St Michael's Church, Stretton en le Field

St Michael’s Church stands in the quiet Leicestershire village of Stretton en le Field. Built mainly in the 14th century, it grew over the centuries with a 15th-century tower, 16th-century clerestory and a spire rebuilt in 1889. The church is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust after being declared redundant. Its Grade II* listing recognises the building’s special historic interest. Local sandstone gives the exterior its warm, earthy colour. The church’s architecture shows careful craftsmanship from several periods. The tower has two stages, a battlemented parapet and a recessed spire above. Inside, a three-bay arcade separates the nave from the north aisle, where remnants of a tomb recess survive. Square brick tiles cover the floor, and the roof is decorated with bosses and carved grotesque figures. Eighteenth-century box pews and a turned baluster chancel rail remain in place. Visitors find a calm interior filled with historic details. Leaded lights fill the windows, and the chancel arch is a painted wooden imitation of stone. The font dates from about 1662, and an alabaster slab commemorates Richard Savage and his wife from 1489. A brass tablet records that every man from the parish who served in the Great War returned safely, marking the village as one of the Thankful Villages.