St Michael's Church, Longstanton

St Michael's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Longstanton, Cambridgeshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building,[1] and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[2] The church stands at the south end of the village.[3] The design of St Michael's was used for that of the Church of St. James the Less in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as well as St. Thomas Church in New Windsor, New York, both in 1846. It has been influential in the design of other churches in the American Gothic Revival style.[4]

St Michael's Church, Longstanton
A thatched, stone church seen from the west showing two large buttresses with a window between and a double bellcote above
West end of St Michael's Church, Longstanton, with the holy well in the foreground
St Michael's Church, Longstanton is located in Cambridgeshire
St Michael's Church, Longstanton
St Michael's Church, Longstanton
Location in Cambridgeshire
52.2730°N 0.0548°E / 52.2730; 0.0548
OS grid referenceTL 403 658
LocationLongstanton, Cambridgeshire
CountryEngland
DenominationAnglican
WebsiteChurches Conservation Trust
Architecture
Functional statusRedundant
Heritage designationGrade II*
Designated31 August 1962
Architectural typeChurch
StyleGothic
Specifications
MaterialsFieldstones with Barnack limestone dressings
Roofs thatched and tiled

History

Most of the church dates from the early 13th century.[1] The west wall was rebuilt in the 15th century when two large buttresses and a west window were added. The south porch was built in the earlier part of the same century. In the 19th century the chancel was being used as a schoolroom and was screened from the nave by a curtain.[5] The chancel was demolished in 1883 and rebuilt the following year at a cost of £600 (equivalent to £67,000 in 2021).[6][7] Its details were copied with care from the 13th-century design.[5] In 1889 the nave was restored at a cost of £350 (equivalent to £41,000 in 2021).[7] The parish of St Michael's was united with that of All Saints in 1958.[8] The two bells in the bellcote were stolen in 1969.[5] St Michael's church was declared redundant in 1973 and vested in the Redundant Churches Fund (the forerunners of the Churches Conservation Trust) in 1975. The thatched roof was restored by the Trust in 2000.[8]

Architecture

Exterior
St Michael's Church viewed from the northwest in July 2014
St Michael's Church viewed from the southwest in July 2014

The church is constructed in fieldstone with Barnack limestone dressings. The roofs of the nave and the south porch are covered in reed thatch and the chancel is tiled.[1] It is one of only two thatched churches in Cambridgeshire, the other being in the nearby village of Rampton.[5] The plan consists of a nave with north and south aisles, a south porch, and a chancel. On the west gable is a double bellcote. Against the west wall of the church are two four-stage buttresses between which is a two-light window. The windows elsewhere include three 19th-century lancets that probably replaced earlier similar windows. The north wall contains a doorway, and some ashlar stone suggesting the presence of earlier openings.[1]

Interior

Inside the church, the arcades date from the 13th century, and are in four bays with arches carried on alternating round and octagonal columns. In the chancel is a double piscina with intersecting arches made from clunch.[1][5] This said to be similar to the piscina in Jesus College Chapel, Cambridge.[2][9]

External features

In the churchyard is a holy well. This was restored in the 1980s, and was dressed for the first time in September 1986.[10][11]

References
  1. Historic England, "Church of St Michael, Longstanton (1127298)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 9 April 2015
  2. St Michael's Church, Long Stanton, Cambridgeshire, Churches Conservation Trust, retrieved 2 December 2016
  3. Longstanton, Streetmap, retrieved 28 January 2011
  4. P. B. Stanton, Gothic Revival and American Church Architecture 1840-56 (Baltimore, 1968:91-114)
  5. Wright, A. P. M.; Lewis, C. P., eds. (1989), "Long Stanton: Churches", A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely, Victoria County History, University of London & History of Parliament Trust, vol. 9, pp. 231–236, retrieved 31 January 2011
  6. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)", MeasuringWorth, retrieved 11 June 2022
  7. Kelly's Directory - Cambridgeshire (1929) recorded in Longstanton St. Michael: Church History, GENUKI, retrieved 29 January 2011
  8. St Michael's Church, Longstanton Village Community Groups, retrieved 29 January 2011
  9. Longstanton, St Michael's Church, Britain Express, retrieved 31 January 2011
  10. Brown, Phyllis, "Holy Well, St Michael's Churchyard, Longstanton, Cambridgeshire", Living Spring Journal, University of Bath, retrieved 29 January 2011
  11. Valentine, Mark (compiler), "New Well Dressing Festival", Living Spring Journal, University of Bath, retrieved 29 January 2011
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