St Michael's Church, St Michael's on Wyre

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St Michael's
Church of Saint Michael
St.Michael's-on-Wyre Church - geograph.org.uk - 1778054.jpg
St Michael's Church, from the west
St Michael's is located in the Borough of Wyre
St Michael's
St Michael's
Location in the Borough of Wyre
Coordinates: 53°51′46″N 2°49′10″W / 53.8628°N 2.8195°W / 53.8628; -2.8195
OS grid referenceSD 4620241041
LocationSt Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire
CountryEngland
DenominationAnglican
History
StatusParish church
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade I
Designated17 April 1967 (1967-04-17)
Administration
ArchdeaconryLancaster
DioceseBlackburn
ProvinceYork
Clergy
Priest in chargeRev Andrew Wilkinson

St Michael's Church is an Anglican church in the village of St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, England. It is a typical late Medieval church and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn and the archdeaconry of Lancaster.

History[]

St Michael's on Wyre is one of seven ancient parishes of the hundred of Amounderness. It was the third largest, with an area of 18,888 acres (76.44 km2; 29.51 sq mi).[1] The Domesday Book of 1086 lists three churches in Amounderness, one of which was probably St Michael's.[2] There has certainly been a church on the site from at least the 13th century, elements of which remain in the current building.[3] The present church was possibly built in the 15th century and alterations were made in the 17th century. The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 17 April 1967.[3] The Grade I listing is for buildings "exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important".[4]

Architecture[]

The church is typical of late Medieval churches of northern England and is constructed of sandstone ashlar and rubble.[3][5] The plan consists of a tower at the west end, a chancel and nave under a continuous roof and a chapel to the north.[3] The tower is said to date from 1549.[6] It is broad and low with a west window and has three stages, the upper of which (added later) is inset.[5] The date 1611 and the coat of arms and initials of Henry Butler are carved into the parapet.[6] The tower's plan is trapezoidal and it has angled buttresses.[3]

The chancel and nave are under a continuous roof of blue slate. There is an aisle to the south under a separate gabled slate roof, with an embattled parapet and buttresses.[3] The aisle is separated from the chancel by two wide arches. There is a porch to the south of the south aisle.[6] A shorter aisle lies to the north of the church, west of the Butler Chapel.[3]

The Butler Chapel to the north of the church dates from 1480 and was founded as a chantry of St Katharine.[5][6] It was repaired in 1797 and reseated and restored in 1854.[6] It has a pitched roof with an embattled parapet which dates from the 19th century.[3] Its windows have flat heads with cinquefoil tops and upper mouchettes.[5]

The tower houses a ring of three bells, hung in a timber frame.[7] The treble was cast in 1458 and given to the church by a French lady. It is inscribed with Gothic script.[7] The second bell was cast in 1663 by Geoffrey Scott of Wigan. The third dates from 1742 and was cast by Abel Rudhall of Gloucestershire.[8]

See also[]

References[]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Cheetham (1914), p. 3
  2. ^ Cheetham (1914), p. 5
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Church Of St Michael, Garstang Road", Heritage Gateway, English Heritage, retrieved 19 August 2010
  4. ^ Listed Buildings, English Heritage, 2010, retrieved 22 August 2011
  5. ^ a b c d Hartwell & Pevsner (2009), pp. 591–92
  6. ^ a b c d e Farrer & Brownbill (1912)
  7. ^ a b Cheetham (1919), pp. 95–100
  8. ^ "St Michael's on Wyre — S Michael", Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers, 24 June 2009, retrieved 8 November 2010

Bibliography[]

  • Cheetham, Frank Halliday (1914). The Church of St. Michael-on-Wyre in Amounderness. Edinburgh: Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. OCLC 558246753.
  • Cheetham, Frank Halliday (1919), The Church Bells of Lancashire [Part 4: The Hundred of Amounderness], Sherratt & Hughes, OCLC 27475286
  • Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1912), "The Parish of St Michael-on-Wyre", A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7, pp. 260–267, retrieved 19 August 2010
  • Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-12667-0
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus (1969), North Lancashire, London: Penguin, ISBN 0-300-09617-8, OCLC 51622085
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