Church of All Saints

Church of All Saints

Parish church built in 1821 by the Butterley Company. It was restored in 1951 and a baptistery was added in 1921. The building is constructed from coursed squared gritstone with ashlar dressings and has a slate roof with stone coped gables on gableted kneelers and ridge finials. A coved eaves band runs along the nave.

The church comprises a five bay nave with a south-west tower, a single bay chancel, and a baptistery to the north-east. It has a plinth throughout.

The gabled west end of the nave features three stepped double chamfered lancets flanked by stepped gableted buttresses, with stepped angle buttresses at the corners. A central moulded circular window sits above in the gable. The north nave elevation has a wide bay to the west with two double chamfered lancets flanked by stepped buttresses, and four pointed two-light cusped traceried windows to the east. The easternmost window is now blocked by the 1921 baptistery, which is of no special interest. The north chancel elevation is also blocked by the baptistery. The east window contains three lights with geometric tracery and is topped by a small moulded circular window in the gable, with flanking buttresses. The south elevation displays a trefoil-headed lancet and pointed door to the chancel, and four pointed two-light windows similar to those on the north. Stepped buttresses separate the bays and stand at the east corner.

The west end features a three stage tower with full height stepped angle buttresses. The first stage contains a moulded pointed south door with inner moulding on nook-shafts with foliage capitals, and an angled staircase turret to the west side. A continuous moulded sill string-course sits above, with three adjoining trefoil-headed lancets under a continuous hoodmould; the lancets to either side are blind. The bell stage above has a chamfered band at its base and large pointed moulded arches to each side, each containing three stepped trefoil-headed lancets. The lancets to either side feature louvres, and the central one has circular clock faces at the top decorated with cusped dagger motifs. The clock faces are made of cast iron and were designed by John Alleyne. A cornice with ballflower decoration sits over embattled parapets. All openings have hoodmoulds with foliage stops except the four south nave windows. There is a western blind arcaded gallery on iron columns.

Inside, the church features a tall double chamfered pointed chancel arch with soffit on foliage corbels and hoodmould. A Caernarvon arched doorcase connects the chancel to the baptistery. Arched braced roof trusses on foliage corbels span the nave, and scissor trusses span the chancel. Fittings are mostly from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. An octagonal stone font has blind trefoil headed panels to the stem and blind quatrefoil panels to the sides of the bowl. An unusual Art Nouveau style polygonal pulpit is made from alabaster and green marble, with a war memorial in a similar style. Three early nineteenth century brass plaques and later nineteenth century marble wall memorials are present. The nave windows contain coloured glass, with a circa 1950 east window.