Church of St. Michael

The Church of St. Michael is a building of group value, dating from the 15th century with later alterations. It is constructed of random grey and red sandstone with dressed quoins and natural slate roofs. The church consists of a nave and chancel under a continuous roof, a north aisle, a south porch, and a west tower.

The south wall is arranged in six bays, incorporating the nave and chancel, and featuring projections for the south porch and a former rood loft. The first window is a 2-light square-headed Perpendicular window with cinquefoiled lights and glazed spandrels. Adjacent to this window is a reset medieval carving depicting two angels. The south porch is a deep gabled structure with an open timber entrance, featuring side-lights with cusped heads. While appearing to be 15th century with repairs, the porch may be an addition to an earlier structure, as evidenced by the doorway within having a 2-centred head and a continuous sunk chamfer moulding. The wall continues with a large 3-light Perpendicular window, followed by the projection for the rood loft, containing a small lancet window. The chancel features a priest’s door with a 2-centred head, followed by another 2-light window. The east gable is coped with an apex cross, and the east window is pointed with two cinquefoiled lights and a quatrefoil in the head.

The north wall incorporates a blind chancel and a rood window, serving the north aisle, which is under a catslide roof. A single light window with a cinquefoil head features relief carvings of ironworkers’ tools in the spandrels.

The square and massive west tower has sharply defined quoins and three stages, with small rectangular lights on the south and west faces at the base and on the south and north faces on the stage above. The bell-stage, which shows signs of reconstruction, has a 2-light opening under a carved single stone lintel. The roof is pyramidal in design.

Internally, the nave and chancel share a continuous roof supported by seven principal rafter trusses with arched collars, light purlins, secondary rafters, and a ridge piece. The rafters are continuous into the north aisle, over a heavy wall-plate that is supported by the arcade. The arcade is of a simple 4-bay design, featuring moulded oak columns with reeded mouldings which die out into carefully carved bases. A 16th-century font is present alongside Victorian furnishings.