St Michael's Church is an Anglican church in the village of St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, England. It is a typical late Medieval church and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn and the archdeaconry of Lancaster.
| St Michael's | |
|---|---|
| Church of Saint Michael | |
 St Michael's Church, from the west | |
  St Michael's Location in the Borough of Wyre | |
| 53°51′46″N 2°49′10″W / 53.8628°N 2.8195°W | |
| OS grid reference | SD 4620241041 |
| Location | St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 17 April 1967 |
| Administration | |
| Province | York |
| Diocese | Blackburn |
| Archdeaconry | Lancaster |
| Clergy | |
| Priest in charge | Rev Andrew Wilkinson |
History
editSt Michael's on Wyre is one of seven ancient parishes of the hundred of Amounderness. It was the third largest, with an area of 18,888 acres (76.44 km2; 29.51 sq mi).[1] The Domesday Book of 1086 lists three churches in Amounderness, one of which was probably St Michael's.[2] There has certainly been a church on the site from at least the 13th century, elements of which remain in the current building.[3] The present church was possibly built in the 15th century and alterations were made in the 17th century. The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 17 April 1967.[3] The Grade I listing is for buildings "exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important".[4]
Architecture
editThe church is typical of late Medieval churches of northern England and is constructed of sandstone ashlar and rubble.[3][5] The plan consists of a tower at the west end, a chancel and nave under a continuous roof and a chapel to the north.[3] The tower is said to date from 1549.[6] It is broad and low with a west window and has three stages, the upper of which (added later) is inset.[5] The date 1611 and the coat of arms and initials of Henry Butler are carved into the parapet.[6] The tower's plan is trapezoidal and it has angled buttresses.[3]
The chancel and nave are under a continuous roof of blue slate. There is an aisle to the south under a separate gabled slate roof, with an embattled parapet and buttresses.[3] The aisle is separated from the chancel by two wide arches. There is a porch to the south of the south aisle.[6] A shorter aisle lies to the north of the church, west of the Butler Chapel.[3]
The Butler Chapel to the north of the church dates from 1480 and was founded as a chantry of St Katharine.[5][6] It was repaired in 1797 and reseated and restored in 1854.[6] It has a pitched roof with an embattled parapet which dates from the 19th century.[3] Its windows have flat heads with cinquefoil tops and upper mouchettes.[5]
The tower houses a ring of three bells, hung in a timber frame.[7] The treble was cast in 1458 and given to the church by a French lady named Catherine de Bernieules, Lady of Neufchatel.[8] It is inscribed with Gothic script.[7] The second bell was cast in 1663 by Geoffrey Scott of Wigan. The third dates from 1742 and was cast by Abel Rudhall of Gloucestershire.[9]
See also
edit
References
editFootnotes
edit- ^ Cheetham (1914), p. 3
- ^ Cheetham (1914), p. 5
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Church Of St Michael, Garstang Road", Heritage Gateway, English Heritage, retrieved 19 August 2010
- ^ Listed Buildings, English Heritage, 2010, retrieved 22 August 2011
- ^ a b c d Hartwell & Pevsner (2009), pp. 591–92
- ^ a b c d e Farrer & Brownbill (1912)
- ^ a b Cheetham (1919), pp. 95–100
- ^ Myres, T. Harrison (1916). Bells & Bell Lore: Church Bells of the Amounderness and the Archdeaconry of Lancaster. p. 78.
- ^ "St Michael's on Wyre — S Michael", Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers, 24 June 2009, retrieved 8 November 2010
Bibliography
edit- Cheetham, Frank Halliday (1914). The Church of St. Michael-on-Wyre in Amounderness. Edinburgh: Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. OCLC 558246753.
- Cheetham, Frank Halliday (1919), The Church Bells of Lancashire [Part 4: The Hundred of Amounderness], Sherratt & Hughes, OCLC 27475286
- Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1912), "The Parish of St Michael-on-Wyre", A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7, pp. 260–267, retrieved 19 August 2010
- Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-12667-0
- Pevsner, Nikolaus (1969), North Lancashire, London: Penguin, ISBN 0-300-09617-8, OCLC 51622085