Our church building

Listed Grade I, St Michael’s stands beside the line of Hadrian's Wall on the site of the Roman fort of Aballava which, from the 3rd century, had a garrison of Moors; this led to the establishment here of the first recorded African community in Britain. Built largely of Roman stones, the church dates from the 12th century; aisles were added in the 13th century when the finely decorated North doorway (much restored in the 1880s) was moved to its present position. The South aisle collapsed (and was not replaced) when the fortified bell-tower was constructed in 1360. This was designed to be a refuge in times of trouble on the Border; access to its vaulted ground floor was only possible through a strong iron ‘yett’, the skeleton of a reinforced oak door. Later, in the 16th century, a circular port enabled a firearm to cover the defensible western door of the north aisle. In the upper levels of the tower, partly rebuilt in the 18th century, two original 14th-century bells survive. After King Edward I died on Burgh marsh in 1307, his body had lain In State for a few days inside the church – a quite extraordinary occasion for a small village. At the East end of the building, a highly unusual additional structure, now the vestry, was probably the house of the priest; much later it became a school, and then a barn.