St Michael and All Angels Church overlooks Market Place in the town of Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Macclesfield. It forms a team parish with three other Macclesfield churches: All Saints, St Peter's and St Barnabas'. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
A church has been on the site since the 13th century. There have been two major reconstructions, the last being in 1898–1901. Two ancient chapels remain dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. Inside the church are a number of tombs and memorials, mainly to the memory of the Savage and Legh families.
History
The first church on this site was a chapel built around 1220, soon after the borough of Macclesfield was established. Around 1278 it was extended or rebuilt by Queen Eleanor, wife of Edward I and dedicated to All Saints or All Hallows. A chapel, known as the Legh chapel, was built around 1442 for Sir Piers Legh who fought and died at the Battle of Agincourt. Between 1505 and 1507 the Savage Chapel, a larger chantry chapel, was built by Thomas Savage, Archbishop of York from 1501 to 1507.
There have since been a number of reconstructions of the church. In 1739–40 it was rebuilt in neoclassical style and at this time it is likely that the church was rededicated to Saint Michael. In 1740 the wooden tower was taken down because it was considered dangerous. In 1819 the east end was rebuilt and a new chancel added. The last major rebuilding was in 1898–1901 by Arthur Blomfield when the whole church, other than part of the chancel and the Legh and Savage chapels, were replaced.
A further reordering, known as "Open Door" Phase 1, took place between June 2003 and May 2004 to provide a welcome area (narthex), meeting rooms and an office at the west end. A second phase followed in which the room to the southeast of the building was equipped as a Youth Centre. As part of the "Open Door Reordering", extensive repair work was carried out to the church roof and to the church organ which was completely dismantled, cleaned, repaired and re-built. The architectural works were carried out by Barlow, Wright and Phelps, of Buxton, Derbyshire.
Architecture
Exterior
The plan of the church consists of a six-bay nave with north and south aisles and a chancel with vestries to the north and south. The tower is at the west end of the south aisle. The Legh Chapel extends from the south aisle and the larger Savage Chapel is to the east of this. At the west end of the Savage Chapel is a porch surmounted by a tower. The main tower incorporates some of the earlier masonry and includes some of the original carved stones and heraldic shields representing local noble families. On its west face is a clock and beneath this is a niche containing statues representing the Virgin and Child, Saint John and Saint James.
Interior
Furnishings
The font consists of a baluster and a fluted bowl dated 1744. The reredos, altar table, and communion rail dating from 1946 were designed by Sir Charles Nicholson. Behind this reredos is an older one from 1820, in Gothic style, containing arcades with ogee heads. The pulpit dates from 1876 and contains carvings of apostles. The wardens' pew is Jacobean in style. Two chandeliers are present, one dated 1882, the other was donated in 1744 and remodelled in 1822. In the porch of the Savage Chapel are fragments of medieval glass. The east window, dating from 1901, and the west window from 1902 (the latter depicting Queen Victoria), are by Powells. On the north side of the church are windows by Kempe, and by Burlison and Grylls. The Legh Chapel contains glass by Shrigley and Hunt dated 1903. On the northeast of the nave is glass by Christopher Whall, from about 1910, and by Paul Woodroffe. In the Savage Chapel the glass is all by Morris & Co., dating from the early 20th century. The two-manual organ was made by Percy Daniel and Company. There is a ring of 12 bells, all cast in 1923 by John Taylor and Company.
Chapels and monuments
The major points of interest in the church are the chapels and the monuments. The church contains "the finest collection of alabaster effigies in Cheshire". The smaller Legh Chapel, built around 1422 and rebuilt in 1620, is now used as a baptistry. It contains a number of memorial brasses, including one to William Legh who died in 1630.