Church Of All Saints

Church of All Saints

This is a parish church of major importance, with a nave and chancel dating from the late 12th century, a mid-13th century west tower, 14th-century remodelled aisles, and further alterations in the 15th century. The building is constructed of rendered or cemented ashlar with lead roofs.

The Tower

The four-stage tower is a particularly distinguished feature, standing on a low base course. The first stage displays an arcade of blind pointed arches on columns with water-holding bases and moulded capitals with undercut arch mouldings. The west doorway is round-arched with complex and deeply undercut arch mouldings supported on three orders of shafts with stiff-leaf capitals, though much restored in the 19th century. The second stage has a trefoil-headed arcade, with the centre two arches and one light to the south pierced as windows. The third stage features polygonal shafts rising the full height with pointed blind arched recesses between them. Pointed lancet windows to the north, south and west light the ringing chamber. The original nave roof line remains visible to the east. The belfry and spire date to the 14th century. There are two-light ogeed belfry windows with hood mould, and a crenellated parapet with polygonal angle turrets extending from the clasping buttresses. The hexagonal spire is fitted with concave gabled lucarnes in one tier. The tower has polygonal clasping buttresses throughout.

The Aisles and Outer Walls

The south aisle west window is of five lights with stepped lights beneath a depressed four-centred arch, with a diagonal buttress at the corner. Flanking aisle windows are of three or four lights, square-headed with ogeed lights, restored or renewed in the 19th century. A priests' door features five trefoiled lights over it beneath a square hood, with a doorway of one order of shafts below a wave-moulded arch dating to around 1340. The south porch is 14th-century with a gabled roof, angle buttresses and a stilted arch. The clerestory to north and south contains seven three-light windows of 15th-century panel tracery beneath basket arches. To the west of the south clerestory is a punched encircled quatrefoil in a square surround. The crenellated parapet carries crocketted finials on the principal merlons; the northern parapet has been rebuilt in brick. A bellcote with an ogee opening sits over the east nave gable.

The north nave aisle is pierced by four three-light ogeed windows with depressed arches. To the west of the arched north doorway are two two-light reticulated windows. A 13th-century corbel table beneath the eaves was reused when the aisle was constructed. The north aisle roof has been much altered, with plain tie beams supported on straight braces with wall posts; purlin is carried on three braces from each tie and 19th-century ladder bracing runs the full length between purlin and tie beams.

The Chancel and Chapels

The south chancel chapel, dating to the 15th century, occupies three bays and contains one four-light and one three-light window to the western two bays. A two-storey eastern chapel was added in 1536, lit by two two-light cusped square-headed windows to the ground floor sharing a common hood mould, and one three-light cusped square-headed window to the upper floor. The eastern wall of this chapel is pierced by similar windows with the first floor window elaborated into a tracery head below a depressed arch. Stepped buttresses flank the five-light 15th-century Perpendicular east chancel window, which is flanked by paired shafts surviving from the early 13th century, each with stiff-leaf capitals. A 20th-century brick boiler house stands against the east wall of the north chancel chapel. The north windows of this chapel are cusped beneath depressed arches.

Interior: The Nave and Chancel Arch

The seven-bay arcade of the late 12th century features alternating circular and octagonal piers, each with square abaci above scalloped capitals. The eastern responds have waterleaf capitals dating to around 1200. Round arches carry zig-zag mouldings and hood moulds. The pointed chancel arch has paired columns to the west with eight annulated rings. The capitals show inconsistent treatment, combining scalloped, waterleaf and crocket forms. The northern respond was cut to accommodate the insertion of a late 15th-century four-centred rood stair doorway. The chancel arch itself features three orders of zig-zag, billet and roll mouldings.

The tower arch is entirely 13th-century in character, pointed and carried on keeled columns with subsidiary keeled colonnettes to east and west, crocket capitals and deeply undercut arch. The tower windows are shafted on the interior.

Interior Roofing

The 15th-century nave roof features hammerbeams on arched braces dropping on wall posts to corbels. The wall posts have canopied niches containing painted figures of Kings and Prophets, while painted angels terminate the hammerbeams. Cambered tie beams sit on the hammerbeams and are moulded, as are one tier of butt purlins and the ridge piece. The south aisle roof comprises principals on arched braces with wall posts dropping to corbels. Carved figures stand in canopied niches on the wall posts. The rafters have roll-moulded edges and two tiers of moulded butt purlins.

Interior Furnishings and Decoration

Over the tower arch is a carved timber representation of a throned King Solomon, while to the right and left are wall paintings depicting two women and a child (the Judgement of Solomon), probably dating to the 17th century. A carved timber figure of King David with harp, also probably 17th-century, stands over the chancel arch. An octagonal seven sacraments font dated 1544 sits on a base, with the sacraments depicted on the bowl within cusped niches and the Crucifixion as the additional scene. The stem is decorated with figures of eight saints. Eight 15th-century poppyhead bench ends in the nave feature figures in ogee niches. At the east ends of the aisles are arches leading to the chancel chapels, approached through parclose screens. The south screen, of 16th-century date, comprises two bays to the right and left of a four-centred opening, with elaborate closely panelled tracery in the head with each bay subdivided. The north parclose screen is of four bays to the right and left of a square central opening, with dado restored and ogeed tracery in the heads of the lights.

The Chancel Interior

The chancel features a two-bay arcade on a central circular pier and octagonal responds. The eastern capitals are of waterleaf type, the central piers carry scalloped capitals as does the south-west respond, while the north-west respond has crocket capitals. Round arches carry a double order of zig-zag. Four blocked clerestory windows occupy each side, all round-headed, with the eastern windows being taller. The dado is marked by billet moulding which rises over a low round-headed door to the north. In the south wall is a blocked 13th-century arch pierced by a blocked 14th-century stilted doorway. The east window is flanked by double annulated shafting with stiff-leaf capitals. The chancel roof comprises moulded butt purlins on moulded arched braces; otherwise all has been renewed. Nineteenth-century parclose screens separate the chancel from the north and south chapels. Extensively restored 16th-century choir stalls feature heads designed as hand rests. The late 15th-century south chapel roof has alternating large and small moulded arched braces on wall posts supporting moulded principals. The larger principals are decorated with carved ribbon trail and have figures against their wall posts. Two tiers of moulded and pierced butt purlins and a ridge piece complete the scheme.