Available onlineBerrill Building to St Michael's Church
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6. St Michael's Church
The first church on this site was built in 1189. At this time the area was 'walled' or fenced, giving it the name 'Walton'. The church was thoroughly restored in 1861 and again in the 1970s.
The church and churchyard contain a number of gravestones and memorials to the families that have resided in the parish of Walton over the centuries. The oldest memorial inside the church is to Elizabeth Pyxx who died from plague aged 11 in 1617, and was the daughter of the then Rector of Walton, William Pyxx.
When the University moved onto the campus the church was dilapidated. The last parish service was held there in 1974. The Open University leased the building and undertook a programme of extensive restoration and the church reopened with a concert in 1978.
Several staff of The Open University have been buried in the churchyard, including the University's first Secretary Anastasios Christodoulou.
The building is now frequently used for University clubs, choir rehearsals and performances, exhibitions and other functions.
A video by Architectural Historian Dr Susie West about St Michael's Church can be viewed on the Open Arts Archive. Dr West's video looks at the external and internal architecture and features of the Church.
The first image on this page shows the Church Building in 2015 with one of the graves in the foreground. The second is a view of the church in the snow.
