Church Of St Michael

The Church of St Michael is a parish church dating back to the 14th century, with significant portions from the 15th century. It underwent extensive restoration around 1855 when a chapel was added, the chancel arch rebuilt, the nave crenellated, and most of the windows replaced. A porch was converted into a vestry in 1872, the church was refitted in the early 20th century, and the roof was replaced in the 1960s.

The church is constructed with roughcast over rubble, featuring an exposed plinth to the tower and buttresses, and has slate roofs with coped verges. The west tower, now the main entrance, is crenellated in two stages with diagonal buttresses to the lower stage, a string course with gargoyles, and two-light trefoil-headed bell openings. It includes a three-light west window, a moulded arched doorway with a 19th-century door, and a square stair turret extending to the upper stage. The nave is also crenellated, with three-light windows under square hoodmoulds. A blocked four-centered arch doorway has an inserted upper section of a two-light window. The chancel has two-light windows on its north and south sides, and a three-light east window. There are also two-light windows in the nave flanking the crenellated chapel, and a three-light north window with a two-light window on its return.

Inside, the church is rendered. The chancel arch and chapel arch are chamfered and date to the 19th century, as does the four-centered arch to the vestry. The original 14th-century tower arch remains, featuring a pointed, moulded doorway and the original stair turret doorway. The roofs are also 19th century; the chancel roof has an ornate carved wall plate continuing as an end truss, while the nave has a principal rafter roof. The church is notable for its extensive carved woodwork, largely from the early 20th century, executed by A E Eastwood of Leigh Court and members of a local woodworking class. Eastwood, who held the living and was Lord of the Manor, died in 1949. The panelled reredos were designed by Bligh Bond. Other woodwork includes carved bench ends and fronts, a carved pulpit and lectern (incorporating old panelling), and a panelled dado in the chancel. There’s a mid-20th-century panelled dado in the tower. A Norman circular font retains some cable moulding. Stained glass includes an east window from 1914 attributed to Arthur Tower, and small brass chandeliers donated in the same year. The 19th-century alterations were largely the work of the rector, the Rev Tucker, who was also Lord of the Manor and died in 1870. There is a correlation between the lordship of the manor at Leigh Court and the living.