Church Of All Saints

Church of All Saints

A parish church largely dating from the early 14th century with 15th-century features. The building was conservatively restored by C. Kirk in 1863-4. It is constructed of granite and limestone rubble with limestone ashlar dressings and has leaded roofs.

The church comprises a west tower and spire, a nave with two aisles and clerestory, and a chancel. The four-stage tower is built of coursed and squared limestone rubble, clasped by the aisles, with angle buttresses. The west door has a steep arch and hood mould, with a small quatrefoil window above. The bell chamber lights are paired with transoms and a central shaft. A parapet and frieze sit below the recessed spire.

The south aisle is of random granite rubble with a continuous string course and parapet above, the latter belonging to a later heightening also in granite rubble. A half-timbered porch, now blocked up, stands on this elevation. The Decorated aisle windows display 3 and 4 lights, with one window showing a simpler form of intersecting tracery. The 15th-century clerestory has an embattled parapet with paired lights.

The tall chancel is wider than the nave and has been heightened in granite rubble. Its south side has a priest's door and a 3-light window of intersecting tracery, with a 5-light Decorated east window. A vestry stands to the north. The north aisle features particularly ornate Decorated window tracery, notably in its east window. The north porch is wide with a coped gable and small triple lights in each wall. A tomb recess or Easter sepulchre has a shallow arch beneath a triangular hood mould.

Inside, the tower is contained within the body of the church with arches on three sides, these being double chamfered with semi-octagonal responds. The nave has arcades of four bays. The north arcade appears the earlier, with cylindrical shafts and double chamfered arches with corbel heads. Capitals are finely adorned with naturalistic foliage or slightly grotesque human figures; some link arms around the pier. The south arcade has octagonal shafts and double chamfered arches.

The nave roof is dated 1637 on the tie beam. It has curved tie beams with exuberant decoration, central bosses and tracery in the angle with the roof slope, and decorated wall plates. A wide chancel arch springs from heavy corbel heads.

The 15th-century screen comprises six tall traceried arches delicately wrought with a canopy above, painted. A tomb recess in the north aisle has a trefoiled arch beneath a pointed hood mould containing a mutilated angel's head. A piscina is located in the east wall. In the south aisle are a piscina and aumbrey. Windows throughout have shafts and hood moulds with corbel heads.

The chancel roof is similar to the nave though of slightly steeper pitch. Sedilia and a piscina to the south have foiled arches with hood moulds. A shouldered archway leads to a western vestry. Either side of the east window are memorial painted panels of 1905 in a style reminiscent of Burne-Jones, depicting angels and saints in rich colour with gilded inlay.

The stained glass includes medieval work: a medieval lion incorporated in a later pattern in the south aisle window to the west, the Four Evangelists of 1889, and an 1875 scene from the life of Christ in the south aisle. The chancel east window depicts scenes from the life of Christ in small lozenges.