St Michael
Alnwick, Northumberland
Spacious perpendicular style church with many medieval features including the Hotspur pillar and a charter from 1464 charter of Henry VI that two 'burgesses' of Alnwick rebuilt their church.
In 1838 the Meeting House was enlarged and then in 1890, due to the increasing congregation a bigger building was required, this was completed in 1894. The Tercentenary of the church was celebrated in 1989 with various special events. In 2007-2008 the building was redeveloped to meet modern needs.
St James church is the last surviving former Presbyterian church still in use in Alnwick, the churches in Clayport and Lisburn Street having merged with it over the years.
The present building was completed in 1894 and a commemoration stone with this date can be seen on the outer wall by the front door. The commemoration stone for the completion of the previous building in 1838 can be seen at the foot of the staircase.
The redevelopment of the buildings in 2007-2008 involved the selling of the old hall next door for conversion to affordable housing. The church was then split vertically into two, giving a worship area upstairs and a large hall and facilities downstairs.
The church has two large stained glass windows, both of which are memorials. The one on the north wall commemorates the short life of James MacNair. The window on the south wall had to be resited during the redevelopment and is now in the stairwell upstairs illuminated in a light box. It commemorates the Martha, the wife of George Reavell. There are several war memorial tablets sited around the building.
