Church Of All Saints

The Church of All Saints is a church, probably dating from the early 13th century, with a tower from the early 14th century. It was restored in 1827-28 and 1860-62. The church is constructed of dressed red sandstone, likely quarried from the nearby Roman Wall, and has a graduated green slate roof with coped gables and a cross finial. The fortified west tower is three stories and square, with walls 1.3 metres thick, featuring slit windows and a chamfered plinth. The tower was rebuilt above its string course before 1790, and includes a battlemented parapet (1827), corner pinnacles (1828), and square bell chamber openings predating 1790. The nave and chancel are five bays, with buttressed walls and pointed lancet windows. A recessed 19th-century east window indicates a former arch to a demolished chancel. A 19th-century porch and vestry cover the original north and south entrances. The porch has a stone slate roof with a coped gable and cross finials, and the original entrance features a round arch with two continuous chamfers and a hood mould projecting on either side. The interior features a 19th-century vaulted pine ceiling and pews with carved Gothic tracery panels, along with a lectern and pulpit of matching details. White marble wall plaques commemorate members of the Fawcett and Farrer families of Scaleby Castle and Scaleby Hall, dating from the early 19th century. Three early 20th-century stained glass windows are also present. A bowl and stem font is dated 1707 and inscribed with the initials MH, NB, WB, CG, and CHURCH WARDENS. A free-standing, inscribed Roman altar, likely from Birdoswald, has been reused in the 14th century and features carvings of clerical heads (now missing) on its back and side. A draw-bar hole is visible within the round arch of the east entrance to the tower. A benchmark is located on the south-west corner of the tower.