Description

SO 4598 WOOLSTASTON C.P. WOOLSTASTON

10/105 Church of St. Michael 13.6.58 and All Angels

- II*

Parish church. Late C12 or early C13, restored in 1864-6 by the Rev. E. Donald Carr under the supervision of William Hill of Smethcott. Uncoursed and roughly coursed grey and brown sandstone rubble with grey sandstone ashlar dressings; sandstone slate roof. Nave and chancel (lower chancel roof) with south porch, south transept, north vestry and western bellcote of c.1864-6. Nave: timber framed square bellcote with paired pointed-arched openings, pyramidal stone slate cap and lead spirelet with weathervane; cross on eastern gable end. South side: C13 chamfered lancet to left and a pair of chamfered C19 lancets off- centre to right; transept to right with paired chamfered lancets and chamfered circular window in gable above; C13 chamfered-arched doorway off-centre to left has C19 nail-studded boarded door with wrought-iron strap hinges and timber framed gabled porch with cusped braces, brackets supporting wall plates, 4-light side windows and pair of wooden gates. North side: pair of chamfered lancets to left and gabled ,vestry to right including a pair of chamfered lancets to front with carved segmental tympanum reset in wall above, boarded door with chamfered reveals in left-hand return front, and stack with square base, chamfered octagonal shaft and cap with trefoiled gables to each face. West end: C19 paired chamfered lancets with chamfered circular window above. Chancel: possibly C17 buttress to south with 2 offsets. South side: C13 chamfered lancet to right and round-arched priest's doorway to left with C19 nail-studded boarded door. North side: restored C13 chamfered lancet to left and C19 paired chamfered lancets to.right. East end: (some dressed grey sandstone blocks from cill level up) C19 stepped triple chamfered lancets. Interior: CL9 trussed-rafter nave roof (said to incorporate remains of medieval roof) with braced collars and moulded cornice on brackets; C19 timber framed screen marking off baptistery at west end. Circa 1864-6 hammer-beam roof over chancel (probably by W. Hill) with pendants and traceried panels etc; screen dividing nave and chancel roofs. Nave north doorway, now to C19 vestry. Aumbry in chancel. Many fittings by William Hill including: hexagonal wooden pulpit with arcading consisting of triple shafts and round arches, carved frieze, and stairs with barleysugar post; carved wooden lectern; elaborately carved wooden altar rails with pierced spandrls; vicar's seat and desk. Other fittings include: c.1700 communion table; C19 pews incorporating parts of former C18 box pews (former family pew in transept); baptistery formed at west end in C19 with benches of 3 sides and font consisting of low C12 basin font and taller C12 font-standing inside with C19 wooden cover (one of the fonts is said to have come from the former chapel at Womerton). Carved tablet on right-hand splay of baptistery south window, inscribed: "(h)eare lieth THE BODY/(of) Thomas WILDINGS/WHO DEPARTED THIS/LIFE APRIL THE 21/1681)". Stained glass: that in west window by David Evans of Shrewsbury and that in east window of 1906, in memory of E. D. Carr. A church is first mentioned here in 1272. Many of the fittings were paid for by the proceeds of a pamphlet by the Rev. E. D. Carr describing his experiences on the night of January 29th 1865 when he was lost in a snow storm on the Long Mynd when returning from the church at Ratlinghope. E. D. Carr was responsible for other improvements in the village including the rebuilding of the rectory (not included on this list) and the laying out of the green. The church of St. Michael retains much medieval fabric and was well restored in the C19, the massing of forms being particularly successful when seen from the south-east. B.O.E., p.322; V.C.H., Vol. VIII, pp.176-7; D.H.S. Cranage, An Architectural Account of the Churches of Shropshire, Part 6, pp.514-6; Kelly's Directory of Herefordshire and Shropshire (1913), p.314.

Listing NGR: SO4522398473

External Links

• Wikidata Q17551003

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Recommended Books

• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)