No.127
The Trusty Servant
Institute’s collection of Butterfield’s
work contains the drawings for the
choir stalls and research by Tom
Foxall of Historic England reveals
detailed designs for a Bible desk for St
Michael’s, and pews and pew-frontals
which closely resemble those at the
church.
The 1882/3 work commenced at
the east end with the creation of an
elongated chancel with choir stalls
and construction of an organ bay and
vestry to the north. Floors were relaid
in tiles and woodblock and ornate
encaustic floor tiles decorated the
chancel and vestry. A mosaic reredos
to Butterfield’s design was installed
below the repositioned east window.
Box pews were removed and ‘free
seats’ (pews) with kneeler rails were
introduced with the south doorway
reinstated with a narrow porch.
The church was well on the way
to transformation, but Butterfield’s
grand vision for the church was never
fully executed because of lack of
funds, leaving the incomplete north
arcade as evidence of his intentions.
In 1898 the last significant element
of construction took place: the
extension of the vestry to the north in
materials and design sympathetic to
Butterfield’s work.
Understanding the development
of the church over the past 200
years and uncovering details, in
particular of the Victorian alterations
and fixtures, has been crucial to
determining the potential for change
at Michlā. Through the detailed
research carried out with input
from Historic England and Border
Archaeology, it has been possible
to establish the significance of the
church fabric and fittings. This in
turn has informed the re-ordering
scheme which has now received
planning and listed-building consent
from Winchester City Council.
The proposed plans retain the most
significant elements of Butterfield’s
work which are seen in the chancel,
including the choir stalls, which he is
believed to have gifted to the church.
The stalls will remain in their existing
location and will be sympathetically
modified to raise the height of the
frontals and extend the seat depths to
improve usability.
The most obvious change will be
removal of the fixed pews, which are
to be replaced with stackable seats,
enabling flexible seating layouts to
suit a variety of uses. At the main
entrance the small, awkward lobby
arrangement is to be altered. A
large, glazed lobby is to be installed,
providing easier access into the
church and acoustic separation
from the tower base, where toilets
will be located discretely against the
west wall. The pipe organ, which
although contemporaneous with the
Victorian extension was not designed
for the church, is to be re-homed.
The existing electronic organ will be
repositioned in the organ bay, with
partitioning to form a new chair-
and-instrument store behind. The
chancel step is to be straightened and
extended.
Improvements to the vestry, repairs
to the building fabric and renewal
and upgrading of building services
will form part of the project which is
currently out to tender with a view to
starting work in summer 2019.
8