Church Of All Saints

Church of All Saints

This is a large cruciform parish church with west tower and north porch, built over several centuries from the 12th century onwards. The main structure dates to the 12th century, with the chancel and transepts added in the early 13th century, the east end of the chancel and aisles in the late 13th century, the tower and porch in the early 14th century, and the clerestory in the early 15th century. The church was restored in 1888–1889 and again in 1936–1939.

The external walls are built of regular coursed ironstone and squared coursed rubble, with some splayed plinths. The roofs are low-pitched lead with parapets and gable parapets featuring moulded cornices and copings. The plan is aisled cruciform with a 3-bay chancel, 4-bay nave and 3-bay aisles.

The chancel has low diagonal buttresses and an east plinth. Its largely restored 4-light east window has intersecting tracery. A south doorway opens partly below ground level, with an ogee-arched window above. Hood moulds run throughout. The 2-light windows to the north-east and south-east have restored Y-tracery, while those to the north-west and south-west have reticulated tracery of around 1340. A low side window sits below the south-west window.

The north transept contains a restored 14th-century pair of east lancets, and a 4-light north window with lancets and a circular opening. A 2-light square-headed clerestory window faces west.

The porch has east and west angle buttresses. Its doorway is moulded and chamfered with an ogee arch, decorated with ballflower and head stops, and has double-leaf plank doors. 2-light square-headed openings with blind tracery flank the entrance. Inside the porch is a reset Romanesque doorway with square and roll-moulded orders and a scalloped west capital; the nook-shafts and east capital are missing. An ancient oak door with strap hinges and draw-bar sockets hangs here.

The north aisle has low angle buttresses and lancets stepped to the north-east, with twin lancets to the north-west and west under continuous hood moulds. The clerestory contains 5 square-headed 2-light windows with tracery to the north; plain south windows sit at a lower level.

The south transept has 15th-century 3-light windows, a square-headed east window, and a moulded segmental-pointed south window with Perpendicular tracery.

The south aisle has a central reset Romanesque doorway similar to the north aisle, with nook-shafts and scalloped capitals. Two 3-light Perpendicular windows and two 13th-century west lancets are also present.

The tower comprises 3 stages with plain string courses and diagonal buttresses. An early 15th-century west doorway, now much eroded, has 2 orders. A 2-light window above has reticulated tracery. The bell openings are 2-light and square-headed. The parapet has a string course and gargoyles on all sides except the east; a square north-east stair turret has a blind quatrefoil above the parapet.

The interior rises steeply from west to east in 7 stages with plastered walls. The chancel contains a late 13th-century piscina and chamfered segmental-arched sedilia. The chancel arch, dated to around 1200, has 3 chamfered and moulded orders with a continuous central order without imposts. The inner and outer orders have shafts with moulded bases and shaft rings; the inner north shaft and lower parts of the south shaft are missing. Varied scalloped capitals to the south and north-east, and stiff-leaf capitals to the north, decorate the arch. A blocked arched rood-loft entrance sits to the left.

The arcades throughout have arches of 2 chamfered orders. The mid-to-late 13th-century north arcade has octagonal piers and responds with round capitals and abaci carved, exceptionally for Warwickshire, with foliage trails, animals and monsters. Hood moulds are present. The east bay is slightly narrower. The south arcade has 3 bays similar to the north, but with uncarved capitals. A narrow east bay of around 1200 has 2 orders. The 6-bay roof features 2 moulded tie beams, curved braces and wall posts, with some carved corbels.

The north transept contains an ancient stone altar slab on later stonework flanked by stone benches, a 13th-century ogee piscina, and an arched aumbry in the north wall. A late 13th-century segmental-pointed tomb recess with attached shafts is visible. The 2-bay roof, possibly 17th-century, has a chamfered tie beam. The arch to the aisle has triple shafts to the south and a shaft with moulded capital to the north. The aisle has a lean-to roof with moulded timbers, braces with traceried spandrels, and head corbels.

The south transept has an 18th- or 19th-century roof. The arch to the aisle has inner shafts and moulded capitals. The aisle contains a 13th-century piscina. A 16th- or 17th-century roof has moulded tie beams and ogee brackets.

Wall paintings include remains of 13th-century paintings on the north and south nave walls, a late 14th-century Virgin, St. John and angels above the chancel arch, and remains of early 17th-century Creed and text cartouches on the north and south walls.

Fittings include 14th-century and other medieval tiles, a communion table of 1618, and 19th-century oil lamps converted to electricity.

Monuments in the north transept include a wall monument to John Temple (died 1603) with columns and painted coats of arms, and a late 16th-century chest tomb. The south transept contains a chest tomb to John Swain (died 1658) and his wife (died 1677) with corner scrolls, as well as 17th- and 18th-century floor slabs and wall monuments.

The church is large, fine and remarkably unaltered.