Church Of All Saints

Church of All Saints

This parish church dates from the early 12th century (c.1200), with additions from the 14th century and significant restoration in 1857. It is constructed of coursed limestone and ironstone rubble with limestone ashlar, and features slate and lead roofs with stone coped gables and cross finials.

The church comprises a west tower, nave with north and south aisles, a south porch, and a chancel with a north organ chamber.

The early 14th-century west tower is a substantial and ornate structure. It has a moulded plinth and string course, with three-stage angle buttresses, each stage defined by ornate crocketed and finialled gables springing from human and angel busts and animal heads. Slit stair lights are positioned immediately to the left of the south-west buttress. The pointed west window contains two cusped ogee-headed lights with reticulated tracery, a hood mould and head label stops. A moulded string course runs above, with a narrow rectangular light with chamfered surround to the west and north. Above this sits a niche on the west side with a crocketed and finialled gable, containing a late 13th-century figure of Christ in a cusped, round-headed opening. A moulded string course defines the bell stage above, with pointed bell openings on all four sides, each having a double chamfered surround and two cusped, ogee-headed lights with quatrefoils. Moulded eaves with corner gargoyles and battlements complete the tower.

The 19th-century north aisle has a doorway to the right with a pointed head, continuous chamfered surround, hood mould and plank door. To the left is a window with a segmental head, three cusped pointed lights and hood mould, with two similar windows beyond. The east end of the north aisle features a pointed doorway with chamfered surround, hood mould and plank door. A clerestory contains four 19th-century windows, each with a flattened triangular head, two cusped ogee-headed lights and hood mould, with moulded eaves above.

The east end of the chancel is flanked by two-stage angle buttresses. The pointed east window, restored in the 19th century, contains three cusped, ogee-headed lights with reticulated tracery, hood mould and head label stops. The south side of the chancel is plain except for a slate memorial to Richard Casswell, who died in 1845. The east end of the 19th-century south aisle is plain; the south side features two pointed windows with two plate trefoil-headed lights and quatrefoils.

A gabled porch to the west contains a 13th-century doorway with a double chamfered pointed head, polygonal responds, hood mould and head label stops. The porch interior is flanked by stone benches with single blocked rectangular windows to the east and west, the former containing fragments of medieval tracery on the sill. A late 12th-century south doorway, restored in the 19th century, has a pointed, moulded head with fillets, jambs including single flanking shafts with damaged crocket capitals, hood mould with 19th-century head label stops, and a plank door. To the west of the porch is another pointed window with two plate trefoil-headed lights and a quatrefoil. A 20th-century lean-to extends to the west. The south clerestory contains four 19th-century windows with flattened triangular heads, two cusped ogee lights and hood moulds.

The interior features an early 14th-century tower arch with a triple chamfered head, triple rolled jambs with continuous richly foliate capitals, hood mould and head label stops. The original roof line of the nave is visible above with flanking corbels. The four-bay north aisle, dating to c.1200, has polygonal responds, octagonal piers, pointed double chamfered heads and hood moulds with rosettes in the spandrels. The late 12th-century south arcade features polygonal responds, round piers with octagonal abaci, pointed double chamfered heads, hood moulds and rosettes in spandrels. The chancel arch, also c.1200, has a pointed, double chamfered head with polygonal responds bearing beaded polygonal capitals and a hood mould with head label stops. The north organ chamber archway, dating to c.1300, has a pointed, moulded head with keeled responds with fillets and richly foliate capitals, with hood moulds on both north and south sides and head label stops. Within the organ chamber, now used as a vestry, is the remnant of an early 12th-century pilaster buttress. A corbel with castellated decoration is visible in the north aisle of the nave.

The interior furnishings are largely 19th-century, comprising roofs, altar rail, pulpit, lectern and pews. A 15th-century octagonal font rests on an octagonal plinth and pedestal, with an inscription running around the fields reading "Jesus Christ Maria Baptista", and in the eighth panel "priur", interpreted as "in principio".

The monuments include a white marble example with broken pediment and flaming urn to Martha Baskett, died 1746; another in white and grey marble to Caroline Waters, died 1841; another in black and gold with an urn by Phillips of Bourne, to Irton Murthwaite, died 1793; and an oval white monument to Elizabeth Fothergil, died 1811.