Church Of All Saints

Church of All Saints

A church of 13th-century origin, with the tower completed in the later 13th century, though its upper part may date to 1811. The building was substantially restored and enlarged in 1873, when the nave was largely rebuilt, the south aisle widened, and a north aisle with organ chamber and vestry added.

The chancel, south aisle and tower are built of squared coursed limestone rubble. The chancel incorporates some sandstone with sandstone dressings, while the south aisle has ironstone dressings. The upper part of the tower is of Flemish bond brick. The nave, north aisle and chapel are constructed of regular coursed limestone with ironstone dressings. Tile roofs feature coped stone gable parapets with weatherings and kneelers, with remains of cross finials. A stone stack is present.

The plan comprises an aisled nave, chancel, north chapel and south-west tower. The chancel has two bays and the nave five bays, throughout buttressed with offsets of two stages. The chancel is splayed at the plinth and has diagonal buttresses. Windows throughout are of 19th-century geometrical and bar tracery with hood moulds and block stops. The chancel contains a 3-light east window, a small studded plank south door in a chamfered surround, two straight-headed 2-light traceried windows, a small 13th-century low-side chamfered lancet, and a 13th-century north lancet. The south aisle has diagonal and south buttresses, a 3-light east window, an Early English style 19th-century double-leaf south door with inner continuous roll moulding and roll-moulded arch on nook shafts, and two 3-light windows. The nave has shallow south-west and large north-west buttresses with a 4-light west window. The organ chamber and vestry have a 3-light east window, a chamfered north doorway and a lateral stack with offsets. The north aisle has east angle, west diagonal and north buttresses, a doorway in the fourth bay similar to the south side with moulded arch and nailhead ornament, 3-light windows (the second bay having reticulated tracery) and a 3-light west window. The tower of three stages has massive west setback buttresses of four offsets and a south-east clasping buttress. South and west lancets are present. The second stage, partly of 1811, features a south clock face of approximately 1835 set in a lozenge panel and a small round-arched window largely of brick above, with a small blocked west window and moulded string course. The third stage has clasping buttresses, small round-arched bell openings with wooden louvres and cut-out quatrefoils, a plain cornice and crenellated parapet. A painted sundial is located on the south buttress.

Interior

The chancel has a 19th-century hammerbeam roof. A wide segmental-pointed arch of two chamfered orders leads to the organ chamber and vestry, and a wide chancel arch of two continuous chamfered orders connects the spaces. The south arcade of approximately 1300 comprises three bays of two chamfered orders with bar stops and octagonal piers with moulded capitals. A similar five-bay north arcade dates to 1873. A wide south tower arch of three chamfered orders—the outer segmental-pointed and the inner with moulded imposts—is present. The nave, aisles and chapel have arched braced queen strut roofs of 1873 with wind braces to the nave. The organ chamber has an arch to the aisle of two chamfered orders, the outer segmental-pointed. The south aisle contains a timber internal porch. The west arch to the tower of three chamfered orders was renewed, the inner having moulded imposts and the outer segmental-pointed.

Fittings are mostly of 1873. A carved stone reredos stands in the chancel, which has an encaustic tiled floor. An octagonal font, timber octagonal pulpit, north aisle screen and benches are present. The chancel and south aisle retain mid-18th-century communion rails with column-on-vase balusters, those in the aisle possibly imported from elsewhere. An early 17th-century carved chest is also present. Stained glass includes windows in the east and chancel north of 1873, with chancel south-east dated 1890, centre 1899 and south-west 1897; the tower south window is of approximately 1873. An early 18th-century wall monument with Corinthian pilasters stands in the tower east. The restoration and enlargement undertaken in 1873 cost £4,000.