Church Of All Saints

Church of All Saints

A parish church of 13th and 14th-century origin, reconstructed around 1864 by the architect G. F. Bodley. The building is constructed of ashlar with evidence of coursed rubble at the base, and features tiled roofs with decorated ridges and ridge crosses to the chancel and porch.

The church comprises a tower, nave, north and south aisles, a south porch, and a chancel. The exterior is buttressed throughout, with a string course running beneath the windows and over the south chancel door. This string course is interrupted by the porch and does not extend to the west end of the north aisle or to the tower.

The 13th and 14th-century tower stands in two stages with a string course at the junction. The west wall of the first floor contains a single lancet window with hoodmould and label stops. The bell tower has four 2-light traceried windows with hoodmoulds. The tower is embattled and features four crocketed pinnacles, with guttering running beneath and two surviving spouts.

The north aisle's west wall displays a 2-light arched traceried window with hoodmould and label stops. The north side has a blocked doorway to the aisle with a hoodmould supported on imposts, together with two square-headed traceried windows. The vestry has two lancet windows and a single ashlar stack, whilst the east wall has a square-headed window with tracery. The chancel window is a traceried arch with three lights. The south chancel contains a door with a moulded arch and a 2-light square-headed window with tracery.

The south aisle's east window is an arched traceried opening with three lights and a quatrefoil, with hoodmould and label stops. Beneath the gable is a single quatrefoil with hoodmould. The two south aisle windows are both arched with two lights and quatrefoils, each with a hoodmould. The porch is coped and gabled with diagonal buttresses, and has single quatrefoils to its east and west sides, with a moulded arch over the porch gate.

The interior porch contains a 13th-century doorway with plain capitals supporting an arch decorated with dogtooth moulding and a hoodmould above.

The interior nave is separated from the aisles by a 13th-century arcade of three bays to either side. The north arcade has octagonal piers with nailhead moulding on the capitals, whilst the south arcade has cylindrical piers with plain capitals. Both support chamfered arches. An arch to the tower contains a circular font, and an arch from the north aisle leads to the organ chamber. The chancel and nave are divided by a carved oak and gilt screen dating to around 1890, also by Bodley, with an arch over. The chancel contains arches over the south door, the north door to the vestry, and the organ chamber.

Most of the church's furnishings are by Bodley, with the exception of three pews at the back of the north aisle which date to the 15th century and feature poppyheads and blind tracery to their ends. The chancel floor is laid with encaustic tiles, and contains oak choir stalls with brass candlesticks and an altar rail with gold decoration. In place of a sedilia is an oak settle with gold decoration and a heavy, elaborately carved canopy above. The gilt and coloured reredos is elaborately carved with a decorated cross inset with colourless stones at its centre. An oak and gilt altar table stands within the chancel, and a piscina on the south wall has encaustic tiles behind it. The ceiling features gilt and coloured panels which extend to the top of the walls. Fragments of the original wall painting remain on the east wall.

The stained glass windows are by William Morris, Burne-Jones, and Ford Madox Brown.