St Michael's Church, High Ercall facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Michael's Church, High Ercall
St Michael and All Angels' Church, High Ercall
Tower of St Michael's Church, High Ercall
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OS grid reference	SJ 595 174
Location	High Ercall, Shropshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	High Ercall S.Michael and All Angels, High Ercall
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	18 June 1959
Architect(s)	G. E. Street (restoration)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Transitional, Gothic
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, tiled roofs
Administration
Parish	Ercall Magna
Deanery	Wrockwardine
Archdeaconry	Salop
Diocese	Lichfield
Province	Canterbury

St Michael's Church is a beautiful old church located in the village of High Ercall, Shropshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church where people still gather for services today. The church is considered a very important historical building. It is listed as Grade I, which means it is one of the most important historic buildings in England.

History of St Michael's Church

The oldest parts of St Michael's Church, like the main hall (called the nave) and the side sections (called aisles), were built in the late 1100s. The area around the altar (called the chancel) was added later, in the early 1300s. A special north chapel was also built around 1334.

The church faced a tough time during the English Civil War in 1645–1646. It was badly damaged during this conflict. However, it was repaired and rebuilt between 1657 and 1662.

Later, in 1864, a famous architect named George Edmund Street worked on the church. He carried out a big restoration project, making many improvements. He also added the south porch and a room for the clergy (called a vestry). More recently, in 1998, a new floor was put into the tower for bell-ringing. This clever change also created space for a kitchen and toilets below.

Church Architecture: Outside Features

St Michael's Church is built from sandstone blocks, and its roof is covered with tiles. The stone in the tower is mostly grey, while other parts of the church use a mix of red and grey sandstone. The church has a main hall (nave), side aisles, a south entrance porch, and a chancel with a north chapel and a south vestry. It also has a tall tower at the west end.

The Church Tower

The tower is built in a style called Perpendicular. It has a window on the west side and a small stair turret on the north. You can see clock faces on the north, west, and south sides. Above these are openings for the bells.

At the very top of the tower, there is a battlement (a wall with gaps for defense) and a small spire with a weathervane. Below the battlement, you can spot gargoyles and a decorative band called a quatrefoil frieze. The bottom part of the tower looks very worn from the weather. However, local stories suggest the damage might be from people sharpening their weapons on it long ago!

Windows and Doors

Along both sides of the church, there are windows with three sections. You'll also find similar windows in the north and east walls of the chapel, and in the east and south walls of the chancel. All the windows on the north and south sides of the main church body have straight tops. There are doorways on both sides of the aisles, with the south doorway being inside the porch.

Church Architecture: Inside Features

Inside St Michael's Church, you'll find beautiful arcades (rows of arches) that separate the nave from the aisles. These arches are in a style called Transitional. They are supported by round piers (columns) with capitals (the tops of the columns) carved with spirals, leaves, and rams' heads. The arches between the chancel and the chapel are supported by eight-sided piers.

Roofs and Old Features

The nave, chancel, and chapel all have special double-hammerbeam roofs, which are impressive wooden ceilings. On the north wall of the nave, there is a very old stone carving called a tympanum, which dates back to the early Norman period.

Furnishings and Art

Many of the church's furnishings, like the reredos (decoration behind the altar), sedilia (seats for clergy), piscina (basin for washing communion vessels), pulpit (where sermons are given), and font (for baptisms), were designed by G. E. Street in a simple style. The beautiful chandelier was made by William Bradshaw in 1730. The floors throughout the church are tiled.

Under the chapel arch, there is a stone statue of a knight lying down. His armor shows he lived in the 1330s. The church also has a bronze sundial plate from 1718. This sundial was moved from the churchyard in 1998 and placed on a stoup (a basin for holy water).

Stained Glass and Music

The chapel and tower feature stunning stained glass windows created in 1863–1864 by Lobin et fils from Tours, France. Other windows in the church were made by Heaton, Butler and Bayne between 1895 and 1910.

The church has a two-manual pipe organ that was originally built in 1856 by Walker. It was rebuilt in 1894 and restored again by Walker in 1956. There is also a ring of eight bells. Six of these bells were cast between 1707 and 1767 by Rudhall of Gloucester, and the other two were made in 1812 by John Briant.

Memorials and Tributes

On the north wall, you can see two special memorial "Rolls of Honour." The older one remembers men from the parish who served in World War I (called "the European War" on the roll). It includes the names of those who died and has a motto: Honour to those who helped to right the wrong. The design includes shields with flags of British nations and allied countries, along with pictures of battleships, a gun, a tank, an aircraft, and soldiers in a trench.

The other Roll of Honour is for members of No. 247 Squadron RAF (known as the China-British Squadron) who died in World War II. This unit was based at RAF High Ercall during the war. Next to the list of names, there is a poem called The China Brits.

Outside the Church Grounds

In the southern part of the churchyard, you can find the remains of a very old churchyard cross from the early medieval period. It has a broken shaft and a base with a hollow in it. This cross is also a Grade I listed item, just like the church itself, and is a protected historical site. The stone wall that surrounds the churchyard is also a listed building (Grade II).

Churchyard Features

The churchyard contains many graves from different centuries. There is also an 18th-century sundial that shows the time in Jerusalem, Rome, and Plymouth in Massachusetts.

The churchyard is also home to nine Commonwealth war graves. These are the resting places of six British soldiers from World War I, and one British airman and two Canadian airmen from World War II.

See also

• Grade I listed churches in Shropshire
• Listed buildings in Ercall Magna