Description

583/1/387 PARK ROAD
10-DEC-1971 CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL

II

Church, 1864-7, with minor later additions by Sir George Gilbert Scott

MATERIALS: Flint, with ashlar dressings

PLAN: Chancel, nave with north and south transepts, lower north and south aisles, west door, south porch, north vestry, church room to south of chancel (1967).

EXTERIOR: Geometrical tracery to the windows, notably east and west windows, and at ends of transepts. High west bellcote.

INTERIOR: The spacious interior is little altered, and largely retains its original fittings and layout. Slender round and octagonal arcade piers. Clerestory with quatrefoil openings. Painted C19 wooden pulpit. High altar by Harry Redfern (1911). Mural with saints on east wall by Mr. Drake of Exeter. Font (replaced 1911). Original benches to nave and north and south aisles; oak pews (1922) in chancel. Recent Lady Chapel in north aisle. Glass includes east window (Lavers and Barraud, 1873-5), south chancel (Clayton and Bell, 1882; Burliston and Grylls, late C19).

HISTORY: The church formed part of the development of this part of Abingdon by Christ's Hospital. This included Albert Park (Registered grade II), which lies opposite St. Michael's. The church was a chapel of ease to St. Helen's, Abingdon, for the poor of the Ock Street area to the south of St. Michael's. It has retained its Anglo-Catholic tradition since the later C19.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: A substantial and little altered urban church by George Gilbert Scott, a leading figure in the Victorian Gothic Revival. It was - and remains - an integral part of a planned development of this part of Abingdon. The church room is not of special interest.

SOURCES: N. Pevsner, Buildings of England: Berkshire (1966), 53; Notes for Visitors (2005) [available at church]

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26300884

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

• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House