Church Of All Saints

Church of All Saints

This is a parish church largely dating from the 12th to 15th centuries, located on Church Street in South Leverton. The chancel was restored by the architect Ewan Christian in 1868, and the remainder of the building was restored by C. Scholefield in 1897.

The structure is built in coursed squared rubble, coursed rubble, and snecked ashlar with ashlar dressings, beneath slate roofs. It comprises a west tower, nave, north aisle, vestry, south aisle, south porch, and chancel.

The west tower dates from the 12th and 15th centuries and rises through three stages. It features a chamfered plinth, two string courses, an eaves band, and a crenellated parapet, with the remains of a partial buttress to the south-east corner. Each of the north, south, and east sides has a single gargoyle. The west side displays a bolection-moulded, square-headed blocked doorway with above it a 14th-century single lancet with splayed reveal and hood mould. Higher still is a single round-headed light and a clock dating from 1977. The second stage contains four round-headed openings with colonettes, each holding two round-headed bell openings with central shafts and square capitals.

The north aisle comprises four bays with two pairs of corner buttresses and three intermediate buttresses, each with two set-offs. A square chimney stands on the south-east corner. The west end displays, to the right, a Tudor-arched blocked doorway with above it a 14th-century cusped trefoil-headed niche. To the left is a 14th-century triple lancet with flowing tracery and a coved and chamfered reveal. The north side has two similar 14th-century triple lancets with square heads and hood moulds. To their right is a 14th-century cusped trefoil-headed doorway with chamfered reveal, ogee hood mould, and foliate finial. The east end contains a similar triple lancet to the west end, restored in the 19th century.

The south aisle spans four bays with a pair of corner buttresses to the east and two intermediate buttresses, with two set-offs. It has a chamfered plinth and eaves, and two coped gables with crosses. The east end displays, to the left, a 14th-century triple lancet with round cusped heads and flowing tracery, above which is a central trefoil-headed chamfered niche. The south side features three 14th-century cusped triple lancets with chamfered and rebated reveals and hood moulds with mask stops. The west end has, to the right, a 14th-century double lancet with Y tracery, chamfered reveal, and hood mould with mask stops. Above is a niche similar to the east end. To the left are the remains of a coped gable, and further left a blocked 14th-century arch.

The south porch is 19th-century work executed in 14th-century style. It features a chamfered plinth and eaves, a string course, a pair of flanking buttresses, and a coped gable with a cross and gabled kneelers. The doorway is roll-moulded with a coved ogee hood mould and foliate finial, with a vaulted timber roof on corbels. The south doorway itself is of late 12th-century date with two orders; it has a chamfered and roll-moulded head and soffit decorated with double zigzag moulding. The outer soffit has cove and roll mouldings, and single colonettes with moulded square capitals.

The chancel dates from 1868 and comprises four bays with a chamfered plinth and eaves and coped gable with cross. The north side has four 13th-century-style single lancets with chamfered reveals and hood moulds. The east end has an eaves band and three similar unequal lancets. The south side has four similar lancets (restored in 1868) and a 13th-century priest's door with chamfered reveal and hood mould.

The nave arcades are 13th-century and feature two diagonally set square piers with four engaged ringed shafts, square bases, and stiff-leaf capitals. The keeled clustered ringed-shaft responds also have stiff-leaf capitals. The arches display triple roll-moulded intrados and soffit with keeled roll mould and rebate, and a hood mould with mask and foliate stops. The roof is 19th-century work with principal rafters, chamfered arch braces to collars, and struts to principals. Alternate bays have imposts with stiff-leaf capitals. The tower arch is 13th-century, double chamfered and rebated, with hood mould and mask stops. The octagonal imposts bear a moulded capital to the south and stiff-leaf to the north. Above is a blocked rebated doorway. The tower chamber contains a panelled stair enclosure and a west window with stained glass dating from 1896.

A central font stands in the nave. The north aisle has a 19th-century lean-to roof on corbels with arch braces. A panelled timber screen at the west end forms the vestry. The vestry's south wall incorporates a re-set mask corbel, a tomb slab, part of a headstone, and a slate plaque commemorating the 1897 restoration. Three roof lead plaques with the names of churchwardens and plumbers date from 1742, 1745, and 1780.

The south aisle features, to the east, a 14th-century trefoil-headed piscina with an octagonal bowl on a stem. The west end has a blocked 14th-century half arch. The north side displays ten carved late 14th-century corbels, two Romanesque corbels, and a Romanesque gargoyle. The roof is 19th-century principal rafter work with arched braces.

The chancel contains, to the north, a stained-glass window of 1867, and to the east a 19th-century panelled table with matching gradine and an east window with 19th-century stained glass. The south side has a restored square aumbry and a 15th-century segmental-headed aumbry with hood mould linked to a sill band. Additional stained-glass windows date from 1890, 1872, and the 19th century.

The church's fittings include roll-moulded deal benches of 1897; a timber eagle lectern; an octagonal pierced-panelled pulpit and matching choir stalls of 1898 with crocketed finials; two 17th-century chip-carved armchairs with angels in low relief; and a 15th-century plain tub font with an octagonal base and stem, with a cover featuring ogee brackets to the finial.

Monuments include a tablet of 1898 and brasses from 1910 and 1916.