St Michael & All Angels

The church of St Michael & All Angels is a holy place with a long history stretching back to Saxon times; and it is an architectural gem.

It has a 'theatrical quality' (Pevsner) standing on its cliff overlooking the River Thames. The oldest remaining elements are the monumental south aisle pillars of the 12th century.

The church was rebuilt by the great Victorian architect George Gilbert Scott in the 19th century and is one of his early masterpieces; he went on to design the Albert Memorial and St Pancras Hotel. 'We have had little to restore, it is rather a refoundation', he wrote when working at Clifton Hampden; it is in effect a fine early Tractarian building. The screen with St Michael at the top surrounded by his angels is particularly important, a miniature version of those of Hereford (now in the V & A) and Lichfield Cathedrals.

The churchyard dates from 1819 and among those buried in it are Sergeant William Dyke, who is said to have fired the first shot at the Battle of Waterloo, and Major John Howard, who led the daring Pegasus Bridge glider raid in the Second World War. The church was a major element of the physical development of the village during the 19th century; at that time also were built the village school, the bridge across the Thames replacing the old ferry and the village hall.

It is at the centre of what Jerome K Jerome called 'a wonderfully pretty village'.