Church of Saint Michael

Church of Saint Michael

This is an Anglican parish church built in rubble stone with slate roofs, comprising a west tower, single-roofed nave and chancel, south porch, and a parallel south aisle. The tower was lime rendered in 2000.

The tower features a battered plinth, shaft, and corbelled flat parapet. It is lit by small cusped flat-headed bell-lights, with a blocked single light on the south and a pair on the west. The pair on the north and single light on the east are altered. Plain rectangular louvred openings are set deep at mid-height on three sides. A small 15th-century pointed two-light west window has cusped heads to the lights with a hexagon above. A northeast stair tower has a splayed west side with its top chamfered in under the bell-stage. The tower interior has a high plastered shallow curved ceiling, possibly a stone vault, with a small pointed door to the north stair and a pointed plastered arch opening to the nave.

The south porch has a broad pointed entry with rough stone voussoirs and jambs. Inside is a painted plastered stone vault with a slate flagged floor, an arched inner doorway, and a 20th-century door. A medieval stoup stands to the right of the door.

The south aisle has a rebated southwest corner with walls that lack batter at their bases. At the west end is a tiny blocked ogee-traceried single light. Three south-facing windows with three lights each date to the 15th or 16th century and are constructed of Bath stone with hoods and cusped lights; the rightmost window has damaged carved heads at the angles of the hood mould. Between the second and third windows is a blocked 17th-century ovolo-moulded two-light mullion window. A sundial on the southeast corner is dated 1680 or 1689. An east blocked three-light window similar in character to the south windows has a hood and is offset to the right, with a relieving arch above it.

The chancel's east end contains a mid-19th-century Bath stone window with two cusped lights and a sexfoil, with cut stone voussoirs that appear to be early 19th-century work. The chancel's north wall has a blocked small late medieval two-light window with a flat head and pointed uncusped lights, positioned at the extreme right. A small step in the wall to the right marks the boundary with the nave.

The nave's north wall has a battered base and two 19th-century copies of the three-light windows found on the south aisle.

Interior

A four-bay arcade in grey stone—two bays serving the nave and two the chancel—comprises roughly cambered arches on round piers with plain chamfered caps and bases. The pier between nave and chancel is chamfered towards the aisle and has a similar cap and base. The walls are painted plaster with a plain pointed plastered chancel arch.

All roofs date to 1892 and are boarded with arch-braced collar trusses on stone corbels; the collars and wallplates are ornamented with brattishing.

Fittings and Furnishings

In the chancel arch, on each side, is a large carved head corbel—a male figure with a circlet around the hair and a female figure, both much restored and presumably reset. A 12th-century rectangular font with large scalloped decoration separated by darts stands on a round shaft with a moulded base. A mid-20th-century oak pulpit with Gothic blind tracery panels is present. The nave contains simple pine pews and chancel stalls of 1892; earlier painted grained pews occupy the aisle. Painted grained simple Gothic open rails flank the sanctuary on the west and south sides.

Stained Glass

The nave's north first window contains the Lamb of God, created in 1997 by Celtic Yard; the third window, also by the same artist, depicts St Francis and dates to 2001. The south aisle windows contain Saints Catherine, Michael and Leonard—a memorial to William and Martha Owen of Withybush, executed in the early 20th century by R.J. Newbery. The east window contains mid-19th-century coloured patterned glass with painted glass IHS monogram in a sunburst and Gothic foliate motifs in the upper sexfoil.

Monuments

The nave's north wall displays a large inscribed slab to David James of Roswell (died 1767), a pedestal-type plaque to Patrick Clement (died 1835) by D. Lloyd of Nevern, and a plaque to Thomas Phillips of Kilbarth (died 1828) and his wife (died 1840) by J. Thomas of Haverfordwest.

The chancel floor contains slabs to Jane Hayward (died 1699) and Major-General John Picton of Poyston (died 1815). The chancel's north wall bears a metal plaque to W.S. Owen of Withybush (died 1909), Martha H. Owen (died 1885), and William Owen, the noted Haverfordwest architect (died 1879), with the last by Currie of Oxford Street. A tall neo-classical plaque to Hannah Scott (died 1798) features an urn and scroll sides. A neo-Grec plaque with an urn commemorates Samuel Phelps (died 1827). A 20th-century brass plate honours Archbishop William Laud. A plaque records Thomas Picton of Poyston (died 1790), his wife (died 1806), and daughter (died 1830). Twin slate memorials to Thomas Picton and John Picton (both died 1727) display low-relief skulls at the corners and oval plaques.

A slate plaque commemorates Eliza Warren (died 1789).

A monumental-scale Howard or Hayward of Fletherhill family memorial fills the east wall of the south aisle. Three recesses contain full-length figures bearing skulls, richly carved and splendidly dressed: James (died 1668) and Joanna Howard occupy the centre recess, George (died 1665) is to the left, and Thomas (died 1682) and Mary (died 1685) are to the right. The outer recesses are arch-headed; the centre recess has a three-sided head. Carved leaf sprays decorate the spandrels, with a cornice and swan-neck pediment bearing an armorial cartouche.

The south aisle's south wall contains a metal plaque to Reverend J. Owen (died 1907), a grey and white marble monument to William Meredith (died 1770) with a broken pediment and urn, and a brass plaque to G.L. Owen (died 1905). A plaque to General William Picton (died 1811) is set in a black frame with a triangular white marble head and records his military career, including service at the siege of Gibraltar in 1782. A brass plaque commemorates Henry Owen (died 1909). A white marble monument to Major-General John Picton (died 1815) features a crudely carved lion above an oval shield with standards. A long slate plaque with a small marble urn and scrolls records Lieutenant J. Warlow (died 1827) and his mother (died 1832). A recess in the blocked window of the west wall contains a plaster copy of an 1816 bust of General Sir Thomas Picton by S. Gahagan, accompanied by a plaque of 1907 recording his death at Waterloo in 1815 and his burial in St Paul's Cathedral, London. The south aisle's north wall includes a stone monument with a reeded surround to Jane Griffiths, servant at Poyston (died 1814).