Church of St Michael

Details

FELTON

815/16/431 FELTON 12-APR-73 CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL

II

Parish church of 1853-54 by Thomas Nicholson of Hereford, with addition of porch and tower pyramid roof in 1891.

MATERIALS: Coursed local grey sandstone with buff-coloured dressings, slate roof.

PLAN: Nave with lower and narrower chancel, west tower, south porch and north vestry.

EXTERIOR: Decorated style church with prominent 3-stage tower. This has diagonal west buttresses and north-east turret. A 2-light west window and ogee-headed north and south windows are in the lower stage, above which are small cusped round windows. The narrower bell stage is enriched with ballflower on the angles and cornice, and has 2-light bell openings with louvres. A pyramidal shingle roof is behind an embattled parapet. In the 3-bay nave are 2-light windows and south doorway with continuous quadrant moulding. The porch has a figure of St Michael in a niche over the south entrance. The chancel has a sill band to 2 ogee-headed south windows and 3-light east window with geometrical tracery. The north vestry has ogee-headed windows and pointed west door.

INTERIOR: The simple tower arch has chamfers dying into the imposts. The richer chancel arch has filleted semi-circular responds and moulded capitals. Trussed rafter roofs are boarded behind. In the chancel the roof is enriched by stars and is painted blue over the sanctuary. The vestry has an unusually wide arch, with chamfers dying into the imposts. On the south side of the chancel are a cinquefoil-headed piscina and a window seat, and on the north side a large aumbry. Walls are plastered. Tile floors include encaustic tiles in the chancel, and beneath pews and choir benches are raised wood floors.

PRINCIPAL FIXTURES: The font is octagonal in Perpendicular style. The elaborate marble pulpit, dated 1882, is polygonal with symbols of the Evangelists in cusped arches. Benches have panelled ends, some of which were clearly family pews as the ends have the names of local farms in archaic lettering. Choir benches have moulded ends, with frieze of open quatrefoils to the fronts. A small stone reredos, in the sill of the east window, has a statue niche flanked by quatrefoils. Most of the glass is of the 1850s. The east window shows Christ in Glory, and in the south windows are Christ healing, and Christ blessing children. Patterned coloured glass is in the nave south windows. The west window, post 1882, shows Christ blessing children, in a landscape setting. A neo-classical wall tablet to John Pitt (d 1810) is in the base of the tower.

HISTORY: The church was built in 1853-54 by Thomas Nicholson (1823-95), architect of Hereford. It is one of the earliest works by an architect who received many commissions in the diocese. The church retains many of its fittings including benches and stained glass. The porch and the pyramid roof on the tower were added in 1891 by Nicholson & Son, who also enlarged the vestry.

SOURCES: N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Herefordshire, 1963, p 131. Information from Alan Brooks.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The church of St Michael, Felton, is listed Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It is a well-designed Gothic-revival church and a good, early work by one of Herefordshire¿s most successful C19 architects. * It retains fixtures of definite quality, including glass of the 1850s. * Its benches are a late example of the practice of maintaining family pews in parish churches.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

151204

Legacy System:

LBS

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