St Michael and All Angels Church, Hughenden

St Michael and All Angels Church stands in the Hughenden Valley near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. Built on land owned by the National Trust but belonging to the Church of England, it is closely linked with Hughenden Manor and the former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, who is buried in the churchyard. The church occupies a site where a building existed in the 12th century, constructed by Geoffrey de Clinton between 1100 and 1135. Monks later established a small priory in what is now the parish hall, Church House. The original mediaeval structure forms the chancel and north chapel of today’s church. The church’s restoration and extension between 1874 and 1890 followed Disraeli’s purchase of Hughenden Manor. He served as Prime Minister twice and was made Earl of Beaconsfield in 1876. After his death in 1881, he was buried in the family vault along the west wall with his wife Lady Beaconsfield. Queen Victoria visited the tomb days later, though she did not attend the private funeral. The church’s walls display 1881 paintings by Heaton, Butler and Bayne in the Aesthetic Movement style, depicting scenes from the Nativity and figures of the Four Evangelists and Prophets. Visitors find flint and stone walls with tiled roofs and a chancel formed from the original mediaeval church. The floor is covered with ceramic tiles designed by Edward William Godwin, and a memorial to Disraeli stands on the north side of the chancel. This memorial, erected by Queen Victoria, is the only one placed by a reigning monarch in an English parish church. Stained-glass windows include works by Thomas Willement and Clayton and Bell, such as the 1881 East Window showing Christ in Majesty. The ornate pulpit, carved by Thomas Earp, features effigies of archangels, and the church grounds have appeared in films and television series including Johnny English and Victoria & Abdul.