The Church of St Michael the Archangel : The Interior

The internal walls of the church are plastered, except for exposed dressings. The South Porch has a tunnel vault, and benches on each side with wooden tops; set at the south end of the eastern bench is what appears to be a stoup, with carving in relief including cable moulding at the angles and a damaged relief carving of what may be a vernacular version of the Sacred Monogram on the front. The inner doorway of the porch has a semicircular arch with a continuous chamfer. On the west wall is a tablet commemorating a 1953 restoration by Gustav Adolph Renwick.

In the Nave the west window is set within a larger arch of distorted segmental form, that has jamb shafts with scallop capitals (the southern apparently authentic) with moulded rings at mid height and old moulded bases. On the south the doorway has a shallow segmental rear arch and the two 19th-century semicircular ones; at the east end of the wall the arch to the transept is of rough two-centred form with a chamnfer continued down the west jamb to the floor, but on the east carried uneasily on a respond rising from a projecting platform at the same level as the chancel floor, c 0.5 m above that of the nave. The lower part of the respond is semicircular in section and the upper part semi-octagonal, and it has as moulded capital.

On the north side of the nave, facing the south door is a 19th-century fireplace with a joggled lintel (perhaps modelled on that in the tower at Edlingham Castle) carried on shaped corbels, with its projecting hearth still intact.

The South Transept has stoothed walls, with an opening left to expose a piscina at the east end of the south wall, which has a rough squre head and a circular bowl within the thickness of the wall is the arch to the North Transept, now the vestry (interior not seen). This is of two-centred form and of two chamfered orders; the eastern respond is semi-octagonal, with a moulded capital but no exposed base, whilst the western respond is clearly an octagonal pier, with its moulded base partly cut away and a moulded capital. The arch is now blocked by a thinner wall containing the vestry door in a timber surround which has an arched head with open spandrels and a brattished lintel.

The nave roof is of seven bays including a narrower one at each end; there are old slightly cambered tie-beams with collars, the ceiling being underdrawn at the level of the collars. The south transept has a very crude central truss that has its principals crossed at the apex to carry a ridge board, and a single purlin just above the sidewalls.

Three steps lead up from the nave into the Chancel, which is entered under a chancel arch of distorted semicircular form, and of two chamfered orders. There is now no hoodmould, but on either side of the arch are rough projecting blocks that may either be former hoodmould stops of parts of a former projecting impost band. The responds, of semicircular plan, have 19th-century 'holdwater' bases at the level of present chancel floor, and older capitals with a roll at the neck and an octagonal abacus, re-cut.

Both windows in the south wall of the chancel have shouldered rear arches, and the priest's door a plain square head; to its east is an old tomb recess that has an elliptical arch of two hollow chamfered orders, the inner with big broach stops on its short vertical jambs. The outer order has raised shields at its centre and on a block at each end, all very worn. A sill may have been cut away.

One further step leads up into the sanctuary; the sill of the south window here is carried down internally to hold a wooden sedile, of 20th century date in its present form. The 19th century east window has a shouldered rear arch.