St. Michael's Church, Southampton

Following the Norman Conquest of England, the town of Southampton was moved west from the original Saxon settlement of Hamwic, around the older St. Mary's Church, to higher ground closer to the River Test. Archaeological evidence has dated the foundation of the church at 1070 and the church was dedicated to St. Michael, patron saint of Normandy. The original church was built on a cruciform plan; the earliest parts of the present church are the lower storeys of the central tower. In the 1960s, the entire church was restored at a total cost of £36,000, with the work being completed in time for the church's 900th anniversary in 1970.

The walls average 3 ft 10in in thickness and are pierced towards the chancel, nave and transepts with semi-circular arches of a single square order. The arches are of equal span but are irregularly placed in their respective sides. The chancel is 22 ft 6in square. The lower part of the east wall is substantially 12th century. There is a triple arch piscina with double "bason" (c.1260) and a 15th-century single piscina. The north and south chapels, flanking the chancel, open to the chancel by fine arches of two chamfered orders. The south chapel, now used as a vestry, has a four-light east window similar to that in the north chapel. The 15 ft wide arch (now blocked up) leading to the chantry…