The Church
Building
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Built
in the early nineteen hundreds, the church was opened for worship in 1908. The front of the church faces south, and the church
hall - a separate building, is located to the west. The hall was built first, in 1904, and was
used for worship whilst the church was being constructed. The hall is nowadays
used by the church and the wider community which it serves, for various functions
and recreational activities.
Outside,
St. Michael's church looks rather plain, but inside is a different story
and many interesting features can be found.
Set into the outside of the east wall of the church is a foundation
stone dated 15 June 1907, inscribed with a plain cross and the wording 'TO THE
GLORY OF GOD'.
The main entrance to
the church is by the south-west porch, (which contains a holy water stoup), and
leads into the rear of the nave.
St. Michael's chapel and the
Baptistery. A small chapel is
immediately to the left of the main door, and is dedicated to St. Michael,
the church's patron Saint. The
baptistery, with its stone font, is at the west end of the nave. The little St. Michael's Chapel was once
the baptistery, housing the font, (see picture to the left), but the font was
moved to its present location at the rear of the nave to allow more people to
be in attendance during a service of Holy Baptism. The font has an octagonal bowl with oak lid,
and is set on an octagonal pedestal with moulded plinth. All are made of
limestone.
The
chancel. At the east end of the nave stands a nave
altar, behind and above which an oak carved rood screen marks the entrance to
the chancel which, in turn, leads to the sanctuary. High up on the south side of the chancel is a
loft housing a three-manual Norman and Beard pipe organ, overlooking oak choir
benches in the chancel. The rood screen
is of unpolished oak, and of classic design.
It was given by Father Charlesworth in memory of his parents. Within the frieze at its centre section is
the inscription 'So Go loved the World' (based on the opening words of the 16th
verse of the 3rd chapter of St. John's Gospel) incised into the
surface of the timber. Above this stands
a full-relief figure of Christ on the cross, flanked by Our Lady and
St. John.
On the wall to the
north side of the rood screen, by the entry to the Lady Chapel, can be found a
brass memorial plaque bearing the names of 39 of the fallen in two World Wars.
The
sanctuary. The high altar is
built of polished oak. The south wall of
the sanctuary contains a stone-built sedilia set into
the wall, with a brass plaque commemorating the east window. Before the north wall of the sanctuary stands
the bishop's chair, which was renovated in 2006.
Behind the high altar is a
reredos of painted timber, which comprises a centre section flanked by lower
sections on either side, and which is bounded by a deep, moulted frame with
inserted carved rosettes and symbols.
The reredos contains a series of figures carved in bas-relief, except
for Christ on his cross with Mary his Mother at his feet, and a Roman soldier,
each of whom are presented in full-relief.
The whole assemble comprises a series of five scenes with the
crucifixion as the focal point in the centre; each scene surmounted by an elaborately
carved canopy.
The
Lady Chapel. To the north side of
the chancel is the Lady Chapel. Set into the south wall of the Lady chapel is an aumbry in which the
Blessed Sacrament is reserved. An open
confessional is at the north wall. The
Altar in the Lady chapel is the one which was
originally used in the Hall when services where held
there while the church was being built, it was a gift from St. Andrews,
Stockwell.
Floors, roof. The floors of the sanctuary, chancel and Lady
Chapel sanctuary are paved in green mosaic with multi-coloured borders. The remainder of the church flooring is of
pine woodblocks laid in herring bone pattern.
Congregational seating is provided by elm chairs in the nave. In the north-east of the nave stands an
octagonal oak pulpit. The nave interior
is a high lofty place and the roof supports are quite magnificent, built in a
traditional arrangement symbolic of an upturned 'ark' or boat.
Stained
glass windows. A small stained
glass window is set in the rounded part of St. Michael's chapel, and
depicts the font at the centre of a baptism gathering. The window is dedicated to Fanny Thompson,
who died in July 1931. The west most window of the south aisle contains stained
glass which depicts St. George and the Dragon, and St. Luke, and is
in memory of Percy Walker Thompson, 1924.
A stained glass window by Kempe graces the East wall of the church,
above the high altar. Its centre shows
Christ in glory and flanked to the sides and above by angels and saints. The Lady Chapel contains two stained glass
windows. The East window is by Kempe and
comprises three lancets. The centre
shows the Blessed Virgin Mary with Child, and the sides depict angels and
saints. The window on the North wall
shows the Annunciation.
One of our congregation
recently visited St. Vincent in the West Indies. The guide book suggested that the Cathedral
had windows by William Kempe who also designed our East and Lady Chapel
windows. On investigation they found
them readily recognisable as the whole colour scheme is so similar.
Page
last updated 22-07-17