St Michael's Church, Bath

St Michael's Church is a Church of England parish church in Bath, Somerset.BackgroundIt is located between Broad and Walcot Streets, which both merge onto Northgate Street. Located next to the Post Office Building, the south tower (referred to as the W tower) fronts Northgate street and dominates Bath's skyline. The current structure was designed by George Phillips Manners. It possesses a fine example of a Sweetland Organ.The Church of St Michael's is known as St Michael's Without - it being the first church to be found outside the original city walls when exiting from the North Gate. The parish itself was known as St Michael's with St Paul's.In 2013, with the closure of Holy Trinity Church Queen's Square, the parish boundary grew as the two parishes were merged under St Michael's. At this time, the parish reverted to its original name of St Michael's Without.From Mondays to Saturdays, the church plays host to a cafe serving hot drinks, cakes and snacks.ClergyThe Revd Martin Lloyd Williams was rector of St Michael's from 1997 until January 2015, when he left to become Archdeacon of Brighton and Lewes. There is currently an interregnum.In November 2015, it was announced that the Revd Roger Driver would become the new incumbent in 2016.Medieval ChurchThe parish has been located here, outside the walls, since medieval times. It was outside the Northgate and would have been passed by wool merchants traveling on London Road. The area that would in Georgian times be called Bath New Town (not to be confused with neighboring Bathwick New Town) was known as St. Michael's.Georgian ChurchDesigned and constructed by craftsmen J. Harvey between 1734 and 1742, the structure featured an impressive dome and was half the size of the current Victorian structure.