Much of the interior that visitors notice first is Victorian rather than medieval. The carved poppy-head pews date from 1842, when the church was reordered. Their carved ends are among the most decorative features in the building.
The west gallery was also added during the nineteenth century. Originally it was reached by an outside staircase and doorway in the west wall. When the church was restored in 1907, the stairs were added in the tower and the entrance was moved inside. If you look carefully, you can still see traces of the earlier arrangement.
Together, the pews and gallery remind us that churches are never fixed in one moment of time. Every generation leaves its mark, and the Victorian generation changed the appearance of St Michael’s just as surely as the Normans and medieval builders did before them.