Church Of All Saints

The Church of All Saints is a parish church dating back to the early 13th century, with 15th-century alterations, and a complete rebuild in 1837 by William Fisher of Oxford, except for the tower. The church is constructed of coursed dressed limestone with ashlar dressings, except for the tower, which is of uncoursed limestone rubble. The chancel has a gabled stone slate roof, and the nave has a Welsh slate roof.

The church consists of a chancel with a north chapel, a wide nave, and a west tower. It combines Early English and Perpendicular styles, remodeled in a Perpendicular Revival style. The east wall of the chancel has a double gable; on the left is an early 13th-century stepped three-light lancet window, and to the right a three-light Curvilinear-style window. Chamfered lancet windows and pointed doorways are set into the side walls of the chancel. The crenellated nave has label moulds over two-light and a central three-light Perpendicular-style transomed windows on its north side. Similar three-light windows flank a gabled south porch, which contains a very fine late 14th/early 15th-century south doorway with a cinquefoil-headed arch, decorated with independent leaf motifs in a casement-moulded architrave.

The early 13th-century three-stage west tower retains original corner buttresses, one-light bell openings, slit lights, and a west lancet. An unusual early 13th-century ashlar stair turret is located in the north-east corner, with slit lights and a quatrefoil panel in the gable top.

Inside, the north chapel has jamb shafts with bell capitals to the east window. An early 13th-century archway connects the chancel and the north chapel, featuring a chamfered arch set on half-piers with ball flower capitals. A 16th-century linenfold-carved bench end is found in the north chapel. The chancel includes 19th-century wall tablets and an 18th-century obelisk wall tablet commemorating John Barnes, died 1782. Twin arches lead from the chancel and north chapel into the nave. Other features include a communion rail, pews, an altar at the east end, an early 19th-century pulpit, and a reading desk from around 1907. Pews feature 16th-century bench ends with linenfold carving. There’s a tall early 19th-century pedimented wall tablet to the Aldworth family, mid-19th-century stele tablets (one in the porch), a Cothick wall tablet to Thomas Prince, died 1823, and a wall tablet at the west end to Thomas Hayward, died 1692. A brass memorial depicting Edmund Fettiplace, died 1540, and his wife, kneeling in prayer with their children, is located east of the door. A tub-shaped stepped font is likely from the 13th century. The church has an eight-bay roof supported on head corbels. A triple hollow-chamfered archway leads to the west tower room, which contains a quadripartite vault with hollow-chamfered ribs on head corbels. J.C. Buckler recorded interior details and the church exterior (mainly 15th-century) in 1819.