Church of Saint Michael

Church of Saint Michael

A church of 12th-century origin with alterations from the 13th to 15th centuries, a 14th-century tower, and a porch dated 1594. The building was restored in 1892-93 by M H Holding. It is constructed of coursed limestone rubble with limestone and ironstone dressings and a lead roof.

The plan comprises a nave and chancel, a west tower, and a south porch.

The chancel has two bays with a three-light Decorated east window featuring renewed tracery and hood mould, a small one-light window to the north, and a two-light Perpendicular-style window of 1892 to the north-west with a straight head and hood mould. A priest's door to the south has a round-arched, single-stepped head with hood mould. The south wall contains two-light windows with cusped heads and a chamfered rectangular low-side window to the west of the priest's door.

The nave has original single-stepped north and south doorways with double-stepped round-arched heads, imposts and hood moulds; the southern door has a six-panel door. A three-light Perpendicular window to the north features a four-centred head with tracery of 1892 and hood mould. An original one-light window to the north-east has a round-arched head, and a similar larger window appears to the south. A two-light Perpendicular window to the south-east and two-light Perpendicular windows either side of the porch have straight heads and hood moulds. Small quatrefoil clerestorey windows sit either side of the porch roof.

The south porch is distinguished by a chamfered Tudor-arched doorway, a small circular window to the east side, and a small rectangular one-light window to the west with stone lintel. The stone-coped gable has kneelers and a datestone inscribed 1592 to the left of a central blank shield bearing the initials V K above (Valentine Knightley) and H C to the right.

The west end of the nave has chamfered lancet windows either side of a canted stair-turret projection to the tower. The tower, built within the west end of the nave, features two-light bell-chamber openings with hood moulds, a battlemented parapet, and a pyramidal roof with finial and wrought-iron weather-vane. An octagonal timber clock face sits above the stair turret on the west side, facing Upton Hall. Off-set buttresses flank the west end, with off-set buttressing to the stair turret, a stepped string course, and plain stone-coped parapets to the nave and chancel.

Interior

There is no division between the nave and chancel. The roofs were renewed during restoration. A chamfered tower arch opens into the main space. The inner wall of the tower incorporates a three-light screen panel, probably of the 15th century, with a quatrefoil window higher up to the left of the tower arch and a cruciform window to the right.

A 17th-century communion table is housed in the vestry. The reredos, choir stalls, desks, and pulpit are all of Riga oak and were designed in 1899 by M H Holding. The east window contains stained glass of 1870. Four hatchments with Samwell family coats of arms are painted in oil on canvas.

Monuments include alabaster effigies of Richard Knightley (died 1537) and his wife on a tomb-chest of 1892 incorporating one original panel with three shield-holding angels. A wall monument in veined grey marble with an apron and cartouche bearing a painted coat of arms commemorates Sir Thomas Samwell (died 1757). A slate wall monument with a painted inscription in an upright oval gilt frame records James Harrington (died 1677), buried at Saint Margarets, Westminster, erected by his relative Wenman Langham Watson in 1810. A large wall monument of white marble on a slate background, signed by Whiting of Northampton, commemorates Thomas Samwell Watson Samwell (died 1831) and features a mourning female figure and trophies. Wall monuments to Wenman Langham Watson Samwell (died 1841) and Clarison Felicia Woodford (died 1846), both of white marble on slate grounds, are also by Whiting.