Parish Church of St Michael (EHER 3173)

Grade II* listed Parish church. 15th and 16th century, partly rebuilt in 1875 by William White. West tower and North porch of red brick in English bond (the latter faced externally with uncoursed rubble), the remainder is of stone rubble, uncoursed externally, with dressings of limestone and red sandstone, roofed with red clay tiles and lead. The Chancel, Nave, North chapel, South chapel and South aisle 1875 retain a tomb recess in the Chancel and part of the roof of the Nave. The north aisle is 15th century, and was restored in 1875. the North porch was built around 1500 and refaced externally in 1875.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. St Michael's is a Grade II* listed parish Church which stands in the village. It was built in the 15th and 16th centuries, and partly rebuilt in 1875 by William White. <1> <2> <3> <4> <5> The tower is of red brick in English bond with limestone dressings; it was built early in the 16th century. The rest of the church was rebuilt in 1876. Features from the medieval church include: a font with a 15th century bowl and stem and a 12th century base; a mid 13th century and an effigy in the 14th century arch in the south wall; an early 16th century screen in the south chapel. <5> <6> An effigy of a knight of around 1300, is positioned under an arched canopy. <7> Nothing is known of an earlier church other than a Norman font base. The church was graded CIIIb by Rodwell. <8> The north aisle was built in the 15th century, and restored in 1875. The north porch was built in red brick with English bond in around 1500, and was refaced externally in 1875 with stone rubble. The west tower was built in 1500 and the major restoration of 1875 retained some original fabric and features, notably in the north aisle, north porch and all the west tower (except the parapet). The nave's roof is partly 15th century, and was restored in 1875, single hammer beam construction. In the north aisle, the 15th century fabric seems to have been retained, refaced externally and re-fenestrated, following the earlier pattern, significantly different from the windows of parts rebuilt after 1875. West of the north door, a small doorway to the muniments room over the porch was built in 1500 with a plain boarded door with reused 13th century hinges. The north aisle has a 15th century lean-to roof. At the east end of north aisle is a late 15th century timber screen. The alterations to the church are considered in detail in <6>, with a photograph from the SE taken before 1875. <9> <10> Site Assessment The churchyard is tidy, and contains a few 18th century tombstones. The archaeological potential of the church not known. Excavation inside the church would provide the best hope for locating the medieval building. There are no current threats. <8> An area south east of Thorpe Le Soken 31.4 hectares was covered in the impact statement. Sites within 1 Km were included. <12> Additional references <13> <14>