Church Of All Saints

This is an Anglican church, constructed between 1855 and 1856 by the architect P C Hardwick in the Gothic style. It was later extended by T E Knightley, who rebuilt the aisles, likely in the early 1860s, to accommodate galleries. The nave was re-roofed in 1901 following a fire, and it received repairs from 1949 to 1953 after damage during World War II.

The church is built of Kentish rag with ashlar dressings, and has slate roofs. It comprises a three-bay nave with aisles under separate roofs, a one-and-a-half bay chancel, and a north aisle containing the organ, which was moved there from a western gallery in 1879. The south aisle is treated as a vestigial transept externally and has a single-storey vestry attached to its east side. There are west and south porches, the latter substantially repaired after bomb damage but retaining original ballflower decoration. A south-west door, giving access to a balcony, is reached by stone steps with a balustrade decorated with trefoils. Octagonal corner buttresses are present at the east and west ends, with banding at gallery level on the west end which culminates in a projecting bellcote with bulbous capitals and a spirelet. Aisle windows are arranged on two levels, reflecting the presence of balconies within. Most windows have paired lancets with early Decorative tracery; the west end has a four-light window, the east end a five-light window, and a south-east window to the chancel aisle features a three-light decorative window with trefoils.

The interior retains a remarkably complete and curiously old-fashioned character for its date. It is plastered and painted. There are three-bay, unmoulded arcades supported by massive round piers with foliate capitals. Galleries extend behind to three sides, supported by cast-iron columns with timber fronts decorated with trefoils, and the space is fully pewed. Originally, access was only from the exterior. The nave floor is fully pewed. The font has rich foliate decoration mirroring the arcade capitals, and has a cover dated 1916, which serves as a memorial to the first incumbent (appointed 1918). The altar was moved forward in the late 1970s, but the reredos remains in its original position at the east end, along with the altar rails. The east window dates from 1949, the same year the organ was repaired.

Contemporary railings with alternating trefoil heads on a heavy cast-iron plinth enclose the churchyard along the south and west boundaries.

The church is notable for its mixture of modern and traditional architectural elements from the late 1850s; the unmoulded arcades and robust detailing were contemporary styles, while the installation of galleries to serve a growing population represents a traditional approach. Subsequent alterations have been minimal.