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

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17551003

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.

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