Saint Michael's Catholic Church — Church Street

Detached Roman Catholic church on cruciform plan, dated 1859 and possibly containing the fabric of an earlier T-plan chapel to site, comprising a three-bay nave to the north, two-bay transepts to the east and the west, a shallow chancel to the rear (south) and with a two stage tower on square-plan attached to the entrance front (north) having a castellated parapet with corner pinnacles and an ashlar limestone spire on octagonal-plan over. Pitched natural slate roof with raised verges to gable ends. Rendered walls with cut-stone detailing and dressings. Lancet window openings to nave with cut stone Y-tracery and having broad stepped buttresses between bays. Tower to entrance front flanked by quatrefoil windows in circular cut limestone surrounds. Five-graded lancet windows with stained glass to chancel gable (south). Central pointed-arched doorway to entrance front (north) having a cut stone hoodmoulding over and with timber double-doors. Pointed-arch ‘Early-English’-style Gothic window with plate tracery above doorcase and having cusped-headed openings above to belfry with timber louvers. Interesting interior with Carrera marble altar goods, cross-braced timber roof structure, Victorian decorative encaustic tiles to the floor and carved Gothic-style ‘stations of the cross’ and memorial monuments. Galleries to rear of nave (with organ) and to both transepts, supported on plain Classical-style columns, having cast-iron open balustrades to gallery fronts. Set in extensive grounds with rendered plinth walls with cast-iron railings over and cast-iron gates to road-frontage to the north (Church Street). Presbytery to north (not in survey). Located to the east of The Square, Castlepollard.