Poplar: St Michael and All Angels
Overview
Grid reference: TQ 380 815
By J.W. Morris, 1864, to replace a Mission Chapel also designed by Morris. The church was consecrated on 4th August 1865. A plaque at the west end records a thorough restoration in 1901 at a cost of £2,844. The walls are built of brick with scant use of stone for some dressings. The roofs are slated with dark blue slates.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Nave with aisles of three bays then transeptal chapels of two bays. Chancel flanked by a small chapel and the tower.
Description of Archaeology and History
By J.W. Morris, 1864, to replace a Mission Chapel also designed by Morris. The church was consecrated on 4th August 1865. A plaque at the west end records a thorough restoration in 1901 at a cost of £2,844.
Exterior Description
The walls are built of brick with scant use of stone for some dressings. The roofs are slated with dark blue slates.
The tower is of three tall stages capped by a pyramidal slated roof which incorporates a clock face under a gablet in each cardinal direction. The lowest stage is lit by a two-light plate-traceried window in the south face and forms a vestry entered from the chancel. The next stage has three severe lancets. This stage is separated from that below by a stone cornice and is further distinguished by decoration in coloured bricks which is a feature of the rest of the church also. A continuous band of foliated carving forms the capitals to the imposts of the bell-openings.
The only other part of the church to be readily visible from the street is the west front. The nave is slightly longer than the aisles and therefore projects towards the street. The three west doorways stand under a triple gable, the arches carried on nook-shafts. The label stops between the middle arch and the flanking arches are carved as dragons. Ample two light windows with plate tracery occupy the upper part of the wall, and above these, within the gable is a roundel containing trefoils and quatrefoils in plate tracery.
Thin angle buttresses clasp the corners and the aisle walls again have two-light plate-traceried windows. The whole west front is decorated with minimal banding in black brick amongst the red. The side walls of the aisles have lancet lights in pairs, severely pierced through on the walls, and the clerestory is similar save that the windows are in threes. The short bay which projects beyond the aisles has roundels at clerestory level, and a small turret attached to the south side shows that the bay contains a gallery within. The windows of the transepts and the chancel are much as might be expected.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
The east window, of three lights, represents The Crucifixion with attendant figures and St. Michael and Satan above.
Interior
Interior Description
Within the projecting bay of the nave is a narthex with a board giving the list of Vicars. The nave is tall and wide with a tiled floor and panelled roof of seven faces. The font stands in the central alley within the west door upon a proudly high base, its cover composed of a series of rcades suspended from the roof. The massiveness of the font is reminiscent of Teulon, and indeed his churches are several times called to mind in this building, not least (for example) in the geometricality of the balustrade which fronts the gallery over the narthex.
The plan is slightly unexpected since the five bays of the nave arcade are uniform, giving no indication of the two-bay cross-gabled transepts. The columns of the nave arcade are short, on tall bases and with extravagantlyfoliated capitals. Whitening of all the walls except the clerestory and the east wall above the chancel arch may have originally made the church lighter.
The aisle roofs are supported on beams with timber cut-out decorations in the spandrels pierced with geometrical motifs and crosses (again reminiscent of Teulon). The wider bays which occupy the position of transepts are distinct from the nave, and thus have the character of chapels. The north transept is arranged as such, while the south has an organ in the west bay and a temporary vestry in the east bay. Between this and the chancel rises the tower and the corresponding space on the north (which must once have been the organ chamber) forms a small chapel for the reservation of the sacrament.
The chancel arch is banded in two colours of brick and also has stone sections. The arrises are slightly notched. The lower part is crossed by a light iron screen (painted gold), and the chancel beyond has adapted well to the westward celebration of the eucharist. The choirstalls have gone and the altar stands in the centre. Behind it, in the former sanctuary, a proud classical chair stands flanked by low stools under a canopy of red material. A dossal of the same hangs on the cast wall over the place of the reredos. The wall is quite undecorated save for a continuous band of foliage at the level of the window cill. The south window comes down low to form sedilia, and the three-light east window has the only considerable quantity of stained glass in the church.
Fixtures and fittings
Chair
c.1860
The celebrant's chair, a classical design in red mahogany of c.1860 comes from All Saints, where its pair still is.
Altar
Early 20th Century
The high altar is early twentieth-century, of oak with a panelled front incorporating a coloured relief of the Agnus Dei.
Organ (object)
1880
The organ is by E. Carder of Burdett Road, 1880. It has two manuals and pedals, tracker action and 19 speaking stops. It was rebuilt by Willis in 1951.
Font (object)
1865
The Font is a large square stone with notched edges carried upon a diapered drum and four small marble colonettes. In each face is a roundel with inlaid symbols in a composite material.
Pulpit
Early 20th Century
The Pulpit is early twentieth-century, with arcaded sides and a relief of St. Michael on the front.
Screen
The gates to the south side chapel and the screen are iron work, very slender so as to be easily transparent.
Churchyard
Grid reference: TQ 380 815
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | N/A |
| Solar Thermal Panels | N/A |
| Biomass | N/A |
| Wind Turbine | N/A |
| Air Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ev Charging | N/A |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
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