Church Of All Souls

Church of All Souls, Cheriton

Built in 1894 by Ewan Christian, the Church of All Souls was constructed to serve the expanding population of eastern Folkestone in the late 19th century. This growth had been driven by the establishment of laundries serving the town and the military camp at Shorncliffe, as well as employment at the tile and brick works at Broadmead. Services were initially held in a mission hall from an unspecified date, then transferred to Cheriton Street School in 1887. The parish of All Souls, Cheriton, was formally established five years later. The foundation stone was laid on 26 June 1894 by Earl Stanhope, and the church was consecrated on 31 January 1895 by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The contractors were Messrs Paramor of Margate.

The church is built in the Early English style using ragstone with limestone dressings and red clay tile roofs. Its plan comprises a nave, chancel, south porch, north and south transepts, and a north organ chamber and vestry. The nave and chancel are of equal width and share a continuous roof ridge. The defining feature of the exterior is the abundant use of uncusped lancet windows throughout. The west gable is topped with a two-light bellcote, though it contains only one bell. The west wall is buttressed by a pair of buttresses on either side of a two-light plate tracery window. The north and south elevations are punctuated by transepts with pairs of lancet windows and, above them in the gable, a plain small circular light. The church terminates at the east end in a semi-circular apse. The hopper heads are dated 1894, as was Christian's custom to have the date cast into them.

The interior is broad and low, with the chancel and nave continuous and of equal width. The main body of the church has exposed red brick walls. Two-bay broad arcades serve the transepts, featuring roll-mouldings on the steps of the arches, circular limestone piers, and octagonal moulded capitals. The detailing of the east end is remarkably unusual. At the entrance to the sanctuary stand classical fluted pilasters with a raised entablature. Around the apse and surrounding the arches of the windows are curious fluted demi-shafts applied to the wall with classical-style capitals and pointed arches that do not quite match the curvature of the window arches. It seems incongruous that Ewan Christian, a committed Gothic Revival architect, would sanction such details, yet the intrados mouldings of the window arches include similar features with classical details in the capitals. The chancel walls are plastered and whitened, unlike the rest of the church, and this eccentric ornamentation may be related to this treatment. The nave roof is seven-sided with scissor-braced trusses. The roof over the chancel features rectangular panels decorated with representations of the Apostles. The west wall of the south transept displays decoration, including Chi-Rho symbols, painted directly onto the brickwork.

The reredos is of wood and tripartite, with the central panel showing a painting of Christ in Majesty and the two side panels showing adoring angels. The font is plain with an octagonal bowl and circular base. The pulpit is low with open sides and curious fretwork decoration. The north transept contains a majolica tympanum enclosing the figure of an angel. The north transept also features a stained glass window by M. Gabriel Loire, a master glazier from Chartres. Other windows contain stained glass of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Ewan Christian (1814–95) was a prolific practitioner specialising in church work. He was educated at Christ's Hospital until 1829, when he was articled to Matthew Habershon. He broadened his education through continental travel in 1834 and the following year assisted one of the entrants in the New Palace of Westminster competition. He worked in the offices of William Railton in London and John Brown in Norwich before commencing practice in 1842. He was appointed architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1851, a position that brought many commissions, particularly for chancels. He gained a reputation for efficiency and bringing projects in on time and on budget. His work generally enjoys less acclaim than his peers, with much being routine, though his best churches—notably St Mark, Leicester, and Holy Trinity, Folkestone—compare favourably with the finer churches of the 19th century. All Souls is one of his last churches.