The most obvious survivor is the square early-sixteenth-century west tower. Its stone walls, upper bell-chamber openings and embattled parapet retain the character of the old church even though the nave and chancel have disappeared.
One of the most revealing details is visible on the east side of the tower. The outline of the former nave roof remains marked against the stonework, showing exactly where the demolished church once connected with the tower. It allows visitors to read the lost building directly from the surviving masonry.
Historic England's current listing also identifies the altar as a surviving fragment of the former church. The protected site is therefore not simply the tower alone: the tower and altar together preserve physical evidence of St Michael's former arrangement.
The surrounding churchyard is an essential part of the atmosphere and historic meaning of the Mount. It represents generations of local parish life and helps explain that this was once an active community church rather than an isolated monument beside a major road.
The setting today could hardly be more different from the landscape in which the church originated. Modern roads and development dominate the lower ground, while vegetation restricts some of the long views once associated with the Mount. The contrast makes the tower particularly striking: a centuries-old structure surviving above a landscape transformed by modern Pitsea.
The surviving tower has been adapted for telecommunications use. This unusual modern function has given the historic structure another chapter in its long life while leaving its importance as a listed landmark intact.
St Michael's tells several parts of Pitsea's story in one place: medieval parish history, early-sixteenth-century craftsmanship, Victorian church rebuilding, centuries of subsidence, twentieth-century road development, the loss of historic buildings and modern heritage protection. Very few surviving structures in Pitsea can demonstrate such a long sequence of change.
The tower and altar remain Grade II listed. Historic England describes the tower as an important and imposing landmark high on Pitsea Mount and considers the surviving fragments significant for understanding the history and evolution of Pitsea.