St Michael's Church, Alnwick facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Michael’s Church, Alnwick |
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St Michael’s Church, Alnwick
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| 55°25′1.4″N 1°42′39.23″W / 55.417056°N 1.7108972°W | |
| Location | 12 Bailiffgate, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 1NB |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Michael |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Alnwick St Michael and St Paul |
| Deanery | Alnwick |
| Archdeaconry | Lindisfarne |
| Diocese | Diocese of Newcastle |
St Michael's Church is an Anglican church located in Alnwick, Northumberland, England. It stands on Bailiffgate, a historic street in the town. The church building you see today was mostly built in the 15th century.
Before that, a smaller chapel from the 12th century, built in the Norman style, stood on the same spot. There are also unconfirmed stories about an even older chapel from the 8th century. St Michael's Church is named after St Michael the Archangel. It was also dedicated to St Mary in earlier times. This important building is protected as a Grade I listed building, meaning it has special historical and architectural value.
Contents
History of St Michael's Church
Early Beginnings: A Norman Chapel
The first official mention of a church here was in 1147. A document from that year shows that Eustace fitz John gave the Chapel of Alnwick to the new Alnwick Abbey. Not much of this original Norman chapel can be seen today.
However, during a restoration in 1863, workers found old foundations. These showed that the Norman chapel had a long, narrow main area called a nave and a small rounded end called an apse. Some old stones with a special pattern are still built into the chancel, which is the area around the altar.
Building a New Church: The 15th Century
During the early 14th century, the church was badly damaged by Scottish raids. Repairs began in the second half of that century. This included building the current nave and adding a north aisle. These parts were built in the "Decorated" style of Gothic architecture.
Most of the church we see today was built in the 15th century. The old church was in very poor condition by then. The "Decorated" style was replaced by the "Perpendicular" style, which is how most of the new church was designed.
King Henry VI helped fund the rebuilding. In 1464, he allowed the people of Alnwick to collect tolls from a port at Alnmouth. This money helped them "make and repair their church." This royal help allowed St Michael's to become "one of the finest examples of the perpendicular style of architecture in the north." A key part of the 15th-century work was the large and beautiful chancel with its detailed octagonal pillars.
Restorations in the 18th and 19th Centuries
After the 15th century, the church remained mostly unchanged for a long time. In the late 1700s, Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, who was also renovating Alnwick Castle, paid for repairs to the chancel. His architect, Vincent Shepherd, worked with Italian craftspeople. They added a new window, a special plaster ceiling, and oak seats for the Duke's family.
In the early 1800s, more people started attending church. In 1811, church leaders realized there wasn't enough space. So, in 1818, £2,000 was spent to make room for 1,200 people. This was done by removing small galleries and adding a large one at the west end. Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland, gave a large donation for this project.
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A major restoration happened in 1863. Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, who was also restoring Alnwick Castle, agreed to pay for St Michael's Church to be restored. Anthony Salvin, the architect working on the castle, oversaw this church project. Salvin removed many of the changes from the earlier restorations, like the plaster ceilings and the large gallery. He made parts of the church stronger and put back four pillars and pointed arches in the nave that had been removed. He also replaced some windows with new ones in the Perpendicular style.
Exploring St Michael's Church
Outside the Church
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At the south-east corner of the church, there is a six-sided tower called a turret. This turret originally had a spiral staircase leading to a four-story room on the roof. The purpose of this room and turret is not fully known. They might have been used for military purposes during the border wars between England and Scotland in the 15th century. A nearby tower at Heiferlaw used to have a beacon to warn of Scottish attacks. The turret at St Michael's might have been part of a chain of signals connected to Alnwick Castle. Another idea is that the room was just a temporary place for priests to stay. The turret walls show signs of damage from musket balls.
The main tower of the church is at the west end. It looks strong and solid, with deep supports called buttresses. The top of the tower has battlements, which are like the tops of castle walls, and four small pointy decorations called pinnacles.
Inside the Church
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Inside the church, you can see two statues that were found during the 1818 restoration. Their heads were missing, so new ones were added. One statue is of King Henry VI. The other is thought to be either Saint Sebastian or Maurice, a local saint. There are also several old medieval grave slabs built into the wall, with the oldest dating back to the 13th century.
Near the west window is the modern font. It is made from dark blue-black limestone from Kilkenny and was a gift for the new millennium. A small window next to the west window has tiny pieces of glass from the 15th century. Most of the other stained glass windows are from the 19th century. They show a great collection of Victorian glass art, including work by famous makers like Clayton and Bell and James Powell and Sons.
At the east end of the church, you will find St Catherine's Chapel and the altar. The chapel has an interesting pillar with carvings of the Percy and de Vesci family symbols. It also shows a carving of St Catherine and the wheel she was martyred on. This pillar is called the Hotspur Capital. It remembers Harry Hotspur, a famous warrior and son of the First Earl.
Images for kids
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St Michael’s Church, Alnwick
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One of the east windows
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Exterior view from the south-east, centred on the turret
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Interior view looking towards the altar
