The church of St Michael and All Angels, Averham, is the featured church for April 2023. The village of Averham is 3.3 km (2.1 miles) west of Newark, on the west bank of the River Trent.
The church comprises a west tower, nave, chancel, organ chamber and vestry (formerly a mausoleum for members of the Sutton family), and south porch. It was restored by Charles Baily in 1857 and again in 1907 by Charles Hodgson Fowler.
The church walls contains much counter-pitched (i.e. ‘herringbone’) masonry that has long been thought to be Norman in date. However, recent investigations have revealed that the east wall of the tower in the first floor chamber contained ‘a blocked, rubble-headed doorway that once provided access to the high level of the nave at its west end, along with evidence of a pitched roof line above.’ A section of timber embedded in the wall at the north side of the roof line showed that this was the stub end of a former timber that lay exactly along the slope of the former roof. The timber has been radiocarbon dated to AD 1000 ± 33 years proving that this phase of the tower is of Anglo-Saxon date and analysis of the exterior south wall suggests that there is a lower section that may be earlier in date. It is likely that the tower was a tower-nave with a now lost section of the church lying further west.
The chancel was extended in the 14th/15th century and has an early 14th century east window.
The embattled south porch was built for Sir Thomas Sutton, who died in 1525, and his wife. His monogram and arms appear above the outer doorway.
The wooden chancel screen is early perpendicular in style.
The church contains several notable monuments. In a recess on the south nave wall is the earliest known alabaster effigy of a man in civilian dress (John de Sutton who died in 1369). An impressive monument to Sir William Sutton (died 1611) and his wife against the north chancel wall has life-size recumbent alabaster effigies and has been attributed to William Hargrave. A fine wall memorial to Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexington (died 1668), is on the south chancel wall.
There are several Victorian stained glass windows in the church but the most interesting is one set into the north wall of the chancel that contains a design put together c1885 by the Rev J H Sutton using fragments of old glass found in a cellar at Kelham Hall.
Further information on the church can be found at the Southwell and Nottingham Church History Project website.