Church Of All Saints

Church of All Saints

Church. Dates from the 12th century with a 13th-century chancel and north aisle, a 14th-century south nave wall, a 15th-century tower and north aisle wall, and an early 18th-century chapel of 1735 to the north. The building was restored and the aisle extended in 1875. Constructed of flint rubble with mortar-rendered sandstone and ashlar dressings, some brick and tile-on-edge in the tower, a brick chapel to the north, all under plain tiled roofs.

The church comprises a tower to the west with aisled nave and chancel to the east, plus a chapel and porch to the north. The tower is battlemented and three-staged with a square stair turret to the north-east corner and diagonal buttresses to the west end. The upper stage has one square-headed louvred window to each face with two cinquefoil lights. Similar windows appear on each face of the middle stage. A 15th-century style west door is present, with a clock face above under a cambered tile head to the first stage of the west end.

The north wall of the nave features two 15th-century Decorated windows with 3 foiled lights under hood moulds. The south nave wall has two 14th-century windows with 3 cinquefoil lights featuring flowing, double cusped tracery and chamfered jambs.

The chancel north wall contains one 13th-century window with inserted tracery of 2 trefoil lights. The south wall has a recut 15th-century square-headed window with 3 cinquefoil lights and a 14th-century window to the east. The most famous feature is the east window: a 13th-century composition of seven lancets arranged in a graduated pattern with the central window forming the apex. The design is plain on the outside but was transferred from an unknown source, possibly Newark Priory, and inserted into a 16th-century surround. The chapel has round-headed keystoned fenestration, blocked on the east and north sides and open to the west. A gabled porch to the north has offset buttresses in a re-entrant angle with the chapel, featuring a 19th-century door under a 2-light window. A further door to the south side of the chancel is 13th-century with chamfered jambs.

Interior: The nave has a two-bay arcade with chalk arches on sandstone pillars that are circular with moulded bases and capitals and semi-circular responds to the ends. A waggon roof above tie beams dates to circa 1530 with original bosses and diamond pattern panels. The north aisle and east bay of the nave roof are 15th-century with canted panels framed by moulded ribs and bosses. The 13th-century chancel arch sits on semi-circular responds with moulded bases and capitals and a two-centred arch of two chamfered orders.

Fittings include a 13th-century double piscina to the south chancel wall with stop-chamfered jambs and 2 trefoil arches. An elaborate canopied niche of the 14th century stands at the east end of the north aisle. A 19th-century font is present, with remains of an old 13th-century font in the chancel featuring a circular Purbeck marble stem on a square stone base with moulded plinth and 4 detached shafts.

The east window displays Purbeck marble shafts in the faces of the mullions on moulded bases with stiff leaf foliage capitals of varying designs. The arches above have several roll mouldings under a heavy label with a band of dogtooth patterning, all enclosed by a 16th-century rear arch.

Stained glass includes 15th-century figures in tracery lights on the south side of the chancel and 18th-century German painted glass to the south side of the nave. The east window was designed by Sir T. G. Jackson and made by Pavells in 1875.

Monuments: The King Chapel to the north has a round-headed arch to the aisle with a vaulted plaster ceiling springing from angle pilasters. On the north wall is a monument to Peter, First Lord King and his wife by Rysbrack, 1734, in white marble in Palladian style showing two figures sitting either side of a large urn in front of a pyramidal ground, with symbols of office surrounding Lord King. A brass to Walter Frilende, died 1376, to the north side of the altar is the earliest priest's brass in Surrey. A brass to John Weston, died 1483, is also present. A monument to Peter, seventh Lord King, died 1833, by R. Westmacott Junior, comprises a white marble bust. A stone casket on a monolithic pedestal with heraldic enamel plaques marks the ashes of Lord and Lady Lovelace, died 1906.