| St Michael's Church, Bray | |
|---|---|
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| 51°30′32.56″N 0°42′07.07″W / 51.5090444°N 0.7019639°W | |
| Location | Bray, Berkshire | 
| Country | England | 
| Denomination | Church of England | 
| Website | braystmichael.co.uk | 
| Administration | |
| Archdeaconry | Berkshire | 
| Deanery | Maidenhead and Windsor | 
| Parish | Bray and Braywood | 
St Michael's Church, Bray, is a Grade II* listed parish church[1] in the Church of England in Bray, Berkshire.
History
The church dates from 1293, supposedly to replace a Saxon church at Water Oakley.[2]
It was partly rebuilt ca. 1500 and extensively restored 1857–82 by Thomas Henry Wyatt.
It has a number of sculptures which may have come from the earlier church, including a damaged Sheela na Gig.
The ecclesiastical parish shares the wide parish boundaries so is named Bray St Michael with Braywoodside.[3]
Monuments

The church contains several brasses from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, notably that of 1378 to Sir John Foxley, the Constable of Southampton Castle. Other monuments are:
- William Goddard of Philibert, d.1609, founder of Jesus Hospital, and Joyce Maunsell his wife, d.1622.[4]
 - Mary Hanger (d.1738) sculpted by Peter Scheemakers.[5]
 
Vicars of Bray
See The Vicar of Bray for the satirical description, or The Vicar of Bray (song) for the English folk song.
- Reinbald 1081
 - Roger 1288
 - Henry de Chilbalton 1301
 - Roger de Crossby 1327
 - William Scherreve 1368–75
 - John Dray 1382
 - Thomas Gernon 1382–96
 - William Dyer 1396–1440
 - Robert Manfelde 1440–43
 - Thomas Pashe 1443–44
 - Thomas Topclyf 1444
 - Thomas Luyde 1444–54
 - William Morris 1454–79
 - Thomas Phillippis 1479–97
 - John Perkwyn 1497
 - John Halle 1504
 - Richard Watts 1504–20
 - John Mogeryge 1521–23
 - Simon Symonds 1523–47
 - William Stafferton 1548–55
 - Alexander Barlo 1556
 - Simon Aleyn 1557–65
 - Henry Cranshawe 1565
 - David Tuke 1589–99
 - Edward Cranceshaw 1599
 - Edward Boughton 1621–40
 - Anthony Faringdon 1640–42
 - Hezekiah Woodward 1649–60
 - Edward Boughton 1660
 - Edward Fulham 1660–62
 - Francis Carswell 1665–1709
 - Thomas Brown 1709–59
 - George Berkeley 1759–69
 - Hon George Hamilton 1769–87
 - Edward Townshend 1787–1822
 - Walter Levett 1822–25
 - George Legge 1825–26
 - Walter Levett 1826–53
 - James Austen Leigh 1853–74
 - William Brassey Hole 1874–87
 - Charles Raymond 1887–1915
 - William Riddelsdell 1915–31
 - Arthur Jones 1931–45
 - Edward Lowman 1945–58
 - Sidney Doran 1958–77
 - Neil Howells 1977–84
 - George Repath 1985–2007
 - Richard Cowles 2008
 
References
- ↑ Historic England. "Church of St Michael, Bray (Grade II*) (1312994)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
 - ↑ Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (1849). The Ecclesiastical and Architectural Topography of England. Vol. II. Bedfordshire (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Oxfordshire, Suffolk). Oxford and London: John Henry Parker. p. 59. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
 - ↑ The Church of England "A Church Near You".
 - ↑ Victoria County History for Berkshire. Vol III., p.107
 - ↑ Gunnis, Rupert F. (1953). Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851. London: Odhams Press.
 
