Church of St Michael is a Grade I listed building in the Lake District National Park local planning authority area, England. First listed on 3 March 1967. A Medieval Church.
Church of St Michael
- WRENN ID
- tattered-sandstone-khaki
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- Lake District National Park
- Constituency
- Penrith and Solway MP: Markus Campbell-Savours (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 3 March 1967
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Medieval
- Address
- Church of St Michael, Blindcrake, Cumberland
- OS grid reference
- NY 162 333
- Coordinates
- 54.68786, -3.30084
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St Michael is a parish church dating from the early 12th century, with restorations and additions made in 1878 by C.J. Ferguson. It features walls made of calciferous sandstone rubble and is topped with a graduated greenslate roof, complete with coped gables and a cross finial. The church has a 4-bay nave that includes a south porch and a twin open bellcote, as well as a 3-bay chancel with a north vestry.
The nave showcases a zig-zag doorway and carved capitals, although the engaged shafts have been removed, all set within a 14th-century gabled stone porch. The south wall contains a tall round-headed 13th-century window, a smaller rectangular window of similar age, and two 18th-century rectangular windows. A 19th-century two-light west window is flanked by buttresses. The north side has a blocked doorway and two narrow round-headed 12th-century windows.
On the south chancel wall, there is a blocked priest's doorway, a lancet window, a round-headed window, and a two-light 15th-century window, along with a 19th-century two-light east window and a 19th-century vestry. Inside the porch, there are built-in fragments of medieval cross-slabs. The nave retains four original window splays, one of which corresponds to the 18th-century window. It features a 16th-century trussed timber roof and a medieval pedestal font with an octagonal bowl. The south wall shows remnants of stone steps leading to the rood screen and displays the Royal Arms of George I, dated 1721.
The chancel arch, dating from the 12th century, is roll-moulded and has carved capitals. Fragments of Anglo-Danish cross-shafts are located beside the south door. The north wall of the chancel contains original splayed 12th-century windows and a lancet window, along with a fragment of medieval sculpture built into the wall. There are 17th-century slate wall plaques commemorating the Lawson family of Isel Hall flanking the altar, additional fragments of an Anglo-Danish cross shaft, a brass wall plaque for Thomas de Sandes, who died in 1415, and various 19th-century brass wall plaques. The church also includes 19th-century furnishings and fittings, as well as early 20th-century hanging oil lamps.
Local climate
Church of St Michael sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,390 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 97% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 96% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 43 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 84% of listed buildings. Of these, 22 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
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Nearby listed buildings
- Table Tomb South of Chancel of Church of St Michael
- Isel Bridge House and Former Stables
- Gates, Wall and Railings of Isel Bridge House
- Isel Bridge
- Isel Hall
- Gate Piers and Garden Walls in Front of Isel Hall
- Stable Flats and Former Carriage House at Isel Hall
- Isel Grange
- Byre South of Isel Mill
- Isel Mill