Church of St Michael

Details

STONE

SJ9033 CHURCH STREET, Stone 651-1/7/5 (South side) 09/03/49 Church of St Michael

GV II*

Anglican church. 1758; chancel 1887. By William Robinson of the Board of Works, supervised by William Baker. Ashlar; copper clad roof, tile roof to chancel. Chancel with north vestry and south organ loft; 5-bay nave with west tower and flanking 2-storey porches. Early Gothic Revival style, with Perpendicular details to the chancel. Chancel has high plinth, continuous sill course and hood mould; top cornice and coped parapet, embattled to north and south. 6-light east window with fleuron to hood; 2-light windows to north and south; gabled organ loft has 2-light transomed window; vestry gabled to east with 3-light east window over steps to basement entrance, 2-light square-headed north window flanked by Tudor-headed entrances, the doors with enriched hinges and cusped lights, lateral stack to chancel. Nave has windows to 2 levels; plain plinth, platt band over lower lavel, upper level sill course and top coved cornice and embattled parapet continued to east gable, pinnacles to angles; windows have Y-tracery, the lower windows with label moulds. 4-stage tower breaks forward, pointed entrance has hollow moulding between simple shafts with splayed bases, similar moulding to arch, paired 3-fielded-panel doors with original handle, and glazed timber panel above; plaque above door inscribed with date under label mould; 2nd stage has quatrefoil window under segmental label mould, platt band over; 3rd stage has round clock faces in simple frames; top stage has Y-tracery louvred bell-openings on sills with cusped aprons; top lozenge frieze, embattled parapet and angle pinnacles with wind vanes. Porches have pointed windows with label moulds and upper Y-tracery windows; north and south entrances have triple-arched moulds. INTERIOR: chancel has arch-braced collar roof with tracery; arch to south organ loft; north vestry door and credence shelf in recess with tracery head; chancel arch has responds with C15 style panelling to tops; C19 nave roof has arch-braced tie beams, raised centre and waggon boarding; side galleries on moulded timber posts, enriched frieze and panelling; tower has ceiling with beams and cornices. Fittings: chancel has panelling, east wall, linenfold panelling with cusped panels over and brattishing, reredos with traceried canopies and brattishing; stalls with linenfold panelling, similar case to organ, 1888, by Sir Charles Nicholson; altar rail has tracery; C18 chancel rail has turned balusters and lozenge frieze; Minton tiles. Nave has original high box pews with H-hinges to doors and painted number panels; high timber pulpit by Sir C.Nicholson with linenfold panelling on baluster and winding stair to rear; C18 baluster font with gadrooned bowl. Paintings: St Michael by W.Beechey RA in north gallery; Transfiguration after Raphael over west door. Vestry has good glazed tiles to walls and timber screens. Monuments: south aisle east wall tablet to Thomas Unett, d.1809, and others, Greek Revival style stele; north aisle east wall tablet to Ellen Nicholls, d.1815, urn; west wall tablet to J.E. Leveson Jervis, d.1885, Corinthian pilasters, apron with Jervis arms and crest with military badge and naval trophies; John Jervis, Earl St Vincent, d.1823, by Whitelaw, long inscription, Jervis arms to apron, and crest with naval trophies and bust by F.Chantrey; brass to Thomas Crompton, d.1619; tower has arched recess with two C13 effigies from old church, a lady and a canon. Glass: east window has 1880s stained glass; chancel north and south windows have glass by C.E.Kempe, 1897 and 1901, other contemporary glass by Kempe in all of aisle windows and most of gallery windows. A good example of an C18 church with many surviving fittings and an excellent collection of Kempe glass. "A remarkably early piece of Gothic Revival.....without any Rococo frills" (Pevsner). (Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Staffordshire: London: 1974-: 267-9).

Listing NGR: SJ9046033814

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

385977

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Staffordshire, (1974), 267-9

End of official list entry

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