Church of St Michael

Details

COTLEIGH COTLEIGH ST 20 SW 11/6 Church of St Michael 22.2.55 GV II* Parish church. C15 and early C16, restored with rebuilt chancel in 1867. Local stone and flint rubble with Beerstone and some Hamstone detail, the tower is partly plastered; slate roof. Plan: nave with lower and narrower chancel. North aisle is not quite full length and the north chapel is now used as a vestry. West tower and south porch. Most of the exterior detail has been replaced and therefore it is difficult to work out the development of the church. However the nave is probably C15. The chancel is a complete rebuild of 1867. The north aisle and west tower may be contemporary and early C16. The south porch is C19. Exterior: the tower is 2 stages with embattled parapet, carved gargoyle water spouts, diagonal buttresses and a semi-octagonal stair turret on the south side. The southern belfry window is a square-headed 2-light window whilst the other belfry windows are 2 lights with Perpendicular tracery. On the west side of the tower is a Tudor arch doorway with moulded surround, carved foliage in the spandrels and a hoodmould carried up from the moulded plinth. Directly above is a 3-light window with Perpendicular tracery and hoodmould. The gable ends of the porch, nave, chancel and aisle have C19 shaped kneelers and coping and most have apex crosses. The south side of the nave is 3 bays and unbuttressed with the disused rood stair turret projecting square at the right end. In the centre is the gabled C19 porch which contains a 2-centred outer arch with hollow-chamfered surround and hoodmould. The south doorway is C19; a segmental pointed arch with hollow-chamfered surround. Each side of the porch are square- headed 3-light windows with Tudor arch-headed lights and sunken spandrels; there are 2 similar windows on the north side of the aisle and between them a blocked Tudor arch doorway similar to that in the tower. Each end of the aisle are arch-headed windows; the west one is blocked and the east one contains C19 Decorated reticulated tracery. The chancel is wholly C19 and the windows here also have Decorated reticulated tracery. Interior: the nave has a good C15 ceiled wagon roof of 6 bays with moulded ribs and purlins, carved oak bosses and a coved wall plate enriched with 4-leaf motifs and shields under each main truss. The main aisle ceiled wagon roof looks similar but here there is an embattled wall plate and the bosses have been replaced with square blocks. The chancel has a C19 open roof of scissor-braced common rafter trusses. The tall tower arch and the chancel arch both have moulded surrounds. 4-bay Beerstone arcade with 1 bay overlapping the chancel; moulded piers (Pevsner's type B) with carved foliage capitals. Behind the pulpit (soutn side of the nave) is a tiny 2-centred arch doorway to the disused rood stair. The walls are plastered and the floor is parquet blocks. 1867 Beerstone reredos; a Gothic blind arcade. Contemporary brass altar rail on twisted standards, plain oak stalls with a little Gothic decoration, oak prayer desk, pulpit and lectern. Plain C19 oak benches. C20 tower screen. Restored C15 Beerstone front has a delightfully-carved bowl of various designs, mostly geometrical (eg. quatrefoil panels) but one features a carved dove. Cylindrical shaft and angle shafts with carved capitals. No memorials except for one in memory of the dead of First World War and an ancient coffin stone now set against the south wall. However there are a series of similar painted boards, one dated 1716 and all feature winged cherubs heads. Over the south door one records "The Lawyers Gospell" from Matthew 22.37 and in the north aisle are commandment boards. Also in the north aisle a benefaction board is dated 1826. Painted royal arms is C20. Some C19 stained glass.

Listing NGR: ST2063602209

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

86561

Legacy System:

LBS

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