St.Michael's Church, Pepper Street, Chester, UK. - Blue Plaques on Waymarking.com

This blue plaque is attached to the south face of the tower of this old church, to the left of the steps to the entrance porch.

It commemorates:-
'St Michael's Church / One of the nine medieval parish / churches of Chester,'

The Plaque wording continues: 'it stands / on the site of the southern / gateway of the Roman Fortress. / In 1849-51 it was virtually / rebuilt by the Chester architect / James Harrison, although early / features survive inside. / St.Michael's opened as / Britain's first Heritage / Centre in 1975.'


A Grade II listed building it was originally built in this form in the C15th with additions and repairs in 1678 and 1849-50 from when the stonework dates. It has a fine three-stage west tower, the first stage is open, the nave is also of three bays, and the chancel is of two bays. It still has a fine medieval roof (1496) inside with a grey slate roof over. It was stripped of its furnishings between 1975 and 1979 but there is a C15th north arcade with octagonal piers. The old roof is narrower than the present building which was widened in 1678.

The south end of the Bridge Street Row passes through the open first stage of the tower which also serves as the west porch. There are stone steps up to the main Row north and down to the pavement at the south. The buttresses are octagonal to the first stage, diagonal to the second stage and clasping to the third stage with a string course between each stage. The second stage has a two-light window with simple tracery to each face, a rectangular loop above the north window, a clock-face to the west and a blank clock-face panel to the south. The third stage has a paired bell-opening under an ogee hood to each face, a course of carved panels and a stringcourse with gargoyles under a crenellated parapet with eight crocketed pinnacles. A wind vane is placed centrally on the tower roof.

The west window to the north aisle has two lights with simple tracery, the diagonally-boarded pair of oak west doors have ornate wrought-iron hinges. On the south side of the nave there is one two-light and two three-light traceried windows, the chancel has two two-light traceried windows. The east end has a
diagonally-boarded oak door on wrought-iron hinges, a four-light reticulated east window with stained glass and a three-light window with stained glass by Clayton and Bell in the north aisle. The north aisle face is featureless and partly built against.

The walls are crenellated, the chancel's gable-coping has a finial cross and carved heads as mould-stops. The stonework and details were damaged by sandblasting in c1975.

Blue Plaque managing agency: Chester City Council Individual Recognized: St.Michael's Church Physical Address: Church of St.Michael 5 Pepper Street Chester, Cheshire West and Chester UK CH1 1EA Web Address: Not listed

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