Church of St Michael, Great Sampford (EHER 9869)

The south chapel is of late 13th century date but the church was almost entirely rebuilt during the 14th century. There are 15th and 16th century alterations. The church is said to have been built by the Knights Hospitallers. The church was a deanery in the Middle Ages, and its peculiar ecclesiastical position at that time strongly suggests early mediaeval origins, possibly as a minster. A watching brief of five areas of flooring in the nave revealed walls demolished when the nave was built in the 14th century. The south chapel may have been a former south transept. A dowsing experiment claims to have detected the presence of a former north transept, but that was not investigated by conventional means.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: Church of St Michael, Grade I. The south chapel is of late 13th century date but the church was almost entirely rebuilt during the 14th century. There are 15th and 16th century alterations. The church is said to have been built by the Knights Hospitallers. The walls are of flint rubble with dressings of limestone and clunch; the roofs are covered with tiles except the south aisle which is slated. A parapet was added to the south aisle in the 15th century. In the 16th century a brick staircase was built inside the tower. The church was repaired with cement in the 18th or 19th century, and the chancel was restored in 1874. <1> The south chancel chapel is the transept of a former church. It dates from the later 13th century, as is proved by the two two-light E windows with a separated sexfoiled circular window above. The two pointed windows have each two pointed trefoiled lights and an unencircled quatrefoil above. The rest of the church is all of the first half of the 14th century, and the chancel is more lavish than usual. Probably dates to around 1320 as ogee arches occur only very secondarily in the south side windows. The east window is very large, of five-lights with a large circle as the central tracery motif. In the circle are four smaller circles with quatrefoils arranged in two tiers, and not cross-wise. Buttresses with niches. Also two niches left and right of the east window. Inside, seats under deep cusped pointed arches run all along the sides, and all windows are shafted. The north aisle is contemporise with the chancel. The windows show that, and also the arcade of quatrefoil piers with very thin shafts in the diagonals and double-chamfered, two-centred arches. The south arcade is characteristically later. The piers are octagonal, and the arches start with short vertical pieces dying into them. Nice arch from the south aisle to the south chapel. The capitals have bossy leaves, and there is one horrified face among them, bitten by a dragon. In the chapel at the foot of the south wall a 14th century recess with a crocketed gable and deep niches to the left and right, also with crocketed gables. The roofs of the church are all original. The best is that of the south aisle. The font has an elaborately traceried stem, plain bowl; 14th century Plate-Cup and Paten of 1562; Dish of 1630, secular, with repousse decoration. <2> Pre-2003. Evaluation. Traces of medieval features were uncovered below the wooden floors within the church. The evidence took the form of lines of flint rubble, indicating walls that had been demolished when the piers of the present nave were built in the 14th century. Glazed floor tiles of the 13th century were found. In all 5 phases of development were identified by the archaeological work. The earliest dated to the 13th century, although the nature of the evidence seems confused. Phase 2 dated to the 13th to 14th century, consisting of the first construction phase of the church. The remains of walls inferred from linear spreads of rubble. During phase 3 (1320-1350) the building was almost entirely levelled and rebuilt. The transept of the earlier building was reused as the south chapel. Phase 4 dates from 1350 to 1647/1660 comprising the laying of a patterned tile floor, excavation of several graves, another reflooring and limewashing of the walls. Phase 5 dates from 1660 to 1878 during which the church was extensively refloored. <3> See also: <4> - <6> See: St Michael's Church (NAT). <7> See: <8>