Church Of All Saints

Parish church of late 11th or 12th century origin, with 15th-century additions and restoration in 1875. The building comprises a west tower, nave, slightly narrower square-ended chancel, south porch to the nave, and south-west organ chamber to the chancel.

The west tower dates to the 15th century and stands on a chamfered stone plinth in two stages. It features battlements above a moulded string course with no buttresses. Each face of the tower (except the east) has a single trefoil-headed belfry light with a small chamfered slit light some distance below it. The lower stage of the west face displays a rectangular light towards the top, while a small two-light west window with trefoil-headed lights and squared hoodmould sits above a moulded round-headed west doorway with moulded round-headed hoodmould. A north-east stair turret, becoming octagonal towards its top, rises above the tower with battlements above a chamfered and gargoyled string. The tower is constructed of small blocks of roughly-coursed ragstone.

The nave dates to the late 11th or 12th century. Its south elevation features a small broad lancet-type window towards the west end, and a 19th-century pointed-arched two-light traceried window with hoodmould to the right of the porch. Under the eaves sits a small round-headed late 11th or 12th-century window, with a tall lancet set lower immediately to its east. The north elevation has no visible plinth, with a small round-headed late 11th or 12th-century window under the eaves towards the centre. Two 15th-century windows appear towards the east and west ends: the eastern has cavetto-moulded cinquefoil-headed lights with a four-centred arched head and moulded hoodmould; the western is smaller with a pointed head and similar details.

The south porch is 19th-century work, featuring glazed wooden tracery on a high chamfered stone base, cusped bargeboards to the gable, and a plain tile roof. The outer opening is pointed-arched with weatherboarding above, while the inner doorway is a moulded three- or four-centred arched stone feature from the 15th century.

The organ chamber, also 19th-century, is gabled to the south with lower eaves than the chancel. It has a low pointed-arched west doorway and a pointed-arched two-light south window with hoodmould.

The chancel dates to the late 11th or 12th century and has lower eaves than the nave. Its south and north elevations each have a traceried two-light window with hoodmould. Three small separate round-headed east windows occupy the east end, with the central one stepped above the others. A small blocked rectangular opening appears towards the west end of the north elevation. The nave and chancel are rendered with pebbledash, while the organ chamber uses random ragstone. Tufa quoins appear to the chancel. The roof is plain tile.

The interior reveals significant early medieval fabric. A round-headed chancel arch of two plain square tufa orders without imposts connects the spaces. A round-headed tufa west doorway to the nave, visible from the base of the tower, has a fat roll between two square orders and a surviving cushion capital to the south side. Round-headed windows splayed towards the interior include one on the north side of the nave with a tufa rere-arch. Stone window seats sit in recesses beneath the south-east nave lancet and south chancel window. A 15th-century round-headed hollow-chamfered doorway with broach stops and two-plank door provides access to the tower stair turret.

The nave roof is a common-rafter construction with ashlar-pieces and sous-laced collars, featuring three moulded arch-braced tie-beams (one to the east and two to the centre) with moulded pendant posts. Each post has a blank wooden shield to its base. A moulded cornice runs below. The chancel roof is similar but uses un-braced plain-chamfered tie-beams, a moulded and brattished cornice, and has no pendant posts.

Fittings and fixtures include two piscinas with pointed arches set at right-angles to each other—one to the east side of the south-east nave lancet seat recess and another under the south chancel window. A 17th-century octagonal stone font stands on a Bethersden marble base, topped by a wooden cover with moulded base, crocketed dome, and moulded finial. A panelled 18th-century family pew has a frieze of pierced panels below the cornice. Royal Arms hang over the tower doorway.

The church preserves a notable collection of monuments. A tomb recess on the south wall of the nave features a cusped and subcusped arch under squared hoodmould with shields to the spandrels and a frieze of Tudor flowers. A tablet to Mrs. Elizabeth Kirby (d.1748) is oval with a cherub's head below the base, achievements towards the top, and a festooned urn above. John Davis (d.1776) is commemorated by a rectangular inscribed panel with grey marble border, shaped base-plate with cherub's head and roses, moulded cornice, and a grey obelisk above bearing an urn and achievements.

Edward Goulston (d.1720) has a monument on the east wall of the nave south of the chancel arch, executed in grey-veined marble with a moulded plinth on gadrooned consoles, draped rectangular base plate terminating in a skull, and inscription flanked by fluted pilasters with acanthus capitals and inverted scrolls. A moulded broken-based segmental pediment enclosing achievements surmounts it, topped by a gadrooned urn.

Jane Brewer (d.1676) is commemorated by a monument to the north of the chancel arch, featuring a rectangular inscription panel with moulded border on a moulded black marble plinth with gadrooned consoles and palm frond base plate. Ionic columns and inverted foliated scrolls flank the inscription, with a moulded cornice and scrolled pediment bearing achievements above.

Another monument on the north wall of the nave to Jane Brewer (d.1716) was designed by Robert Taylor. It is executed in grey-veined marble with consoles, a moulded and gadrooned plinth, and draped base plate with shield and cherub's heads. Fluted Doric pilasters and a triglyphed frieze frame the inscription, with a moulded cornice breaking forwards over the pilasters and surmounted by three urns.

Augustine Skynner (d.1672) is memorialised on the north wall of the chancel with a white marble inscription panel on a black ground, moulded and consoled black marble plinth, rectangular base plate with shield, Ionic columns flanking the inscription, and a moulded cornice surmounted by achievements.

A hanging monument on the north wall of the chancel commemorates Edward Lawrence (d.1605), featuring kneeling figures of a man with sons and a woman with daughters in a recess above an inscription panel, all enclosed by ribboned side panels. A shaped base plate supports a plain frieze with obelisk finials and scrolled central achievements.