Description

TF 15 SE BILLINGHAY CHURCH STREET
(south side)
5/2
Church of St Michael
1.2.67
GV I

Parish church. C12, C13, C14, C15, tower and spire rebuilt 1787, north aisle
rebuilt 1856, spire again rebuilt 1912. Coursed limestone rubble and ashlar with
ashlar dressings, and slate roofs. West tower with spire, nave with aisles,
chancel, north vestry and south porch. 3 stage tower has moulded plinth and
diagonal buttresses with set-offs plus a chamfered band below the bell stage.
Above a stone octagonal broached spire with 2 sets of alternating lacarnes and 4
crocketed pinnacles at the corners. The west face has a small chamfered lancet,
and above a C19 metal clock face with above again a small plaque inscribed
W:K. 1787. The north and south faces are blank. At the bell stage each face has
a single round-headed bell opening in chamfered surround. The C19 north aisle has
a chamfered plinth and a single 2 light triangular headed window in the west
wall. To the north 3 buttresses with set offs and between them 4 single light
ogee headed lancets. To the east a small C19 lean-to vestry with 2 ogee headed
lancets in flat headed surrounds. Beyond a C20 boilerhouse. The chancel has a
deeply chamfered plinth, gabled angle buttresses, and coped gables with kneelers
and cross finials. To the east a large 4-light window in flowing tracery in a
pointed chamfered surround with a hood. The south wall has an off-centre priests
doorway in a chamfered pointed surround with hood and plank door. To the left a
2-light reticulated tracery window, and to the right a 3-light flowing tracery
window, both in chamfered pointed surrounds. Above the nave, a 4 bay clerestory,
with on each side 4 pairs of single round headed cusped lancets within a shallow
pointed and chamfered arch, each with a Tudor hood. The clerestory is topped by a
chamfered parapet pierced on each side by 3 gargoyles. The south aisle has gabled
angle buttresses with set-offs, to the east a 4-light panel tracery window in a
deeply chamfered and moulded segment headed surround. The south wall has similar
2-light and 3-light panel tracery windows to the east, plus another similar
2-light window to the west beyond the porch. To the west another similar 4-light
window. The south porch has a coped gable with gabled kneelers and a cross
finial, plus stone benches inside. The outer opening has a double, pointed arch
with a moulded and chamfered outer arch, and an inner-moulded arch with single
respond with moulded capitals and bases. The inner doorway has a cavetto moulded,
chamfered and pointed arch, with a fine early C18 raised and fielded panel door.
Within the porch are two wall monuments to Anne Jessop 1807 and William Petchel
1861. Interior: 4-bay nave arcades, with double chamfered pointed arches. The
north arcade has octagonal piers and responds with moulded capitals and bases.
The south arcade has keeled quatrefoil piers and responds with moulded capitals
and bases. The tower arch is double chamfered and pointed with single shaft
responds with moulded capitals and bases. Above are 2 C18 commandment boards with
the Lords Prayer and the Creed. Above again the earlier nave roof line is
visible. The nave has a very fine C16 wooden roof, with wooden carved bosses.
The chancel arch is double chamfered and pointed with octagonal responds with
moulded capitals and bases. The chancel has a Minton tile floor, a small ogee
headed piscina, and a C19 wood and brass altar rail. The stone octagonal, bowl
and stem, font is C14 with 2-light panel tracer to each face. C20 wooden pews.
C19 wooden choir stalls, pulpit and organ. 1888 stained glass east window. Two
monuments in the chancel. Mary Hewitt 1746 with columns supporting an open
segmental pediment containing shield, and Robert Hewitt 1760 in a lugged surround
with side scroll brackets, surmounted by a skull and cross bones. The south aisle
is C17 and the north aisle C19. The south aisle also has a small ogee headed
piscina.

Listing NGR: TF1568254938

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17530787

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  The Shredded Chef: 120 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy