St Michael's Church Alnwick is situated in a beautiful and historical setting in Baliffgate in the market town of Alnwick in North Northumberland. It is almost alongside the imposing Alnwick Castle which is home to the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, the beautiful Alnwick Garden as well as the Baliffgate Museum, it stands in a slightly elevated position affording good views of the market town.
Recently I had stood on Baliffgate as members of the Royal Family, had walked to the church to attend a wedding as guests of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. I made a mental note to myself to visit this rather pretty church, somewhere I had always meant to visit during trips to Alnwick but instead I had spent my time in more well known local attractions.
Last week, I got the chance to visit Alnwick again and this time I made my way to this church.
St Michaels church is an open and inclusive church dedicated to St Michael the Archangel.
There are plenty of reports of an early 8th century Saxon chapel being on the site, but there is no documented evidence. There is, however, evidence of a 12th century Norman Chapel replaced in the 14th and 15th century by the current building which was restored in the 1800's St. Michaels church has a tremendous history and is one of Northumberland's historical gems.
The Main tower is at the west end of the church but what I feel is eye catching is the look out turret at the South East end of the Church, this was used to warn of raiders during border conflicts.
Inside you can see statues which were dug up from foundations in an 1818 restoration. One is of a local Saint, the other is of Henry Vl.
There are medieval grave slabs built into the wall, the oldest dating back to the 13th century.
The East end features St Catherine's Chapel and the Altar, The Chapel has a carving of St Catherine and the wheel on which she was martyred.
Below the west window is a modern font made of Kilkenny blue back limestone created for the new millennium.
As I mentioned in the first paragraph St Michael's Church is situated alongside some of North Northumberland's major attractions. Just a short walk away is the town centre which has a host of cafe's, restaurants, accommodation, shops and gardens, museums.
