St Michael's Church is in Church Lane, Aughton, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Ormskirk, the archdeaconry of Wigan & West Lancashire, and the diocese of Liverpool. Its benefice is united with that of Holy Trinity, Bickerstaffe.[1] The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.[2]
The oldest fabric in the church is a blocked Norman doorway, and an adjacent section of the wall. The nave and steeple date from the 14th century,[3] and a chancel was present in the 15th century.[2] In about 1545–48 the north aisle was rebuilt, replacing an earlier, narrower aisle.[3] The church was restored in 1876 by W. and J. Hey, during which the chancel and the west windows of the nave and aisle were rebuilt.[2][3] There was a further restoration in 1913–14 when the north vestry was enlarged.[3]
The church is constructed in local grey-brown sandstone,[3] with stone slate roofs.[2] Its plan consists of a nave with a south porch, a north aisle of similar width to the nave, a chancel with a north chapel and a vestry to the north of that, and a steeple in the east angle between the nave and the aisle. The tower broaches to an octagonal bell stage, and this is surmounted by a spire. The window at the west end of the nave and of the aisle each has four lights. In the south wall of the nave are three two-light windows and one window with three lights. To the east of the porch is a blocked Norman doorway, which is partly hidden by a buttress. There are three three-light windows in the south wall of the chancel, and at the east end of the chancel is a five-light window. The east end of the chapel contains a three-light window, with another three-light window above it. Along the wall of the aisle are four three-light windows, and there is a two-light window on the north side of the tower.[2]
Inside the church is a four-bay arcade, beyond which is the tower arch. In a recess in the north wall of the chancel is a 19th-century chest tomb. The chancel roof is supported by corbels carved with angels.[2] The octagonal font is in Decorated style. In a recess in the north wall of the church is part of an Anglo-Saxon cross-head, which has been dated to about 850. Under the tower is a medieval graveslab. A window on the north side of the church contains fragments of medieval glass.[3] There is a ring of six bells; four of these were cast in 1715 by Abraham Rudhall I, and the other two in 1935 by Gillett and Johnston.[4]
In the churchyard, to the south of the church, is the sandstone base of a medieval cross, consisting of a square base containing a square socket.[5] The churchyard contains war graves of a Royal Army Medical Corps officer of World War I, and two airmen and an officer and sergeant of the Royal Artillery of World War II.[6]