tower are two single storey entrance ways—the public entrance to the south and the private entrance to the house to the north, with niches on the west elevation. Panelled doors under fanlights open on the west and south elevations of the tower. The main body of the church is extremely plain, with five bays, round headed windows with leaded glazing, a keyed circular window to the chancel, and three round headed windows to the apse.

The interior is the glory of the church. The nave features a tunnel vault with ornamental panelled plasterwork. Four-bay arcades have columns on tall pedestal bases with capitals bearing attenuated acanthus and an entablature over the columns only. Four saucer-shaped domes spring from corbels bearing the entablature in the aisles. A family gallery at the west end is supported by four Tuscan columns and features a balustraded parapet supporting twin Corinthian columns. The pulpit with sounding board and horse-box pews date to 1785. The organ case, choir stalls, reredos, and communion rail were designed by Temple Moore in 1908. Stained glass by Thomas Willement (1845-7) features blue borders with Beaufort heraldry. Brass chandeliers are present throughout.

The church contains an exceptional series of monuments. On the north wall of the chancel is Grinling Gibbons' monument to the First Duke of Beaufort (died 1700), executed in marble. The Duke reclines in garter robes and a wig on a sarcophagus resting on a plinth with a relief of St. George and the Dragon. Above are two heavenly winged cherubs framed by drawn drapery. The subject is framed by twin heavily embossed Corinthian columns supported by an inscribed plinth and supporting an entablature bearing flaming urns and the ducal arms with a coronet. Two full-length female figures that originally stood on the plinth are missing.

At the east end of the north aisle is Rysbrack's monument to the 2nd and 3rd Dukes (1754), in marble. The Dukes are depicted in Roman costume—one seated holding a female medallion with drapery cascading over a black sarcophagus, the other standing against a dark marble flat obelisk background with two cherubs holding the ducal coronet and motto, on an inscribed plinth.

At the east end of the south aisle is Rysbrack's monument to the 4th Duke (1756), in marble, showing the Duke standing in a Roman toga with a seated cherub to the left holding a coronet, on an inscribed plinth. At the south-east end of the south aisle is the monument to the 5th Duke by Sir R. Westmacott, a sarcophagus draped with ducal robes and coronet on a cushion. At the north-east end of the north aisle is the monument to the 6th Duke (1839) by J. Edwards after a design by T. H. Wyatt, a classical white marble tablet with heraldry above.

Additional monuments include: Elizabeth, Duchess (1828) by H. Wood of Bristol, a white marble tablet with draped chest on grey marble in a niche background; Lord Edward Somerset (1822) by H. Wood of Bristol, white marble with draped Greek chest above; Charlotte, Duchess (1854) by J. Edwards, featuring mourning marble females and medallion portrait; and at the west end of the south aisle, Mary, Duchess (1714), a very fine white marble chest tomb with grey marble top, corner balusters, and much heraldry. Many other wall tablets and plaques commemorate members of the Somerset and Beaufort families.

The church was constructed on a new site, fifteen yards to the east of the medieval church.