Church Of St Michael And All Angels

Description

This information is taken from the statutory List as it was in 2001 and may not be up to date.

SJ 9214-9314 PENKRIDGE C.P. ST. MICHAEL'S SQUARE (West side)

9/91 Church of St. Michael and All Angels.

19.3.62

GV I

Parish church formerly collegiate. C13 with C14 additions and alterations, major C16 alterations including refenestration possibly re-using C13 material, restored 1881 by J.A. Chatwin of Birmingham.

Red sandstone ashlar; low-pitch lead covered roofs. West tower with diagonal buttresses, 4-bay nave and aisles and south porch with diagonal buttresses, 4-bay chancel with aisles and diagonal buttresses, north west vestry. West tower: 3 stages with second stage off-set, moulded belfry string, moulded parapet string and frieze of shields to crenellated parapet with crocketed pinnacles; first stage C14, jambs and arch of pointed west door have a continuous wave-mould; upper stages C16, second stage has west window with 2 tiers of 4-cinque- foil-headed lights, 2 tiers of small trefoil headed lights over and a hood mould terminating in stylised heads, pointed belfry openings each with 3 cinquefoil-headed lights and small trefoil headed lights over.

Nave and aisles: The clerestoried nave, both aisles and south porch have crenellated parapets with crocketed pinnacles, C16 clerestory with paired 2-light windows. North aisle: Drop arch windows of 2 transomed lights, the lower lights trefoiled under low 4-centred arches, the upper lights have elongated trefoiled heads with a trefoil between them, the last but one to the west is a C19 insertion with square head but similar lower lights, the east window is similar to the others. South aisle: Similar windows to those of the north aisle, pointed east window with cusped tracery, and west window of cinquefoil-headed lights under a flat porch. South porch: 2 storeys, ground storey C14, upper storey C16; pointed doorway with C19 two-leaf nail studded door, chamfered inner arch, wave-moulded outer arch and returned hood mould; upper storey has 3-light mullioned window with hollow chamfered mullions and surround. Chancel and aisles: Clerestoried chancel and both aisles have crenellated parapet with crocketed pinnacles. Late C16 clerestory with square-headed-windows of 2 Tudor-arch lights with sunken spandrels, large pointed east window of c.1340 with 5 trefoil-headed lights, flowing tracery and hood mould terminating in heads. North aisle: Pointed windows of 2 transomed lights, the lower lights similar to those of the nave aisle windows, cusped Y-tracery above, blocked window to west, east window of 2 transomed lights under a flat arch, both upper and lower lights have trefoiled heads. South aisle: Similar windows to those of north aisle, westernmost window consists of upper lights only, above a Tudor arch doorway dated 1578, east window similar to that of north aisle. Vestry: Early to mid-C19, west side has a Tudor-arch door with returned hood mould, and flat arch window with 2 cinquefoil-headed lights and returned hood mould. Interior: Nave arcade of c.1250, pointed arches with chamfer and roll and fillet moulding, hood moulds, and curved heads in the spandrels, columns with round abaci and double roll-moulded bases; very tall, pointed and double chamfered tower arch springing from semi-octagonal engaged columns; C13 chancel arch raised by 8 feet in 1881, very tall pointed arch with wide fillet moulding, semi-octagonal engaged columns, hood mould terminating in heads; low pitch nave roof of 1881, cambered and billet-moulded tie beams are bracketed, 2 pairs of purlins and ridge piece, all moulded and with curved bosses at the junctions with the rafters, elaborately carved wall plate, the roof incorporates 6 oak angels from the C16 roof, these are cantilevered out below the tie beams; at clerestorey level are statuettes of saints standing on corbels and canopied; the early C13 chapel arcade has pointed arches with hollow chamfer and roll and fillet moulding, hood moulds and carved heads in the spandrels, cylindrical columns with water holding bases and undercut capitals; C16 low pitch chancel roof with cambered tie beams, the principal ones are ovolo-moulded, the others and the two pairs of purlins and ridge piece have wide chamfers; porch has a C14 stoup with ogee head in the east wall and a C16 oak ceiling with roll-moulded ridge piece, and bracketed and panelled tie beams. Fittings: Font dated 1668 restored 1862, stone, octagonal with moulded base and funnel shaped bowl; bowl of a medieval font in West tower; pulpit of 1890, stone, square plan, arcaded sides and heavily moulded lip decorated with fleurons, panelled wooden rear screen and canopy; elaborate chancel screen dated 1778, wrought iron, leaf and flower decoration, scrolled overthrow and finial, Dutch, brought from Cape Town; choir stalls late C15-with some original carving in front and in the screens behind them, late C15 misericords decorated with foliage. Monuments: Nave (South aisle) John Hodson d.1836, bracketed and pedimented marble wall plaque; John Eginton d. 1752, bracketed wall plaque with open-base pediment; John Herbert d.1769, wall plaque with open-top pediment containing an urn; Sir Edward Littleton d. 1812, oval wall plaque; Richard Littleton d. 1518.and wife, incised alabaster slab within a cusped semi-circular recess in south wall. Chancel: William Wynnesbury d. 1502 and his wife and daughter, incised alabaster floor slab; Sir Edward Littleton d. 1558 and his 2 wives Helen and Isabel, alabaster. chest tomb with 3 recumbent effigies, standing figures on sides of chest; Sir Edward Littleton d. 1574 and his wife Alice, alabaster chest tomb, 2 recumbent effigies, standing figures on sides of chest; these 2 Littleton tombs are thought to be the work of the Royleys of Burton; Sir Edward Littleton d. 1610 and wife and Sir Edward Littleton d. 1629 and wife, 2-tier monument with recumbent effigies on both upper and lower chest tomb; and below both their kneeling children, Corinthian columns below, obelisks above, inscribed: "READER E TWAS THOUGHT ENOUGH UPON Y / TOMBE / OF THAT GREAT CAPTAINE TH'ENEMY OF

ROME / TO WRITE NO MORE BUT (HERE LYES HANNIBAL) / LET THIS SUFFICE E E THEE THEN INSTEAD OF ALL HERE LYE TWO KNIGHTS Y FATHER ANE Y SONNE /

SIR EDWARD AND SIR EDWARD LITTLETON"; incised alabaster slab mounted on north aisle wall is mid-C17 and shows kneeling figures of a Littleton family; Sir Edward Littleton d. 1742, marble wall monument, bracketed aedicule with foliated pilasters capped by urns, surmounted by obelisk and sarcophagus, the former capped by an urn. Stained glass: East window of 1864 by Ward and Hughes, south aisle has 3 by Ward and Hughes, one by Lavers and Burraud and one by A.J. Dix, north aisle has one by A.J. Dix and one by Nicholson. B.O.E. PP. 220-1; V.C.H. Vol. 5 PP.

103-4.

Listing NGR: SJ9214114159

Content

This is part of the Series: IOE01/1995 IOE Records taken by G W Tanner; within the Collection: IOE01 Images Of England

Rights

© Mr GW Tanner. Source: Historic England Archive

This photograph was taken for the Images of England project