Church of St Michael and all Angels

Church of St Michael and All Angels

This is a Gothic Revival church designed in the late 14th-century Decorated style. The building is positioned to be seen to best advantage from the north side, comprising a nave and chancel of almost equal height with steep roofs. A thin octagonal open bell turret with a spire marks the junction between them. The north aisle has a shallower roof pitch and is flanked by a gabled vestry block with chimney to the left and an entrance porch to the right.

The walls are constructed from local brown sandstone, randomly coursed with a rock-faced finish and laid in coarse-grit mortar. The masonry dressings are of yellow Bath limestone ashlar, used for doors, windows, coped gables with kneelers and crosses, string courses and quoins. The roof is covered in Whitland Abbey green slate with a red tile ridge in graded courses, providing further colour contrast.

The architectural detailing becomes increasingly elaborate towards the chancel end. Crossed corner-buttresses flank both the nave and chancel gables, with the chancel buttresses being deeper in projection. A single intermediate buttress appears on both north and south sides at the chancel-wall position, masking a slight change in the building's width. The nave and chancel each have two additional buttresses on the south side. Those on the nave have sloping offsets and tops, whilst those on the chancel have additional offsets and gables at the top.

On the north side, the aisle windows are two-light type in plate tracery with trefoil heads to the lights, with the apex of the dressing stonework truncated at the eaves. The vestry gable window is similar but of three lights within an outer arch. The main entrance door, balancing the vestry window, is equilateral-pointed with simple moulding. The south-side windows are considerably larger: those of the nave are four-light with tracery but without labels, whilst those of the chancel are two-light with labels. A string course links the sills. The east window has three wide lights with labels featuring floral stops and is the only window to stand clear of the string course. Original cast-iron rainwater heads and downpipes remain, though the gutters have been replaced. One consecration cross is carved on a stone at the foot of the wall beneath the vestry window.

The interior is notably well-designed for 300 persons and represents a high point of the church's architectural achievement, particularly through its stained glass and interior fittings which are integral with the architecture. The walls are of dark grey sandstone with pecked finish and coarse joints, contrasting with limestone ashlar dressings painted white, repeating the varied masonry style of the exterior. Windows are linked by a string course.

The porch opens into both the west end of the north aisle and into the nave. An arcade of three arches with octagonal pillars connects these spaces. The nave roof is of four bays with braced collar beam trusses in pitch pine. The chancel roof is of facetted barrel form with panels separated by ribs.

The chancel arch is wide and of two orders, approached by two steps with a low wall on each side featuring trefoiled panels. A stone pulpit stands to the right, with quatrefoil pierced openings at the front and a base incorporating dark marble colonnettes. Carved oak choir stalls are positioned in the chancel. The altar rail is mounted on wrought-iron standards. A Sienna marble reredos with cross centrepiece is flanked by green and gilt wall-tiles. Two sedilia and a piscina are set under trefoil heads with dark marble colonnettes. A Gothic altar table, carved by their sister as a memorial to Ellen and Kate Harries, was installed in 1932.

The stained glass represents significant artistic work. Street designed the east and west windows and the two south windows of the nave. The east window shows three lights depicting Christ Crucified with St Mary and St John. The west window contains many scenes from the Annunciation to the Ascension, including the coming of the Holy Spirit and Christ in Majesty. The south window near the pulpit depicts scenes from the parables, whilst the other shows the miracles.

The remaining stained glass windows date from the mid-20th century. The two south windows of the chancel show Christ in Majesty and the Good Shepherd, with King David and musicians. Three windows in the north aisle include a war memorial showing the Blessed Virgin Mary with the infant Christ in one light and with St Anne in the other. A second shows St George and St Michael. The third depicts Christ blessing the children.