Church of St Michael

Church of St Michael

The Church of St Michael is a Gothic-style building comprising a west tower, nave, chancel, south porch, north aisle and north vestry. It is constructed of roughly coursed stone with large dressed quoins and slate roofs throughout.

The Tower

The narrow three-stage tower dates to the 17th century and is built of stone. Yellow brick battlemented parapets and a three-stage yellow brick spire were added later. The spire is surmounted by a weather vane and has raised bands between the stages.

The west side of the tower features a continuous chamfered pointed arched doorway, now infilled with concrete. The middle stage contains a two-light window in a flat-headed surround with cinquefoil-headed lancets. A stone tablet in a frame sits immediately above, but is eroded and blank. The top stage has a window of two plain chamfered lancets, also infilled with concrete. Similar windows appear on the top stage of the south and north sides. The parapets are slightly corbelled with flat capstones. The spire contains narrow round-headed lights to alternate faces of the lower two stages, each with a yellow brick head and a horizontal glazing bar.

The Nave

The nave is wider than the tower and has moulded stone eaves. Some masonry at the southwest angle may be from an earlier church. The nave has a five-bay arch-braced roof with curved braces above the collars and corbels bearing gilded head bosses.

To the left of centre is a narrow gabled south porch with a chamfered pointed arched doorway with plain hoodmould containing open ironwork gates. A cross finial sits at the apex. The porch has flat-headed narrow lights to its side walls. Inside the porch is a pointed arched doorway with a moulded ribbed door, side benches and a two-bay arch-braced roof. The nave windows comprise cinquefoiled lancets with circles containing quatrefoils above, under flat heads. These consist of a single light to the left of the porch, three lights to the right of the porch, and two lights further to the right.

A tall narrow pointed tower arch with double chamfers connects the nave to the tower. It is infilled and recessed, with the lower part containing timber panelling and a flat-headed door. Open wooden framing separates the nave from the aisle, comprising moulded posts respecting the bay divisions and supporting a similar lintel.

The Chancel

The chancel eaves are slightly higher than those of the nave. The south side of the chancel features two tall windows, each with two cinquefoiled lights and triangular heads. The east end has a three-light Perpendicular-style window above which is a vent in the gable apex and a cross finial. A shallow pointed arch with double chamfered mouldings connects the chancel to the nave.

A small lean-to vestry is built against the north side of the chancel. It features a cinquefoiled lancet to the east end and a chamfered pointed arched doorway to the north side. A chamfered pointed arched doorway connects the chancel and vestry.

The North Aisle

The added north aisle is a range of similar size to the nave and features a similar five-bay arch-braced roof structure. Its east end matches that of the chancel, with a three-light Perpendicular-style window. The north side of the aisle has two windows, each with two cinquefoiled lancets and flat stone heads. The west end has a two-light Perpendicular-style window. A small breeze block lean-to stands in the angle with the tower.

Interior Fittings

The interior contains planked pews and an octagonal wooden pulpit with a trefoiled lancet frieze. An octagonal nineteenth-century stone font stands at the west end, decorated with recessed quatrefoils alternating with four-leafed flowers, each with a decorative boss at the centre. The medieval tub font is now positioned at the east end of the aisle.

The altar is composed of a large stone tomb-chest with its top replaced by polished marble. The front and ends of the tomb bear weepers in high relief, crudely carved in Elizabethan costume. They depict the children of the deceased who is interred beneath. There are eight children to the front and a pair to the ends, with their names roughly engraved above. Between each pair of children is a narrow turned column with a cusped canopy above bearing foliage and crockets. Larger columns stand at the angles, with the column to the south bearing a human figure. A plain marble reredos is flanked by pairs of columns supporting a cornice. To the sides is wooden panelling with cinquefoiled lancets.

Stained Glass and Memorials

The east window depicts Christ, St Peter and St Paul and dates to around 1850. The south chancel windows include a window to the left depicting dragons and beasts, signed EBL and dated 1991, and a window to the right commemorating William and Mary Ann Bowen, dated 1964. The east window of the aisle is early twentieth century and depicts the Ascension in memory of John Russell. Red margin glazing appears in windows to the nave.

Small marble memorial tables in the nave and chancel date to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. On the south wall is a grey tablet from the eighteenth century to the John family. The war memorial beside the tower arch is a tall wooden panel with an arched head, containing wooden doors that open to reveal a lance-shaped marble tablet. Below is a traceried design flanked by two soldiers in relief.