Church Of All Saints

The Church of All Saints in Wetheringsett-cum-Brockford is a parish church of medieval origin, with significant restoration work undertaken in the 1850s. The building comprises an aisled nave, a chancel, a west tower, a south porch, and a north vestry, which was originally a chapel. The walls are constructed of flint rubble with stone dressings, and feature slate roofs over the nave and chancel, while the aisle roofs are leaded.

The 15th-century tower is a prominent feature, exhibiting four-stage angle buttresses with chequer flushwork, incorporating empty cusped image niches on the west corner. The tower has a plain embattled parapet. The west face features a large open arch with continuous mouldings and mask label stops, above which sits an image niche with a cusped ogee head. Smaller trefoil windows are located at ringing chamber level, alongside two-light belfry openings. The west end of the nave is distinguished by a moulded doorway, also with mask label stops, surmounted by a cusped niche.

The 13th-century nave aisles have been largely re-windowed with 3-light Perpendicular-style windows. The south aisle’s west window retains 14th-century reticulated tracery. Both aisles retain their original 13th-century doorways, each with a single order of colonnettes and a moulded 2-centred arch. The south doorway incorporates a repaired medieval door. The porch, dated to the 15th century, is faced in knapped flint and features a flushwork-panelled parapet with square corner pinnacles and a central gable. The moulded entrance arch is enriched with crowns and shields, culminating in a coat of arms at the apex, and supported by a fleuron-enriched hoodmould on lion corbels. The original arched-braced roof remains.

A late 15th-century clerestory incorporates a range of eight closely-set 3-light windows, punctuated by buttresses. These windows are shafted internally. The chancel, also restored, has 2-light Perpendicular-style windows on its sides and a 4-light window to the east, with a moulded Priest’s doorway.

Internally, the church contains 13th-century 4-bay arcades and a chancel arch. The nave roof, renewed in 1828, features flat embattled tie beams with pierced panelling above, supported by pierced braces from the tie beams to shafted wallposts. The chancel ceiling dates to the 1850s. The aisle roofs are likely of 15th-century origin, but have undergone considerable restoration. Stairways provide access to a rood loft in the southeast nave and a parclose loft in the south aisle. A renewed 13th-century triple sedilia presents enriched trefoil arches and Purbeck marble shafts, with mask corbels, one potentially original, flanking the structure. The vestry contains the damaged remains of an unusual double angle piscina with leaf ornament, likely dating to the 13th century. The octagonal font bowl, believed to be from around 1660, features simply carved panels primarily depicting shields, set upon an older, probably 13th-century base with eight engaged shafts. Poppyhead benches, some with 15th-century ends and others from the 19th century, are present. Two 15th-century misericords are located in the sanctuary, alongside 19th- and 20th-century furnishings. Several 17th and 18th century ledger slabs are also present, particularly those commemorating members of the Sheppard family.