St Michael's Church

A beautiful medieval church on the river Thames in Berkshire. The Parish of Bray was within Royal domain and the present Church with its lovely chalk galleting was commissioned by Queen Margaret, wife of Edward Ist in1293 the church was built on a crossing place as there was once a ferry in Bray making it a strategic place for a church. Inside the church can be seen many fine armorial brasses including John Foxley the Constable of Windsor Castle in Edward III's reign. There is also a weathered "sheela na hug" a type of grotesque depicting a woman opening her vulva, a warning against lust, or an old Pagan goddess? According to legend the old Anglo-Saxon Church which always sat in an old location (possibly on the site of an old Roman temple) was in disrepair and needed to be rebuilt, however the devil's imps kept ruining it overnight. The builders decided to move St Michael's to its present location to avoid further disruption.