St Michael's Church, Burgh by Sands

St Michael’s Church stands in the quiet village of Burgh by Sands on the northern edge of Cumbria. It is built on the line of Hadrian’s Wall and is one of the few churches in England to have had two fortified towers. The church is made from red and calciferous sandstone taken from the nearby wall, giving it a warm, earthy colour. Its green slate roof and battlemented parapet add to its solid, medieval look. The west tower still rises three storeys high, while the east tower now serves as a two-storey vestry. The north doorway, moved from the west end, shows fine Norman carving with beakhead decoration. The church’s history reaches back to the late 12th century, with the north aisle added around 1200. In the 14th century two fortified towers were added, one of which collapsed during building work in 1360 and had to be rebuilt. Edward I died in the village in 1307 and lay in state inside the church. The building was restored in 1880–81, and the stained glass includes work by Heaton, Butler and Bayne from 1898. A carved Roman corbel stone in the chancel links the church to the Roman past of the area. Inside, the church has a three-bay north arcade with pointed arches on octagonal columns. The chancel arch and aumbry recess date from the 19th-century restoration. A small passage leads up into the base of the tower, protected by an iron gate. The vestry on the east side has a blocked 15th-century window and an 18th-century round-headed window below a 19th-century sash window. The south wall shows blocked medieval windows and later 19th-century additions, while the north aisle windows contain stained glass depicting Edward I.