Description

SJ 3812-3912 ALBERBURY WITH CARDESTON CARDESTON C.P. 15/41 Church of St Michael -

- II

Parish church. Dated 1749, incorporating probably C12 fragments, remodelled and west tower and link added in 1844 (datestone), and restored and vestry added in 1905. Uncoursed Alberbury breccia with red and grey sandstone ashlar dressing; plain tile roofs. 4-bay nave, one-bay chancel with north vestry, and short link block to west tower. 1844 remodelling on a free Perpendicular style. Tower: 3 stages. Square lower stage and middle stage with splays to octagonal belfry. Chamfered plinth, diagonal buttreses to lower stage with chamfered offsets, moulded string course, chamfered string course to battlemented parapet, and pyramidal cap with weathervane. 4-centred arched belfry openings in cardinal faces, each with 2 ogee cinquefoil-headed lights, panelled tracery, chamfered reveals, and returned hoodmoulds; middle stage has gabled lucarnes with 4-centred arched windows; first stage with pairs of boarded doors to south and west, each with deeply moulded 4-centred arches and returned hoodmoulds, and 4-centred arched north window with chamfered reveals; shield above south door dated 1844. Short narrow link block to nave with small 4-centred chamfered arched windows to north and south. Nave: chamfered plinth to south and plain plinth to north, moulded eaves cornice to south and dentil brick eaves cornice to north, chamfered coped parapeted gable ends with moulded keelers, and external square stack to north-east. 4-centred arched windows to south with 2 ogee cinquefoil-headed lights, panelled tracery, chamfered reveals, and returned hoodmould; single ogee cinquefoil-headed window to north-east. C18 datestone in west gable [illegible at time of survey (June 1985)]. Chancel: plinth, chamfered-coped parapeted gable end with cross at apex. One-light window to south with ogee cinquefoil head and chamfered reveals; 4-centred arched east window with 3 cinquefoil-headed lights, panelled tracery, moulded cill, chamfered reveals, and returned hoodmould (fragment of carved red sandstone tracery in wall to right). Vestry: parapeted gable to front and stack with moulded cornice; window with 2 ogee-headed lights and boarded crypt doorway to left with chamfered reveals; nail-studded boarded door in right-hand return front with strap hinges and chamfered reveals. Interior: C19 four-bay nave roof with billet-decorated frieze and tie-beams, reused C18 king posts, and single purlins (planted timber on western gable end); waggon roof in chancel dating from 1905: double-chamfered chancel arch of c.1905 springing from corbels; east window with chamfered rear arch and moulded mullions; south window with probably C12 roll moulded rear-arch. Fittings include: west gallery incorporating beam dated: "16 RT 78" with ovolo moulding and ogee stops, C19 chamfered end posts and brackets, moulded cornice, balustrade, C17 staircase with square newel posts, and C17 door beneath with H-pattern hinges and baluster in opening to left; possibly C17 stone font in vestibule with octagonal base and bowl, and cover dated 1926; C17 communion table and pair of chairs; parish chest in vestibule dated 1703; altar rails and lectern of 1879; screen and pulpit of 1905; choir stalls of 1935; the barrel organ of 1850 by Theodore C. Bates of Ludgate Hill said to be kept in the church was not evident at time of survey (June 1985); painting: C19 mural on north wall depicting St. John the Baptist meeting Christ on the banks of the Jordan; glass: mostly diamond-leaded; stained glass in east window of 1912. A series of drawings and watercolours show the church after the C18 and 1849 rebuildings, and before the 1905 restoration showing the former round chancel arch. Cardeston church is first recorded in 1276; the 1844 alterations and additions were largely financed by Sir Balwin Leighton, lord of the manor and patron of the living. V.C.H, Vol VIII, pp. 219-21; B.O.E., p. 93; D. H. S. Cranage, An Architectural Account of the Churches of Shropshire, part 6, p. 524; Church Guide to St Michael's Church, Cardeston.

Listing NGR: SJ3957512307

External Links

• Wikidata Q26306852

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