Description

LAWHITTON RURAL
SX 38 SE
4/15 Church of St Michael
22.11.60

GV II*

Parish church. C15 with C13 tower. Restored late Cl9. Roughly coursed slate stone
to nave and chancel with granite to windows; polyphant stone to tower and south
chancel aisle with granite to porch. Windows and buttresses; graded slate roofs
with tile cresting and stepped coped verges. Nave; chancel; south aisle; south
transeptal tower and south porch. Tower: Unbuttiessed in 3 diminishing stages with
chamfered string courses, embattled parapet and plain corner pinnacles. First stage
on south has 3-light C15 window with hoodmould; segmental-headed slate-louvred
window to second stage. Belfry has similar paired slate-louvred windows with hollow
spandrels on all sides, all with segmental relieving arches, south and west with
cusped heads and labels. Projecting rectangular staircase turret to north-east
corner has plain corner pinnacles, chamfered rectangular slit openings and 4-centred
chamfered doorway to bottom. Nave North side, buttressed in 3 bays, has square-
headed C15 windows of triple cinquefoil-headed lights with hollow spandrels and
labels to 2 west bays and one of 2 lights to east bay; segmental relieving arches.
West end has Cl9 five-light window with panel tracery and hoodmould. Chancel:
North side has C19 three-light ecorated-style windows with hoodmould. Similar
5-light east window. South aisle: All windows are C15 of 3 lights with panel
tracery, 4-centred arches and hoodmoulds, one to east and west walls, one to right
of porch and 2 to buttressed section to right of tower, with chamfered eaves
cornice. Infilled segmental-arched chamfered doorway beneath easternmost window
on south. Gabled C15 Porch: has 4-centred outer arch with label and weathered
Perpendicular tracery to spandrels. Probably Cl9 Tudor-arched inner doorway with
quatrefoils and trefoils to spandrels and label; C15 ogee-arched image recess above
and crudely carved holy water stoup to right. Exposed waggon roof with carved
ribs, rafters and bosses. Interior: Cl9 door reuses earlier strap hinges. Nave
has heavily restored C15 arch-braced triple-purlin roof in 7 bays with a St Andrew's
cross to each panel between purlin and principal rafter. Principal rafters painted
and foliated crosses intersecting with St Andrew's crosses forming celure to east
bay. Chancel has C19 hammerbeam roof with carved angles (some possibly Cl9 and
reused). Exposed waggon roof to south aisle with bosses to centre rail and small
carved figures to wall-plate at division between main part of aisle and south
chancel aisle. Nave arcade in 5 bays continuing into chancel (no structural division;
has granite moulded segmental arches supported on clustered columns with moulded
capitals and bases (Of Church of St Briochus, Lezant). Pointed single-chamfered tower
arch dying into responds. Tower has panelled roof (floor of second stage) with
bosses at intersections and narrow pointed chamfered doorway to stair turret. C15
carved bench ends to C19 nave benches. Panelled pulpit dated "1665" resting on
short moulded wooden column, with carved floral motifs to top row of panels and
bracketed ledge has brass sconce dated "1887". c19 encaustic tiles to raised
chancel and sanctuary, which had Cl9 wooden reredos with contemporary blind Gothic
tracery panels (stone) to either side. C19 trefoil-headed aumbry in north wall
of sanctuary and C19 screen between it and east bay of chancel aisle. C12 Hicks
Grey Mill Stone front has carved head to each corner with carved leaf emblem
encircled by twin -headed serpent to each face; octagonal base. Partly cut away
on west side (traces of paint adhering) suggesting that it formerly abutted one
of the arcade columns. Bench in south-west corner of aisle has turned balusters
to back, possibly re-used from C17 communion rails. granite celtic cross-head
on floor of chancel aisle and late C19 stained glass throughout. Monuments: Cl9
wall memorials in nave and tower. Grave slab (formerly in floor) of Robert Bennet
(d. 1683) with incised armorial shield fixed on wall next to door. Coade stone
memorial by Coade and Sealy of Lambeth to Richard Goffic (d.1796) at east end of
chancel aisle, sarcophagus with figure of a woman reclining on a draped urn,
formerly with attendant putti. BOE p.99.

Listing NGR: SX3554782356

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17533376

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

• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)