Details
SJ 9214-9314; 9/91
PENKRIDGE C.P.,
ST. MICHAEL'S SQUARE (West side)
Church of St Michael and All Angels
19.03.62
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: three 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 two tiers of
4-cinquefoil-headed lights, two tiers of small trefoil-headed lights over and
a hoodmould terminating in stylised heads, pointed belfry openings each
with three 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: two 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 hoodmould; 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 two Tudor-arch lights with sunken spandrels,
large pointed east window of c.1340 with five trefoil-headed lights,
flowing tracery and hoodmould terminating in heads. North aisle:
Pointed windows of two transomed lights, the lower lights similar to those
of the nave aisle windows, cusped Y-tracery above, blocked window to
west, east window of two 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 two
cinquefoil-headed lights and returned hoodmould.
INTERIOR: Nave
arcade of c.1250, pointed arches with chamfer and roll and fillet
moulding, hoodmoulds, 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,
hoodmould terminating in heads; low-pitch nave roof of 1881, cambered
and billet-moulded tie beams are bracketed, two 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 six 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, hoodmoulds 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.
Listing NGR: SJ9214114159
