Church Of St Michael

The Church of St Michael, located in Winson Village, is a Grade II* listed building that originally served as a chapel for the parish of Bibury. It dates back to the 12th century, with alterations made in the 13th and 14th centuries, and a restoration around 1882. The church is constructed from random rubble limestone and features a stone slate roof.

Architecturally, the church consists of a nave with a south porch and a chancel. The south doorway is round-arched and dates from the 12th century, adorned with a billetted hoodmould, a plain tympanum, and jamb shafts with scalloped capitals. The south porch, from the 14th century, has a gabled parapet and a chamfered inner arch supported by corbels, with an internal niche on the east side featuring an ogee cusped head. The nave has a lancet window to the left and a 2-light square-headed Perpendicular window to the right, which includes ogee tracery and a hoodmould. There is a blocked north doorway similar to the south. To the left, there is a 14th-century pointed 2-light window and a Norman pilaster buttress. The west end features a two-light Perpendicular window, largely restored in the 19th century, along with a 19th-century bellcote. The chancel includes a single east lancet window in the Early English style, as well as lancets on the north and south sides, with one enlarged chancel window featuring a cinquefoil on the south side. Evidence suggests that the chancel roof was raised.

Inside, the nave is limewashed and has a 19th-century wagon roof. The chancel arch, dating from the 12th century, features a billetted hoodmould and jamb shafts with scalloped capitals that match the doorways. The chancel walls are decorated with late 19th-century painted diaper patterns, including vine and honeysuckle motifs. The south lancet window has a low sill that forms a sedile, while the north side features a sedile with a shouldered arched top. An octagonal stone pulpit, possibly from the 15th century, has been extensively restored. The circular Norman font is set on a 19th-century base. A marble memorial to John Howes, who died in 1806, is located on the north chancel wall and was crafted by J. Mills of Cirencester. The stained glass includes an east window by Hardman and a south nave lancet by Thomas Willement, dating to around 1850.