Description

SO 49 NW SMETHCOTT C.P. SMETHCOTT

3/97 Church of St. Michael
13.6.58 and All Angels

- II

Parish church. 1849-50, by J. P. Harrison, incorporating material from
former C12 church. Uncoursed red sandstone rubble with grey sandstone
ashlar dressings; C19 machine tile roof with ridge cresting. Nave
and chancel in one (chancel roof slightly lower) with south porch.
C19 buttresses with chamfered offsets, parapeted gable end to east with
stone coping and cross at apex; timber framed square bellcote to west
with copper-sheathed lower parts, cusped lattice openings, and tented pyramidal
copper cap with weathervane. South side: central nave window of
2 trefoil-headed lights with quatrefoil in tracery and small chancel
window to right of 2 trefoiled round-arched lights; chamfered-arched
south doorway to left has boarded door with decorative strap hinges
and gabled porch with chamfered archway, moulded plinth, and benches
and cobbled floor within. Priest's doorway to right has chamfered
reveals, probably C12 lumpy tympanum and boarded door with strap hinges.
Two fragments of C12 carved masonry in south wall of chancel. North
side: pair of nave windows, each with 2 trefoil-headed lights and small
re-set C12 round-arched chancel window to left; north doorway to right
with chamfered reveals and probablyC12 lumpy tympanum. Two fragments
of C12 carved masonry in north wall of chancel. East end: buttresses
flanking large window with 3 cinquefoil-headed lights, foiled tracery,
double-chamfered reveals and returned hoodmould. West end: window of
2 cinquefoil headed lights with foilad tracery and returned hoodmould.
Interior: 5½ bay roof incorporating old timbers,by William Hill (local
joiner and carpenter): hammerbeams on stone corbels with arch-braced
collars, pairs of purlins (single over 2-bay chancel) with cusped wind
braces; chamfered cambered C19 rood beam with lattice screen consisting
of diagonal struts above; chamfered rear arches. Fittings: sanctuary
panelled in 1952; altar rails c.1850 by William Hill with saltire crosses;
probably late C19 octagonal wooden pulpit with raised and fielded panels
and stone base ; c.1850 pews incorporating some reused C17 panelling;
reused C18 raised and fielded wainscot panelling in nave; possibly C12
oval stone font with plain wooden top; 2 painted benefactors' boards;
cast iron safe dated: "T. GLOVER/&/W. ROGERS/WARDENS/1813". Most of
the church was rebuilt in 1849-50, except for part of the west wall,
the side walls of the porch and a small part of the south wall. Smethcott
is now a largely deserted settlement but the church stands in a prominent
position at the end of a lane near to the remains of a motte and bailey.
V.C.H., Vol. VIII) pp.159-60; B.O.E., p.290; D.H.S. Cranage, An Architectural
Account of the Churches of Shropshire, part 6, p.508. -

Listing NGR: SO4494199379

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26472406

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

• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy