St. Michael and All Angels, Middlewich

St. Michael and All Angels, Middlewich is the parish church for the town of Middlewich in Cheshire, England. It stands at the junction of the A54 and A533 roads (gbmapping|SJ704663). The church is a Grade II* listed building.cite web |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=56361 |title=Images of England: Church of St Michael, Middlewich |accessdate=2007-10-03 |publisher=English Heritage ] It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Middlewich. Its benefice is combined with that of St John's, Byley. [cite web |url= http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/diocesesparishes/infosheets/parish_results.html?parishid=C02978 |title= Information Sheet |accessdate=2008-08-11 |publisher= Church of England ] Richards describes the church as "the one building, in a depressing town, which is mellow and dignified".

History

Parts of the church date from the 12th century, possibly the lower portion of the tower, but more likely the narrow arcade of the east bay.cite book|title=History of Middlewich|author=Charles Frederick Lawrence|publisher=Eachus and Son, Sandbach|date=1895] [cite web |url=http://www.crsbi.ac.uk/ed/ch/middl/index.htm |title=St. Michael and All Angels, Middlewich |accessdate=2007-10-08 |publisher=The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland ] Most of the church was built during the period c1480–1520cite book | last =Salter | first =Mark | title =The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire | publisher =Folly Publications | date =1995 | location =Malvern | pages =52 | isbn =1871731232 ] when the nave clerestory was added, new windows were inserted, the Lady Chapel was built at the east end of the south aisle and a two-storey porch was added to the south side. In the following century the Kinderton chapel was added at the east end of the north aisle. The church was damaged during the Civil War, particularly during the First Battle of Middlewich in March 1643 when the Royalists used it as a place of sanctuary. In 1801 restorations were carried out, including moving the Venables screen into the tower. In 1857 a window was added to the memory of John Hulse. In 1857–1860 the north aisle and Kinderton chapel were remodelled by Joseph Clarke. This was a part of a general remodelling of the church, which included removing the whitewash from the interior of the church to reveal the sandstone appearance seen today.

tructure

The church is built of sandstone and is mainly perpendicular in style.cite book | last =Richards | first =Raymond | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Old Cheshire Churches | publisher =B. T Batsford | date =1947 | location =London | pages =234–237 ] The plan of the church consists of a tower at the northwest, a four-bay nave with clerestory, broad north and south aisles, a two-bay chancel and a south porch. At the east end of the north aisle is the Kinderton chapel, built in the 16th century, and at the east end of the south aisle is a chapel which was formerly a Lady Chapel.

Fittings and furniture

The timber roof of the chancel was originally built by Sir William Brereton in 1621. This was replaced in 1951 with a design copying the original.cite web |url=http://middlewichparishchurch.org.uk/page4.html |title=About the Church |accessdate=2007-10-03 |publisher=St Michael and All Angels Church, Middlewich ] The Kinderton Chapel (also known as the Bostock Chapel) is now used as the rector's vestry and it contains the oldest monument in the church, a brass dated 1591 in memory of Elizabeth Venables, wife of Baron Kinderton. A Jacobean screen with the carved arms of the Venables family was originally at the entrance to the Kinderton chapel but is now inside the tower. The organ was built in 1908 by Conacher and radically rebuilt in 1964 by Rushworth & Dreaper. [cite web |url= http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N04308 |title= Middlewich, St. Michael |accessdate=2008-08-11 |publisher= British Institute of Organ Studies ] The ring consists of eight bells. Three of these were cast in 1711 by Rudhall of Gloucester, one bell was cast in 1841 by Thomas Mears II at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and the other four are dated 1897 by John Taylor & Co. [cite web |url= http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=middlewich&Submit=++Go++&DoveID=MIDDLEWICH |title= Middlewich S Michael |accessdate=2008-08-11 |publisher= Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers ] The church plate includes a large chalice and paten dated 1666. The parish registers begin in 1604 and the churchwardens' accounts in 1636.

External features

In the churchyard is a sundial probably dating from the late 18th century. It consists of a vase baluster on a circular stone step on brick base. The copper dial has a date which is illegible and the gnomon is broken. [cite web |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=56362 |title=Images of England: Sundial |accessdate=2007-11-28 |publisher=English Heritage ]

Priests and Vicars of Middlewich

^*denotes joint ministers

Notes

External links

* [http://www.thornber.net/cheshire/htmlfiles/middlewich.html Photographs by Craig Thornber]

Gallery