Listed building outline

Church Of St Michael

Field Value Fact links
Reference 1041546 Facts
Prefix listed-building-outline Facts
Name Church Of St Michael Facts
Dataset Listed building outline no fact link
Organisation Northumberland County Council no fact link
Start date 1977-08-25 no fact link
End date no fact link
Entry date 2012-02-08 Facts
Typology geography no fact link
Geometry MULTIPOLYGON (((-1.711013 55.417012, -1.711027 55.417059, -1.711443 55.417018, -1.711428 55.41697, -1.711488 55.416965, -1.711506 55.416972, -1.711514 55.416966, -1.711501 55.416961, -1.711488 55.41691, -1.711515 55.416908, -1.711512 55.416897, -1.711485 55.416899, -1.711471 55.416845, -1.711498 55.416842, -1.711494 55.416827, -1.711467 55.416829, -1.711458 55.416794, -1.711478 55.416781, -1.711457 55.41677, -1.711433 55.416786, -1.711361 55.416793, -1.71135 55.416755, -1.71127 55.416763, -1.711282 55.416801, -1.711074 55.416821, -1.71107 55.416809, -1.71105 55.416812, -1.711054 55.416823, -1.710793 55.416849, -1.710779 55.416841, -1.710752 55.416847, -1.710751 55.416856, -1.710766 55.416865, -1.710816 55.417031, -1.710893 55.417024, -1.710901 55.417051, -1.710962 55.417045, -1.710954 55.417018, -1.711013 55.417012))) Facts
Point POINT (-1.711149 55.41692) Facts
Notes BAILIFFGATE 1. (North Side) 5330 Church of St Mary and St Michael NU 1813 NW 3/2 II 2. Unusally large aisled church for Northumberland. Of the long single vessel apsed Norman church only fragments remain, some built into chancel arch. Present church dates largely from circa 1464 (Chartere of Henry VI) with various restorations:- by Vincent Shepherd in 1782 (when it was given a fan-vaulted plaster ceiling etc), 1818 by towns people and circa 1863 by Salvin (who restored an overall Perpendicular feeling). In plan a nave with a wide aisles of 5 bays and a chancel with chapels of 3 bays. Tower at south-west end. In elevation a 3 stage embattled C15 tower with angle buttresses having 12 set offs, and a long south aisle, its windows divided by buttresses and with unusual octagonal stair turret at south-east end. A C15 porch next to the tower, an unassuming priest's door into the south chapel. A small clerestory with paired lights not aligned with internal arcades. Large perpendicular tracery in windows. Interior: North arcade has hexagonal piers with much moulded caps and paired fluting; south arcade plain octagonal piers and carved corbel heads at rear; arcades of chancel higher and more delicate having octagonal piers containing 8 keeled shafts within cusped-head panels and angels at the arcade springing level. , LIST ENTRY DESCRIPTION 08-FEB-2012 CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL, BAILIFFGATE Summary of Building A Parish church of 1464 built under Henry VI, incorporating fragments of a Norman chapel, extended in the C14. It is perpendicular in style and a rare example of church building in Northumberland at a time when conditions allowed little church building in the county. It notably incorporates a defensive tower. Later C18 Gothicisation was reversed by Anthony Salvin in 1863. Reasons for Designation The Parish church of St Michael's is designated at Grade I for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: it retains extensive medieval fabric, largely from a single phase incorporating fragments of an earlier Norman church, extended in the C14. * Association: its construction is associated with the Monarch Henry VI and it was restored by Anthony Salvin and F. R. Wilson. * Timber elements: it retains original early timber elements including structural features such as the nave roof and bell frame in the west tower, and an early C14 decorated Flemish chest. * Historic interest: it is a rare example of the perpendicular style in Northumberland, constructed at a time in the C15 when social conditions precluded extensive church building; the inclusion of a defensive turret reflects the turbulent times of the Border area. * Stained glass: the church contains a collection of stained glass representing many of the notable national C19 practitioners. History St Michael's Parish Church was rebuilt under Henry VI who granted the burgesses of Alnwick tolls on exports from the Port of Alnmouth to 'make and repair their church' in c.1464. This was part of a bid for the support of the Percy family, Earls of Northumberland, during the Wars of the Roses. Reports of a Saxon church on the same site are unconfirmed although the presence of a Norman chapel has been confirmed; this chapel was itself extended in the C14, and fragments of the early chapel and parts of the C14 north and west walls are incorporated into the present church. Turbulent conditions on the English border during the C14 and C15 centuries meant that this was not a time of peace and prosperity for Northumberland and little church work took place in the county. Such work was generally confined to what were considered the safer areas in the south of the county and close to the coast, leading to an absence of newly built decorated and perpendicular work. St Michael's Alnwick is a rare example of the perpendicular style and owes its existence to the relationship between the Monarch and the Earls of Northumberland. St Michael's was restored and Gothicised in 1782 by Vincent Shepard, a process which included the installation of a plaster fan-vaulted chancel ceiling and a tabernacle with rows of seats for local dignitaries. In 1818, extra seating in the form of a west gallery was included. The church has a close relationship with the Percy family and Alnwick Castle, and architect to the fourth Duke of Northumberland, Anthony Salvin comprehensively removed the C18 Gothic and the early C19 gallery and restored the overall perpendicular character of the church in 1863. As his entry in the ODNB is clear, Salvin (1799-1881) was widely regarded as an expert on medieval buildings and received many commissions relating to the restoration of castles and churches; by the end of his career he was held in high regard, although his approach of removing earlier work rather than retaining it, has been questioned subsequently. He has dozens of listed buildings to his name, many in the higher grades. In the 1880s a sacristy and vestry were added to the north aisle, and in 1890 an organ chamber was inserted by F. R. Wilson (1827-1894), a local architect with c. 30 listed buildings to his name, who worked as assistant architect for Anthony Salvin during his restoration of Alnwick Castle. Details MATERIALS: the church is built of roughly coursed squared stone with ashlar dressings. The roofs have slate coverings and the windows have stone perpendicular tracery with leaded and stained glass windows. PLAN: the church is situated in the northern outskirts of the town of Alnwick, on a high bluff overlooking the River Aln. It is a parallelogram comprising a five bay nave and a slightly taller three bay chancel with wide aisles and chapels; there is a three-stage tower and south porch at the south-west end, a projecting turret at the south-east end and vestries and a north porch appended to the north aisle. EXTERIOR: The long embattled south aisle is lit by three-light perpendicular windows, separated by pinnacled buttresses. There is a simple priest's door into the south chapel and adjacent to this, a projecting polygonal turret with a corbelled-out top and chamber, rise above the chancel roof. This appears to have had a defensive function as its upper levels carry embrasures. At the west end of the church, there is a wide gabled porch with carved stone cross and double wooden doors with hood mould and carved stops. The embattled tower has angle buttresses with twelve set-offs ending in pinnacles; the ground floor has a segmental headed window with perpendicular tracery, the second stage has paired narrow openings, and the third stage has a perpendicular slatted window. The east end has three perpendicular windows, separated by stepped buttresses surmounted by pinnacles; that lighting the south aisle has five lights and that to the north aisle has four lights, both with complex tracery; the east end of the chancel including its five-light window date from the C19 restoration. The west end has a three-light window (a C19 replacement for a decorated original) and a small trefoil lancet window of c. 1300, incorporated into the later church from its predecessor and indicating the presence of a formerly narrower nave. INTERIOR: within the church the aisles have double chamfered arches: the north arcade has hexagonal piers with much moulded caps and paired fluted faces; this largely dates to the C19 when the old arcade was removed to allow the fitting of galleries. The south arcade has plain octagonal piers and carved corbel heads at the rear, slightly altered when the tower was built necessitating the construction of the large buttress which projects out into the nave. The chancel arch is also C19 but with re-sited Norman diaper work above and the chancel arcades are higher and more delicate having octagonal piers containing eight keeled shafts within cusped-head panels and angels at the arcade springing level; the capitals are richly carved with stylized foliage of varying types; the Hotspur capital on the north carries the crescent and fetterlocks of the Earl of Northumberland. The nave roof is original with contemporary bosses and the arch-braced trusses v0001 Facts
Listed building 1041546 Facts

Available Code Snippets: 

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    "reference": "1041546",
    "prefix": "listed-building-outline",
    "name": "Church Of St Michael",
    "dataset": "listed-building-outline",
    "organisation-entity": "220",
    "start-date": "1977-08-25",
    "end-date": "",
    "entry-date": "2012-02-08",
    "typology": "geography",
    "geometry": "MULTIPOLYGON (((-1.711013 55.417012, -1.711027 55.417059, -1.711443 55.417018, -1.711428 55.41697, -1.711488 55.416965, -1.711506 55.416972, -1.711514 55.416966, -1.711501 55.416961, -1.711488 55.41691, -1.711515 55.416908, -1.711512 55.416897, -1.711485 55.416899, -1.711471 55.416845, -1.711498 55.416842, -1.711494 55.416827, -1.711467 55.416829, -1.711458 55.416794, -1.711478 55.416781, -1.711457 55.41677, -1.711433 55.416786, -1.711361 55.416793, -1.71135 55.416755, -1.71127 55.416763, -1.711282 55.416801, -1.711074 55.416821, -1.71107 55.416809, -1.71105 55.416812, -1.711054 55.416823, -1.710793 55.416849, -1.710779 55.416841, -1.710752 55.416847, -1.710751 55.416856, -1.710766 55.416865, -1.710816 55.417031, -1.710893 55.417024, -1.710901 55.417051, -1.710962 55.417045, -1.710954 55.417018, -1.711013 55.417012)))",
    "point": "POINT (-1.711149 55.41692)",
    "entity": 42153361,
    "notes": "BAILIFFGATE 1. (North Side) 5330 Church of St Mary and St Michael NU 1813 NW 3/2 II 2. Unusally large aisled church for Northumberland. Of the long single vessel apsed Norman church only fragments remain, some built into chancel arch. Present church dates largely from circa 1464 (Chartere of Henry VI) with various restorations:- by Vincent Shepherd in 1782 (when it was given a fan-vaulted plaster ceiling etc), 1818 by towns people and circa 1863 by Salvin (who restored an overall Perpendicular feeling). In plan a nave with a wide aisles of 5 bays and a chancel with chapels of 3 bays. Tower at south-west end. In elevation a 3 stage embattled C15 tower with angle buttresses having 12 set offs, and a long south aisle, its windows divided by buttresses and with unusual octagonal stair turret at south-east end. A C15 porch next to the tower, an unassuming priest's door into the south chapel. A small clerestory with paired lights not aligned with internal arcades. Large perpendicular tracery in windows. Interior: North arcade has hexagonal piers with much moulded caps and paired fluting; south arcade plain octagonal piers and carved corbel heads at rear; arcades of chancel higher and more delicate having octagonal piers containing 8 keeled shafts within cusped-head panels and angels at the arcade springing level. , LIST ENTRY DESCRIPTION 08-FEB-2012 CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL, BAILIFFGATE Summary of Building A Parish church of 1464 built under Henry VI, incorporating fragments of a Norman chapel, extended in the C14. It is perpendicular in style and a rare example of church building in Northumberland at a time when conditions allowed little church building in the county. It notably incorporates a defensive tower. Later C18 Gothicisation was reversed by Anthony Salvin in 1863. Reasons for Designation The Parish church of St Michael's is designated at Grade I for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: it retains extensive medieval fabric, largely from a single phase incorporating fragments of an earlier Norman church, extended in the C14. * Association: its construction is associated with the Monarch Henry VI and it was restored by Anthony Salvin and F. R. Wilson. * Timber elements: it retains original early timber elements including structural features such as the nave roof and bell frame in the west tower, and an early C14 decorated Flemish chest. * Historic interest: it is a rare example of the perpendicular style in Northumberland, constructed at a time in the C15 when social conditions precluded extensive church building; the inclusion of a defensive turret reflects the turbulent times of the Border area. * Stained glass: the church contains a collection of stained glass representing many of the notable national C19 practitioners. History St Michael's Parish Church was rebuilt under Henry VI who granted the burgesses of Alnwick tolls on exports from the Port of Alnmouth to 'make and repair their church' in c.1464. This was part of a bid for the support of the Percy family, Earls of Northumberland, during the Wars of the Roses. Reports of a Saxon church on the same site are unconfirmed although the presence of a Norman chapel has been confirmed; this chapel was itself extended in the C14, and fragments of the early chapel and parts of the C14 north and west walls are incorporated into the present church. Turbulent conditions on the English border during the C14 and C15 centuries meant that this was not a time of peace and prosperity for Northumberland and little church work took place in the county. Such work was generally confined to what were considered the safer areas in the south of the county and close to the coast, leading to an absence of newly built decorated and perpendicular work. St Michael's Alnwick is a rare example of the perpendicular style and owes its existence to the relationship between the Monarch and the Earls of Northumberland. St Michael's was restored and Gothicised in 1782 by Vincent Shepard, a process which included the installation of a plaster fan-vaulted chancel ceiling and a tabernacle with rows of seats for local dignitaries. In 1818, extra seating in the form of a west gallery was included. The church has a close relationship with the Percy family and Alnwick Castle, and architect to the fourth Duke of Northumberland, Anthony Salvin comprehensively removed the C18 Gothic and the early C19 gallery and restored the overall perpendicular character of the church in 1863. As his entry in the ODNB is clear, Salvin (1799-1881) was widely regarded as an expert on medieval buildings and received many commissions relating to the restoration of castles and churches; by the end of his career he was held in high regard, although his approach of removing earlier work rather than retaining it, has been questioned subsequently. He has dozens of listed buildings to his name, many in the higher grades. In the 1880s a sacristy and vestry were added to the north aisle, and in 1890 an organ chamber was inserted by F. R. Wilson (1827-1894), a local architect with c. 30 listed buildings to his name, who worked as assistant architect for Anthony Salvin during his restoration of Alnwick Castle. Details MATERIALS: the church is built of roughly coursed squared stone with ashlar dressings. The roofs have slate coverings and the windows have stone perpendicular tracery with leaded and stained glass windows. PLAN: the church is situated in the northern outskirts of the town of Alnwick, on a high bluff overlooking the River Aln. It is a parallelogram comprising a five bay nave and a slightly taller three bay chancel with wide aisles and chapels; there is a three-stage tower and south porch at the south-west end, a projecting turret at the south-east end and vestries and a north porch appended to the north aisle. EXTERIOR: The long embattled south aisle is lit by three-light perpendicular windows, separated by pinnacled buttresses. There is a simple priest's door into the south chapel and adjacent to this, a projecting polygonal turret with a corbelled-out top and chamber, rise above the chancel roof. This appears to have had a defensive function as its upper levels carry embrasures. At the west end of the church, there is a wide gabled porch with carved stone cross and double wooden doors with hood mould and carved stops. The embattled tower has angle buttresses with twelve set-offs ending in pinnacles; the ground floor has a segmental headed window with perpendicular tracery, the second stage has paired narrow openings, and the third stage has a perpendicular slatted window. The east end has three perpendicular windows, separated by stepped buttresses surmounted by pinnacles; that lighting the south aisle has five lights and that to the north aisle has four lights, both with complex tracery; the east end of the chancel including its five-light window date from the C19 restoration. The west end has a three-light window (a C19 replacement for a decorated original) and a small trefoil lancet window of c. 1300, incorporated into the later church from its predecessor and indicating the presence of a formerly narrower nave. INTERIOR: within the church the aisles have double chamfered arches: the north arcade has hexagonal piers with much moulded caps and paired fluted faces; this largely dates to the C19 when the old arcade was removed to allow the fitting of galleries. The south arcade has plain octagonal piers and carved corbel heads at the rear, slightly altered when the tower was built necessitating the construction of the large buttress which projects out into the nave. The chancel arch is also C19 but with re-sited Norman diaper work above and the chancel arcades are higher and more delicate having octagonal piers containing eight keeled shafts within cusped-head panels and angels at the arcade springing level; the capitals are richly carved with stylized foliage of varying types; the Hotspur capital on the north carries the crescent and fetterlocks of the Earl of Northumberland. The nave roof is original with contemporary bosses and the arch-braced trusses v0001",
    "listed-building": "1041546"
}
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