Church of St Michael the Archangel, Aldershot

's stillborn child with Charles II is buried in the churchyard.]] The land on which St Michael's now stands was personally owned by Alfred the Great and when he died he left the land to the monks of Winchester Cathedral. The church was probably built sometime around 1120. The earliest mention of St Michael's church dates to 1121 and concerns wax for candles. The church is mentioned again in 1171 regarding an annual payment made by the parish of Aldershot to the Priory of St Swithun for the maintenance of three lights to burn continually before the High Altar there. In 1399 the parish priest, John Bertone, was severely attacked while officiating in the church. By 1400 the church was in a…

The tower's foundations sit on large blocks of sarsen stone on a subsoil of London clay. During the reign of Elizabeth I the upper part of the tower was rebuilt and formed part of a chain of beacons to warn against the threatened invasion of the Spanish. It is built from local 'galleted' iron stone with mortar and flints and dressings of narrow red bricks. The tower clock was made by James Styles of Odiham and was donated by the Revd. Ceorge West in 1810. The dial was restored in 1966. In 1912 a new nave, chancel, and North arcade were added to a design by Sir Thomas Jackson, R.A. ]] The chancel contains monuments dedicated to the local White and Tichborne Family. The wall memorial to Lady…

The ancient churchyard is on land donated by John-atte-Halle in a deed dated 24 October 1409. It is approached by a lychgate donated by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Finch in 1954. In 1527 Thomas Hore, the Chaplain, had a meeting with his churchwardens and various leading parishioners to discuss fencing the churchyard in order to prevent irreverent behaviour such as May dancing and ribald talk. Near the lychgate is an ancient yew tree which a guide to Aldershot (1859) claimed `In its prime the yew was the admiration of the whole neighbourhood and people travelled miles to see it'. Local legend has it that it was beneath this tree that the stillborn child of Nell Gwynne and Charles II was buried.…