St. Michaels and All Angels

When you visit the Broadway part of Houghton le Spring you are greeted by several notable buildings and of course, the imposing St Michael and All Angels, which has quite a few surprises.

Archangel St Michael was a warrior saint and is often depicted slaying a dragon/serpent, or Satan. The Saints Day (Michael Mass) falls on 29th September and the Michaelmas Daisy flower can still be found in bloom. This date during medieval times was one of the four quarter days, when rent payments were made, debts were settled and servants were hired.

There is an interesting myth regarding Michaelmas Day on Wikipedia:

Folklore in the British Isles suggests that Michaelmas Day is the last blackberries can be picked. It is said that when St. Michael expelled the devil, Lucifer, from heaven, he fell from the skies and landed in a prickly blackberry bush. Satan cursed the fruit, scorched them with his fiery breath, stamped, spat, and urinated on them, so that they would be unfit for eating. As it is considered ill-advised to eat them after 11 October (Old Michaelmas Day according to the Julian Calendar), a Michaelmas pie is made from the last of the season.

A welcoming archway on the boundary was removed from across the road at the Old Rectory stone by stone and remade in the 1950s after the council took over the Old Rectory. There are the shields with coat of arms for Rectors William Sancoft (3 red crosses formee Gules and 3 white doves in the chevron) Bernard Gilpin (Boar and Oak tree), George Davenport (3 black crosses with black chevron)

A walk around the outside gives you an idea of how important this church was and hopefully still is. There is a reasonable assumption this church could have been built as a prehistoric burial cairn or ritual site as whinstone boulders were found.

The 'stairs' to the tower caught my attention and it was the access for the choir to sing from atop the tower at the Houghton Feast around 6th October. I met a chap who used to be in the choir and did this. The choir boys in Victorian times would scribe the lead (used as flashing) as they went up or down the tower. My husband suggested like most schoolboys of the day they carried penknives. The assumption is that the graffiti would be their name? What a giveaway!

There is a tomb outside the East Window which has been described as a 'Megalithic Roman-style sarcophagus'.It was moved from inside the church during the 1960s.

From the interesting guide book the tower was originally added by the Normans at the west end, but was burned down in 1319 by Sir James Douglas (1286 to 1330) a William Wallace supporter AKA James the Good or Black Douglas, depending on your allegiance.

The tower was 'discovered' when new flooring was installed in 2008. They also found 18th-century burial vaults under the floor which were removed, reconcentrated, and buried elsewhere.

A new tower was built around 1350 and at some point became a spire. An etching of 1824 shows it as such. Further renovation to the church was carried out, but in 1837 the work was considered to be 'impaired by ill-advised restoration'. It got a better remodelling between 1857 and 1858 by Newcastle's finest, John Dobson whose work you can be seen at Eldon Square and Grainger Market in Newcastle and many other places.

Look up at the tower and see where alterations have been made to turn it back into a tower.

In 1858 the roof was raised from an earlier flat roof and Dobson repurposed the medieval timbers for the marvellous arch-braced trussed ceiling inside that you can wonder at today.

An astounding sculpture in the church is the Risen Christ, 1974, by local artist Fenwick Lawson (born in 1932). He describes his work as expressing mankind's humanity. Many of his works include a religious theme as in The Journey, St. Cuthbert and St Aidan on Holy Island. There is more information at Cry for Justice- the Scream at The Durham University Campus.

This work seems to resonate with its surroundings.

The Risen Christ seemed to strike a chord with Lawson and there are similar ones in other places. This piece was intended for an Abbey, but they declined it and somewhere else did not want it. When St Michaels was offered it, the church gave it careful consideration and gave it a thumbs up, and no money exchanged hands.

It stands majestically looking over the congregation from the southeast side.

The wood could be Yew as it has those twists and of course, many churches have this tree to ward off evil spirits, or to stop medieval folk from grazing their livestock on church property, as it is poisonous!

This sculpture has been securely fastened to the wall, so you can admire it close up where you notice the base and roots and gaze at those slender fingers.

Known as the Apostal of the North, Bernard Gilpin (1517 to 1583) was the Rector here from 1557 to 1583. He was considered to be a humanitarian of the time and would administer the Church of England services far and wide. He also fed anyone on Sundays who asked from Michaelmas day to Easter. Nowadays, for a few days in October, the Houghton Feast celebrates this.

The 1983 stained glass window depicts much about his life. His coat of arms has been adopted by the local council. One of the images in the stained glass refers to the episode of the plough lady being given Gilpin's horse after her own had died.

Whilst in Durham Market Place in 1583 Rector Gilpin was struck down by an Ox, although initially bedridden he recovered but was weak and died a few months later. Wisely he had made a will the previous year when a plague was prevalent. The will would be displayed in the church during the Houghton Feast.

There is a freestone altar tomb near The Risen Christ

For whimsical minds or to keep the interest of young minds there is Jesus in a Cowboy hat and a banana

Go and explore and see what you find.

The volunteers here are most helpful and knowledgeable. They gave me a warm welcome and I appreciated their help. There is an information booklet which is worth the £1 and inside there are information panels throughout.