St Michael's Church, St Albans facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Michael's Church, St Albans
St Michael's church and churchyard from the south
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Denomination	Church of England
Previous denomination	Roman Catholic
Churchmanship	Broad Church
Website	The Parish Church of St Michael, St Albans with St Mary, Childwick Green
History
Founder(s)	Abbot Ulsinus
Dedication	St Michael
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade I listed
Designated	8 May 1950
Architect(s)	19th-century alterations by: George Gilbert Scott; Edmund Beckett
Style	Anglo-Saxon, Norman, Early English, Decorated Gothic, Perpendicular Gothic
Completed	late 10th or early 11th century
Specifications
Bells	8 (1953)
Tenor bell weight	The tenor weighs 12 long cwt 3 qr 20 lb (1,448 lb or 657 kg)
Administration
Parish	St Michael, St Albans with St Mary, Childwick Green
Deanery	St Albans
Archdeaconry	St Albans
Diocese	St Albans
Province	Canterbury

St Michael's Church is an old and important Church of England parish church in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. A large part of the building was built in the late 900s or early 1000s. This makes it the most important surviving Anglo-Saxon building in the county. You can find it close to the middle of the old Roman city of Verulamium, which is west of modern St Albans.

History of St Michael's Church

St Michael's Church stands on the site of an ancient Roman building called a basilica in Verulamium. A writer from the 1200s, Matthew Paris, said that in 948 AD, Abbot Wulsin of St Alban's Abbey built three churches. These churches, including St Michael's, were for pilgrims visiting the Abbey.

However, historians now think Abbot Wulsin lived earlier, around 860–880. The oldest parts of the church we see today were built about a century later. Even so, the church definitely dates back to the late Anglo-Saxon era. There might have been an even older building on this spot before.

Building the Church: From Anglo-Saxon to Norman Times

In the late 900s or early 1000s, a stone church was built. It had a simple design with a chancel (the area around the altar) and a nave (the main part where people sit). The builders used many materials from the ruined Roman city of Verulamium. This included Roman bricks, which you can still see around the windows in the nave.

In the early 1100s, more parts were added. First, a north aisle (a side section) was built, then a south aisle. These aisles were connected to the nave by arcades. These are rows of plain, round-headed arches cut into the nave walls. Parts of the original Saxon walls were left to act as piers (supports).

The two arcades are not the same. The older north arcade has three sections that are spaced unevenly. The south arcade, built later, has four sections. A round-headed Norman window at the east end of the north aisle also likely dates from the 1100s.

Changes in the Middle Ages

In the 1200s, a clerestory was added to the nave. This is an upper level with windows to bring in more light. It had six Early English lancet windows (tall, narrow windows) on each side. More light was needed because the aisles had made the nave darker. Another lancet window from this time can still be seen in the north wall of the chancel.

The south aisle became unstable and was eventually taken down. Later in the 1200s, a south chapel was added. Three of its windows are round-headed 13th-century Norman style. The church may also have gained a west tower around this time.

Around 1340, the chancel and north aisle were rebuilt. The chancel arch was made larger. The beautiful Decorated east window, an ogee-headed south window, and a matching tomb recess in the chancel are all from this period. One window in the north aisle also dates from this time.

In the 1400s, some of the single windows in the clerestory were replaced with larger, square-headed windows. Two big windows were put into the south wall of the south chapel, and one in the south wall of the chancel. The piscinas (small basins for washing sacred vessels) in the chancel and south chapel, and the eight-sided font, are also from the 1400s. The clerestory got a new roof supported by stone corbels (decorative brackets) in the late 1400s.

Also in the 1400s, a wooden tympanum (a panel above a doorway or arch) was placed in the chancel arch. A Doom painting (a painting showing the Last Judgment) was painted on it and spread onto the upper east wall of the nave. A rood screen (a screen separating the chancel from the nave) was also added. It has since been removed, but stone stairs that led to it can still be seen.

The tower was likely changed in the late 1400s or early 1500s. It had paired bell-openings, a battlement (a wall with gaps for defence), and a stair-turret taller than the tower itself. A late Perpendicular west window was added to the nave, probably in the early 1500s.

After the Monasteries: 1500s and 1600s

In 1539, St Alban's Abbey was closed down during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The Abbey used to hold three fairs in St Albans. After it closed, one fair was replaced with a new one at Michaelmas (September 29th), possibly named after St Michael's church.

St Michael's has a wooden pulpit (where sermons are given), a tester (a canopy over the pulpit), and an altar table from the late 1500s or early 1600s. The east wall of the south chapel might have been rebuilt in the early 1600s. A round window between its two lancet windows might be from this time. The current roof of the south chapel could also be from the 1600s.

Monument to Francis Bacon (died 1626) in the chancel

The most important feature from the 1600s is the monument to Francis Bacon, a famous philosopher and statesman who died in 1626. It is in a special arched space in the north wall of the chancel. The monument is a life-sized sculpture of Bacon sitting comfortably in an armchair. We don't know who sculpted it, but it might have been Nicholas Stone.

Victorian Changes and Modern Times

In the late 1600s, a west gallery (a raised seating area) was added in the nave. Box pews (enclosed seats) were also put in, though we don't know exactly when. Many churches added these in the 1600s and 1700s.

In 1866, the church was restored by George Gilbert Scott. He removed the box pews and west gallery. He also added the Gothic Revival south porch, using one of the old 12th-century arches from the former south aisle.

In 1896 or 1898, Edmund Beckett paid to remodel the west end of the church. He had the old west tower taken down and replaced it with a new northwest tower. This new tower was designed in a "fanciful" Gothic Revival style, inspired by Early English Gothic. Beckett also made the nave slightly longer and added a vestry (a room for clergy) where the south aisle used to be.

During one of these Victorian restorations, the 15th-century tympanum was removed, and the rest of the Doom painting was destroyed.

More restoration work happened in 1934–35, led by architect John C. Rogers. He also designed a second vestry, added in 1938 on the north side of the chancel.

Monuments and Memorials

Besides the sculpture of Francis Bacon, St Michael's has some interesting monumental brasses. These are engraved brass plates on tombs or walls.

• In the south chapel, there's a 14th-century brass for John Pecock and his wife.
• Another brass from 1380 originally showed a civilian and his wife with a flowery cross between them. The wife's figure is now missing.
• At the east end of the nave, a brass shows a knight in armour from around 1400.
• There's also a brass inscription remembering Henry Gape (who died in 1558) and his wife.

Church Bells

The nearby pub is called The Six Bells. This name is a bit old-fashioned now because it refers to the number of bells the church had in the 1700s. St Michael's tower now has a ring of eight bells.

• The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth bells were made in 1739 by Samuel Knight.
• John Taylor & Co made the seventh and tenor (largest) bells in 1897. This was the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
• Gillett & Johnston made the treble (smallest) and second bells in 1953. This was the year of Elizabeth II's coronation.

The Church Organ

In 1872, Henry Jones built a pipe organ for St Michael's Church.

In 1950, Mander Organs built a new organ. Then, in 1981, this was replaced with another new organ built by Peter Collins. Some pipes from the older organ were kept and reused.

Two oak organ cases from the 1950 organ are still there, on either side of Grimthorpe's west window. They have inscriptions:

• The north case says: "In thanksgiving to Almighty God for the preservation of this church through a thousand years 948 - 1948".
• The south case says: "This organ was enlarged and rebuilt in 1950 by the gifts of parishioners and the legacy of Kate Coulter".

The organ today is in good condition and is used regularly during services.

Organ Details

Here are some technical details about the organ's parts:

• Pedal- 30 Notes (South Case)
  • Subbass 16'
  • Octave 8'
  • Wide Octave 4'
  • Fagot 16'

• Great- 56 Notes, Tremulant (North Case)
  • Principal 8'
  • Stopt Diapason 8'
  • Octave 4'
  • Quint 2 2/3'
  • Gemshorn 2'
  • Tierce 1 3/5'
  • Mixture 19.22.26.29 (IV)
  • Trumpet 8'

• Swell- 56 Notes, Enclosed, Tremulant (North Case)
  • Rohr Flute 8'
  • Viol 8' (Starts at Tenor C)
  • Open Flute 4'
  • Principal 2'
  • Spitz Quint 1 1/3'
  • Schalmey 8'

• Couplers- (By Pedals)
  • Great to Pedal
  • Swell to Pedal
  • Swell to Great

• Other Details-
  • Key Action: Tracker
  • Blower: Electric
  • Console: Attached, North Case
  • Keys: Rosewood and Skunktail Sycamore

Heritage Status

St Michael's has been a Grade I listed building since 1950. This means it is considered a building of exceptional historical and architectural interest.

Historic England lists the main reasons for its high status:

• The large amount of original late Anglo-Saxon building material.
• The different stages of expansion during the High Middle Ages (around 1000-1300 AD).
• The nave roof from the 1400s.
• The tympanum with the remaining part of the 15th-century Doom painting.
• The pulpit from the late Elizabethan or early Jacobean period (late 1500s/early 1600s).
• The Jacobean monument to Francis Bacon.

See also

• St Michael, Hertfordshire