Church Of All Saints

Church of All Saints, Earls Barton

A church of outstanding architectural importance, largely dating from the late 10th century to the 14th century, with significant mid-19th-century restoration. The building is constructed of coursed rubble and squared coursed limestone and lias with ashlar dressings and a lead roof.

The church comprises an aisled nave, chancel, south porch, and a remarkable west tower. The south elevation of the chancel displays a range of three 14th-century two-light windows, two with square heads and one with a segmental head. A 12th-century south door with a round-arched head is accompanied by a low side lancet to its left. The chancel has a steep gabled roof with ashlar parapets and finials. The east window is a 13th-century triple lancet with shafts between the lights. The north elevation of the chancel features a projecting vestry with a three-light north window under a segmental arch head, a two-light square-headed window to the right, and a single lancet to the left.

The south aisle displays a range of three 14th-century two-light Decorated windows with reticulated tracery and ogee heads with uncarved finial blocks, with similar east and west windows. It has a lean-to roof with an ashlar parapet. The north aisle similarly shows a range of three two-light Decorated windows with reticulated tracery and matching east and west windows, also with a lean-to roof and ashlar gable parapets.

The south porch, positioned left of centre, was restored in the mid-19th century. It retains a 14th-century double-chamfered outer arch with cluster responds and a late 12th-century inner door remarkable for its two orders of shafts and bands of zig-zag decoration around the arch with centre bands of beak heads.

The nave clerestory comprises a range of four two-light square-headed windows with 19th-century tracery.

The fine 10th-century west tower is of four stages, each set back progressively. Long and short work appears at each corner. The west door is decorated with capitals and abaci featuring blank arcading and moulding around the arch. All faces of the tower are decorated with lesenes forming a pattern of blank arcading to the base of the second stage, which then intersect diagonally to form a band of diamond shapes at the base of the third stage; the panels between are all rendered. Pair of window openings to the south of the first stage have shallow arch heads with short colonnettes and cross lights, with similar remains to the west face. The second stage has a south-facing door opening, and the third stage has single-light pointed-head window openings to each face. The fourth stage displays narrow five-light arch-headed bell-chamber openings to each face with colonnettes between. Several other minor openings probably date from the 10th century. The castellated parapet likely dates from the 14th century. Remains of a circular sundial or consecration stone are visible on the south face of the first stage.

The interior contains a three-bay nave arcade. The south arcade arches are late 13th-century with octagonal piers and double-chamfered profiles, while the north arcade arches are early 14th-century with four-shafted piers and double-chamfered profiles. The chancel arch is 13th-century with triple-chamfered profile and early 12th-century double-shafted responds. The tower arch is 13th-century with double-chamfered profile, plain responds dating from the late 13th century (many with scalloped capitals), and late 12th-century decoration around the top of the arch, probably reset. The north and south walls of the chancel display late 12th-century five and six-bay blank arcading with zig-zag decoration. Triple stepped sedilia to the south wall have been altered; there is also a 14th-century recess to the left. The roof structures date from the 19th century.

Fittings include a 17th-century carved panelled pulpit, a Perpendicular screen restored and repainted in the mid-19th century, and a 19th-century font. Monuments comprise brasses to John Muscote (died 1512) and his wife, mounted to the south of the tower arch, three early 19th-century tablets with figures and urns to the Whitworth family (located in the tower and to the south of the chancel), and other 19th-century tablets. Most nave and chancel windows contain 19th and early 20th-century stained glass.

The tower is said to date from around 970. It has been suggested that a narrow chancel was originally directly attached, as long and short work is visible to ground level on the east face.