views from the past.
We recently came across three photos of St. Michael’s taken before
its restoration was started in 1896. So, as you will see in the
slide show below, after each pre-restoration image there is
a photo of the church immediately after and, as it is now. The
contrast between then and now could hardly be more complete! Apart
from the windows and the top of the tower, the external exterior
looks pretty similar. But what neither photo shows is the addition
at the time of restoration of the side aisle on the north of the
church. This has made a huge difference both inside and out.
As for the interior, ‘restoration’ is the wrong word. It is a
complete transformation for which we can be immensely grateful to
those who have gone before. Victorian restoration can be tasteless
– even grim. But they have left Inkpen with a church for which the
village can be justly proud.
Use the numbered buttons below the following image, to navigate
between the ten images available.