Church Of All Hallows

The Church of All Hallows is a parish church, now vested in the Redundant Churches Fund, dating back to the 13th century, with additions from the 14th century and a late 19th-century restoration by Hodgson Fowler. The building is constructed of ironstone and limestone, with a slate roof and brick blocking. It comprises a chancel and a late 19th-century western porch.

The west front features a projecting, flat-roofed porch built by Hodgson Fowler in the late 19th century, incorporating the 13th-century west door. This doorway has a pointed arch with roll moulding, a zone of dogtooth, a chamfer, slightly moulded imposts, and single engaged shafts on the reveals with a further zone of dogtooth behind. The hood mould is hacked back flush. The imposts continue as string courses to either side. The porch is built against the blocking of the 13th-century chancel arch, which is visible to either side and has a double chamfer. To either side of the arch are the responds of the 13th-century nave arcades, featuring engaged octagonal piers with hollow moulded capitals, a zone of hobnail decoration, and hollow moulded abaci. On the north side of the chancel arch, a respond of curling tail form is visible, ornamented with a hobnailed octagonal capital. The north wall of the nave has a chamfered plinth, as do the other walls of the church. The east wall of the chancel contains a late 14th-century three-light window, which is a 19th-century restoration. The lights have cusped ogee heads and are contained within a three-centred single chamfered arch with a moulded hood mould. On the south side of the chancel is a priest’s door, now blocked in brick, with chamfered reveals and a flat ogee head. Above this is a probably contemporary early 14th-century two-light window with cusped ogee trefoil heads and quatrefoil over, contained within a pointed single chamfered arch with a chamfered hood mould and human head label stops. To the east is a single similar window.

Inside, the shape of the chancel arch is visible in the east wall, and to either side of the 19th-century west door are recesses with heads made from reused sections of 13th-century roll mouldings. In the south wall is a sedilia with a fine deeply cusped ogee head. The sanctuary contains a piscina with a cusped ogee head and a slightly projecting rounded fluted basin. The sanctuary floor has Minton tiles. The 19th-century roof has a contemporary painting. The font is 15th-century and was brought from the church at Low Toynton (Lincolnshire). It is octagonal, with arcades depicting figures of saints around the stem, and the bowl is also octagonal, with angels, a Tudor rose, other flowers, and pairs of figures in the square side panels. In the reveal of the south priest’s door is a loose 13th-century base, octagonal, with nail head decoration, originally from the demolished nave arcade. Other fittings are 19th-century. A ledger slab commemorating Robert Blanchard, Priest, 14th century, is set before the altar steps, featuring a Latin inscription, engraved with a crossfleury and chalice.