Parish Church Of All Saints

Parish Church of All Saints

All Saints is a parish church at Purleigh, mainly dating from the 14th century, with significant restoration work in the 19th century. The church is built in ragstone, septaria, dressed flint and yellow brick, with limestone and clunch dressings. It has a porch of red brick in English bond and is roofed with handmade red clay tiles.

The building comprises a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, and a west tower, all rebuilt in the 14th century beginning at the east end. The irregular plan suggests an earlier origin, with some earlier fabric possibly surviving at the west end of the nave and south aisle. The south porch dates from around 1500. The north and west walls of the north aisle were rebuilt in the 18th century. During 19th-century restoration, the chancel arch, the upper part of the south arcade, and parts of the aisle walls were rebuilt.

The chancel is constructed of coursed squared ragstone with complete courses at irregular intervals of small yellow bricks, possibly Flemish, which are also used in the original window arches. The 14th-century east window has four cinquefoiled lights with tracery in a two-centred head, featuring a moulded rear-arch and labels. The north wall contains two 14th-century windows, each of two cinquefoiled lights with a sexfoil in a two-centred head with wave-moulded rear-arch and moulded labels. Between these windows is a 14th-century tomb-recess with a moulded segmental-pointed arch, though the label is destroyed. The south wall contains two similar windows, with a 14th-century doorway between them featuring a segmental-pointed arch and moulded internal label, now blocked. The chancel arch is four-centred with two chamfered orders; the chamfered responds have moulded capitals and bases. This arch dates from the 15th century but was reconstructed in the 19th century.

The nave has an early 14th-century north arcade of three bays with two-centred arches of two chamfered orders. The octagonal piers have moulded capitals and bases, with similar half-piers on the responds. Below the capitals of the east respond and easternmost pier are carved shields of arms, both cut away for a later screen that is now missing. The south arcade is of similar date and architectural detail, except that the orders of the arches die on to octagonal tas-de-charge. The arches have been partly reconstructed in the 19th century. Mutilations in the capitals of the easternmost arch indicate the addition of a screen, now missing.

The north aisle is constructed of septaria and ragstone rubble with some brick and tile, and includes some yellow bricks in the arch of the east window. The 14th-century east window has two cinquefoiled lights with a sexfoil in a two-centred arch with wave-moulded rear-arch and moulded labels. The north wall, rebuilt in the 18th century, contains two windows: the eastern is late 14th-century and much restored, with three cinquefoiled ogee lights with tracery in a square head with a moulded label; the western is 15th-century and much restored, with two cinquefoiled lights with vertical tracery in a segmental head with moulded rear-arch and label. Between these windows is the 14th-century north doorway with jambs and a two-centred arch of two orders, one wave-moulded and one chamfered, with a chamfered rear-arch. The 14th-century door is of V-edged planks, restored at the bottom, with two strap-hinges and one extra strap at the top, now blocked internally.

The south aisle has an east window similar to that of the north aisle, but with headstops to both labels. The north wall has a late 14th-century window similar to that in the south aisle, also much restored. Further west is the 14th-century south doorway, with jambs and a two-centred arch of two wave-moulded orders, with a moulded label featuring decayed headstops. The 14th-century south doors are of V-edged planks, restored at the bottom, each leaf having four iron straps with incised patterns; one strap includes a domed scutcheon-plate with a cable-twist ring handle, dating from the 14th century. The rear frames are covered by 19th-century planking. The west window is 19th-century, except for the splays and wave-moulded two-centred rear-arch, which are 14th-century. The west wall of the south aisle is angled in relation to the axis, possibly a remnant of earlier fabric.

The west tower is mid-14th-century, constructed in four stages with a moulded plinth and strings. The first and second stages are of alternate courses of dressed flint and squared ragstone, with one band of small yellow bricks and two bands of chequered flushwork; the courses dip to meet the arches radially. The third and fourth stages are of pebble rubble. The two-centred tower-arch has two orders, one wave-moulded and one chamfered, with the inner order dying on to the responds. On each side are offsets which may be remnants of an earlier nave. The west doorway has moulded jambs and a two-centred arch, with shallow wave-mouldings to the rear-arch, a moulded label and headstops, one wholly decayed. The north, south and west walls of the second stage each have a window of two trefoiled lights with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head, with a moulded label and headstops, some decayed. The north, south and west walls of the third stage each have a window of two trefoiled ogee lights with tracery in a two-centred head with moulded label. The east wall has a pointed opening into the nave, with a rubble rear-arch, covered in the nave by an 18th-century royal arms. The bell-chamber has in each wall a window similar to those of the third stage. On the east wall, above the present roof, is the weathering of the original nave roof. There is a crenellated parapet and a modern roof of low pitch.

The south porch is of red brick, dating from around 1500. The outer archway has chamfered jambs and a four-centred arch. The east wall contains a window of two four-centred lights in a four-centred head; the west wall has a window of one four-centred light. There is a moulded cornice. The roof of the porch is in one bay, of crownpost construction, with moulded tiebeams and wallplates, a weatherboarded gable, soulaces to every rafter couple, and renewed collar-purlin and axial braces.

Fittings

In the chancel is a piscina with moulded jambs, cinquefoiled head and quatrefoiled drain, in range with sedilia of three bays with moulded jambs and cinquefoiled heads, dating from the 14th century and partly restored. In the south aisle is a 15th-century piscina with triangular head and broken drain.

There is in situ 14th-century glass in the heads of the north and south windows of the chancel, featuring tabernacle work and borders; in the head of the east window of the north aisle, black and white foliage; in the heads of the north windows, tabernacle work, crowns, and fragments of borders; in the head of the east window of the south aisle, a leopard's head and foliage; and in the head of the south window, tabernacle work.

The communion rails are from around 1700, with a moulded rail and turned balusters.

The pulpit, dating from around 1700, is hexagonal. The angles are enriched with fruit, foliage and tasselled ribbons. It features fielded panels with guilloche and foliate borders, one panel with a rose boss, a moulded cornice, tapering stem, carved base, and stairs with twist-turned balusters.

In the chancel are brasses to Margaret (Rande), wife of John Freake, rector, 1592 (inscription only); to Cecily, widow of Edmund Freake, bishop of Worcester, 1599 (inscription only); and to John Freake, rector of Purleigh and archdeacon of Norwich, 1604 (inscription only).

In the chancel are floor-slabs to Elizabeth, wife of John Burton, 1624, of black marble with shield of arms; to Reverend Thomas Shaw, 1785, and Anna his widow, 1814, of black marble; and to Reverend Roger Hayne, 1810, and Elizabeth his widow, 1817, of limestone.

There are six bells, the third to sixth cast by Miles Graye in 1636.

In the south aisle are framed boards with the Lord's Prayer, Ten Commandments and the Creed painted in gold on black, dating from the 18th century. In the north aisle is a similar board of benefactions.