Kenchester is a village in central Herefordshire, some 5 miles WNW of Hereford. The village is clustered along a minor road to the N of the A438 Hereford to Brecon road, and at its S end is the site of the Roman town of Magnis, with the church alongside. St Michael’s is a simple, 2 cell building of roughly-coursed sandstone rubble, sited alongside outbuildings of Court Farm. There is a 15thc S porch, but the 12thc origins of the church are revealed by the plain lancets in the chancel and the S nave doorway, described here. There is also a font that might well be a 12thc remodelling of a Roman column from Magnis. The church was restored by Nicholson and Hartree, 1901-02 and 1909.

A manor of 2 hides was held by the canons of St Peter’s, Hereford, in 1066 and 1086. A further holding of 2 hides was held by Thorkil in 1066 and Hugo l’Aisne in 1086.

For the doorway, similar treatment of a continuous order is very common throughout the county. The font was not noted by Pevsner (1963), but RCHME (1932), followed by Brooks (2012) convincingly suggested that it might be a re-used and remodelled Roman column from Magnis, on a 12thc base.