Church Of All Saints

CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS

A chapel, principally dating from the early 14th century but incorporating 12th-century work and possibly earlier Anglo-Saxon material. The building underwent alterations in the 17th century and was restored in 1906. The walls are constructed of several types of stone: the earliest work is reddish conglomerate in coursed small stone rubble with wide joints, now containing tiles from 1965 restoration work; 14th-century coursed and dressed freestone; 17th or 18th-century coursed and dressed freestone with herringbone tooling; and ashlar from the 1906 restoration. The roof is covered in plain tiles.

The plan consists of a two-bay nave and chancel in one continuous structure. Diagonal buttresses flank the western corners, angle buttresses the eastern corners, with buttresses at the bay division. The 12th-century west door has a chamfered surround and semi-circular arch springing from imposts. The west wall and the west ends of the north and south walls retain early stonework incorporating some 14th-century freestone blocks, though both gables were rebuilt, probably in 1906 when the roof was replaced.

The early 14th-century east bay contains pointed north and south windows. The north window features Y-tracery with a returned hood mould. The south window has two trefoil-headed ogee lights and a single reticulation, with quarter round moulding and a hood mould terminating in a pair of now-mutilated heads. Small rectangular north and south windows at the west end of this bay are also 14th-century. The south door, dating from the early 14th century, has a segmental pointed head and quarter round moulded surround. The north wall of the west bay is 17th-century; the south wall was rebuilt in 1906. The square-headed north and south windows of the west bay have two trefoil-headed ogee lights and sunken spandrels. The south window is wholly of 1906 work, while the north window has been heavily restored but retains some original material, possibly representing Gothic survival of 17th-century date, contemporary with the stonework surrounding it. A four-light chamfer-mullioned east window, probably 17th-century, is partially blocked, an alteration likely made in the late 19th century when stained glass was inserted.

The interior contains a 14th-century piscina with an ogee head and a 14th-century sedile with a pointed trefoil head. Above the piscina, incorporated into the wall, is a stone cross probably dating from the 12th century. An aumbry with 17th or 18th-century doors is present. The stone altar is constructed of grave slabs with a frieze of circa 1800 above it. A common rafter roof was installed in 1906.

Fittings include a late 17th or 18th-century wooden semi-hexagonal pulpit. The 14th-century stone font has an octagonal pedestal with a basin probably of 17th-century date, decorated with a simple frieze of scallops and a lead inscription around the rim reading "Nascentes morimur. Finisque ab origine pendet". A coat of arms of Stanford Wolferston (died 1772) is also present.

Two segmental pointed niches with quarter round moulding in the chancel each contain the recumbent effigy of a lady, possibly members of the de Lee family, both dating from the late 14th century. The southern effigy dates to circa 1370, the northern to circa 1390. A large elaborately carved aedicular tablet of 1676 commemorates Francis and Frances Wolferston. An aedicular tablet to Hester Wolferston (died 1775) is also present.

The east window contains mainly small Flemish panels of the 17th century, inserted in 1861. A small south window retains a late medieval panel depicting a bishop.