Church Of All Saints

Church of All Saints

This is a Grade I listed church of considerable historical importance. The building comprises an early 12th-century nave, an early 14th-century west tower (raised in the late 15th century), a north aisle, a chancel chapel, and a porch dated 1678. The structure is built of coursed rubble with freestone dressings and slate roofs.

The west tower rises in three stages with a projecting stair-turret at the south-west quoin. The first and second stages are lit by lancets with continuous chamfer. Below the square-headed 2-light belfry opening runs a chamfered string course, and the parapet is crenellated with corner finials. The main body of the church consists of a 4-bay nave with a north aisle and south porch, followed by a 2-bay chancel with a north chapel.

The nave features pointed windows of 2 trefoil-headed lights under hoodmould on the west and centre, and a round-headed 3-light window with Perpendicular tracery under hoodmould to the east. The south door originally had one order with nook-shafts (now missing) supporting scallop capitals that carry a lintel and tympanum; a sundial sits beneath a hollow moulding, and an 11th-century interlace cross-shaft has been inserted above.

The porch of 1678 has moulded capitals to a round, moulded arch, shaped kneelers, and a coped gable with finial. The chancel features a diagonal buttress with offsets, two 2-light square-headed windows with cusped ogee tracery under hoodmoulds flanking a round-headed priests' door with quirk and hollow chamfer imposts and shallow hoodmould, and a chamfered string course above. The east window is a 5-light 4-centred composition with Perpendicular tracery under hoodmould.

Inside, the tower stair has a shouldered arch with shouldered rear-arches to the lancets. The tower arch is pointed with double-chamfered orders, the inner order carried on corbels. The north arcade comprises cylindrical piers on raised waterholding bases (the centre pier has dogtooth moulding) supporting moulded capitals (with nailhead to the east and incised chevrons with nailhead to the west) and pointed double-chamfered arches. A pulpit dated 1719 features bolection-moulded panelling. An elaborate timber screen by Temple Moore sits beneath an elliptical double-chamfered chancel arch. The north chancel chapel arcade has an octagonal pier and filleted responds carrying two pointed double-chamfered arches under hoodmoulds.

The church contains significant memorials, notably to the family of the Earls of Burlington. A brass commemorates Richard Boyle, the architect, who died in 1753 (this and neighbouring brasses may have been removed from coffins in the family vault beneath the chancel). A memorial to Lady Grisold, Countess of Cumberland (died 1613) comprises white marble inscription set into a black marble slab on white marble urns with bosses. A wall tablet above commemorates Francis, son of Henry Lord Clifford, and shows a small effigy of a child in swaddling clothes beneath a laurel wreath, with the inscription "FRANCISCUS HENRICI DOM: CLIFF PRIMO - GENITUS HEU VIXIT HORAS 6 AD 1619".

A foliated cross grave slab stands against the north wall; three late 17th-century funeral banners (and remnants of a fourth) are suspended above. Gauntlets hang either side of the east window; the helmets that once accompanied them are now kept in the Rectory. An early 13th-century font, scalloped and supported on six dwarf colonettes with annuli, is also present. The church is notable for the large number of graffiti dating from the early 18th century onwards found around the south door of the porch.