St Michael's Church, Berechurch

St Michael's Church, Berechurch
St Michael's Church, Berechurch, from the southeast
St Michael's Church, Berechurch Location in Essex
Coordinates: 51°51′36″N 0°53′33″E / 51.8600°N 0.8926°E / 51.8600; 0.8926
OS grid reference	TL 993 219
Location	Berechurch, Essex
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Churches Conservation Trust
History
Dedication	Saint Michael
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	24 February 1950
Architect(s)	Charles Pertwee (partial rebuilding)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic Revival
Completed	1878
Closed	1975
Specifications
Materials	Brick with stone banding and dressings Roof tiled

St Michael's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Berechurch, Essex, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands on the south side of Berechurch Hall Road south of the town of Colchester.

St Michael's has never been a parish church, but rather a chapel of ease to Holy Trinity Church, Colchester. It is possible that a church was on the site in the 11th century, but the earliest part of the present building is the tower, which dates from the 14th century. The rest of the church was rebuilt in the late 15th century, re-using some of the earlier material. A chapel was added to the north of the church in the early 16th century, and this was completed before 1533. In 1536 Thomas Audley, the Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII, was licensed to create a separate rectory at Berechurch, and it is thought that Audley may have been responsible for building the chapel, which now bears his name. More work was done to the church in the early 17th century.

In 1872 the church was entirely rebuilt, apart from the tower and the Audley Chapel, by Charles Pertwee, re-using some of the earlier features. The south porch was added in 1878. After the Second World War, the nearby town of Colchester grew, and new housing estates were built in the area. St Michael's became too small for the congregation, and a new church dedicated to Saint Margaret was built nearby in 1968–72. The congregation moved to the new church in 1973, and St Michael's was declared redundant in 1975. The main part of the church was converted for other uses, but the Audley chapel was vested in the Churches Conservation Trust in 1981.