Church of All Saints

An Arts-and-Crafts Gothic church comprising an aisled four-bay nave, higher chancel and west tower. Built of snecked, tooled red sandstone with lighter freestone dressings, and slate roof behind coped gables to the chancel and porch.

Exterior

The Germanic-influenced tower is of three stages. The north and south walls have full-height set-back buttresses, except on the south-east side where the buttress rises above a polygonal stair turret. The west window is three-light Perpendicular, with pointed windows to the north and south. The second stage has a round clock face to the south and west. In the west wall are windows flanking the clock, on the south side a single window to the left of the clock, and a single north window. The bell stage has two-light bell openings with stone louvres, Perpendicular tracery over segmental main lights, and square heads. On the east side is only a small window in the bell stage. Buttresses have swept pyramidal roofs and finials, and share an eaves line with the main roof which is a broached pyramid roof with a single tier of hipped lucarnes in the main directions, below an apex finial and weathervane.

The porch is at the left end of the south aisle. It has outer battered buttresses. The pointed entrance has a continuous hollow chamfer and hood mould, and double studded doors with strap hinges. Above it is a pointed cusped light with leaded glazing. In the left side wall are two windows under shallow ogee heads. The south aisle has unequally placed windows and a buttress to the east end. It has a pair of two-light windows to the left, then a three-light and a two-light window, all with ogee-headed lights and square heads. The east wall has two stepped cusped lights. The aisle also has some original rainwater goods. The north aisle has similar windows. Beginning from the east end is a three-light window, then a pair of two-light windows, a three-light and a two-light window. A cusped pointed window is in the west wall. In the clerestorey to north and south is a two-light window to the narrower west bay, otherwise paired two-light windows, similar to the aisle windows.

The chancel has west buttresses rising above the aisle roof, and lower battered east buttresses. In the south wall are paired two-light pointed windows with simple Perpendicular tracery and linked hood mould, to the right of which, and set higher, is a two-light Perpendicular window with hood mould. The five-light Perpendicular east window is above a tablet with dedicatory inscription in memory of the Earl and Countess of Abergavenny, dated 1898. The north wall has a two-light Perpendicular window. To its right is a gabled vestry and organ chamber, which has an external stack against the chancel wall. In the east wall is a two-light mullioned window in the ground floor, and similar two-light upper window. Below are stone steps to the boiler room. In the north wall are a pair of two-light mullioned windows to the ground floor and three-light Perpendicular window above. On the west side an entrance has a shallow ogee lintel and studded door with strap hinges.

Interior

The south door opens to a small half-glazed vestibule with leaded glazing. The interior is faced in tooled snecked stone with freestone dressings, including rere arches. The four-bay nave has Decorated-style arcades of octagonal piers on square bases, pointed arches with a single order of chamfer, and a hood mould. A plainer pointed lower arch is to the tower. The four-bay nave roof has collar-beam trusses on large corbelled brackets, with an emphasis on the joinery characteristic of Douglas. All but the narrower west bay also have subsidiary collar trusses. The underside of the roof is boarded, as it is in the aisles. Aisles have tie beams on corbelled brackets. In the north aisle east wall are stone steps with wooden balustrade to a vestry doorway, which has a shouldered lintel, and boarded door with strap hinges. In the south aisle west wall is a boarded door to the tower stair.

The wide, high pointed chancel arch has a continuous hollow moulding. The chancel is at a higher level, reached up steps, has ashlar walls and decorative tile floor. The three-bay roof has trusses on corbels, decorated with relief angels and IHS monogram, and bracketed tie beams. Above the tie beams are moulded posts, including barley-twist queen posts. A high pointed arch with continuous chamfer opens to the north organ recess. Two sedilia and the piscina have lintels with relief ogee heads, and linked hood mould. A tablet in the south wall commemorates the gift of the church by Lady Henrietta Augusta Mostyn, 1898. The stone reredos is dated 1905 on a brass plaque in the north wall. It comprises a high-relief sculpture of Christ as a shepherd, under a cusped, ogee crocketed canopy between pinnacles on angel corbels, and outer half arches with traceried spandrels. The whole is framed by larger pinnacles, foliage cornice and brattishing. To the right and left are blind arcades of four bays with cusped main lights below reticulated tracery incorporating subsidiary trefoils and quatrefoils, and framed by end pinnacles and castellated cornice. The main lights are painted with the Ten Commandments.

The base of the tower is a baptistery with font of 1899 and stained glass in memory of Thomas and Sophia Mary Wallace. Around the font is a black-and-white diaper floor. The white marble font is by George Roberts & Son of Llandudno. It has a round bowl with a relief inscription around the rim 'The Lord bless thee and keep thee'. Four square panels, with relief moulded quatrefoils, a dove and one with the monogram 'T & SM W' are above detached Purbeck-marble shafts with marble bases and caps. These are subsidiary to the main pedestal of four clustered shafts. The octagonal base has a relief inscription around its rim 'Suffer little children to come unto Me'. The font has its original brass and wood cover.

Fittings

Simple pews have shaped ends and incorporate umbrella stands, and are probably by Douglas. The front rank have blind traceried fronts. The polygonal wooden pulpit is on a stone base. It is panelled, with wider central facet depicting in low relief the resurrected Christ appearing to his eleven disciples. The choir stalls, also probably by Douglas, have ornate fronts of foliage panels over shallow paired arches on turned posts. Shaped ends include stylised poppy heads to the front rank. The low communion rail has balusters and arcading.

In the north aisle the east wall is a 1914-18 war memorial in the form of a Gothic reredos, by J.H. Hutchings, a local art teacher. It has three panels bearing inscriptions, above a corbelled shelf. The central arch has a cusped and crocketed ogee head, with traceried spandrels and brattishing. The simpler outer panels have foliage and castellated cornice, and diagonal pinnacles. On the north wall is a 1939-45 war memorial in the form of an engraved tablet in a freestone surround.

Stained Glass

Most windows have stained glass, much of it by Lavers & Westlake of London. Chancel windows, however, are unsigned. The east window depicts the crucifixion. The north and south chancel walls depict Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In the other chancel south window, of the early 20th century, depicts Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene. In the south aisle the two east windows are similar, one signed by Lavers & Westlake, 1899, shows the Good Shepherd, the other shows Christ as the light of the world, post 1903. In the south wall, from the east end, is a window on the theme of 'Suffer little children' with multi-racial group of children, post 1962; Christ healing the sick by Lavers & Westlake, 1905; Christ as a shepherd, with the resurrected Christ and Mary Magdalene, post 1934. In the west wall is a harpist and organist, by Celtic Studios of Swansea, 1982. In the north aisle, from the east end, the resurrected Christ appearing to his disciples, post 1904 by Lavers & Westlake; Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene, post 1961; Christ with Martha and Mary, 1964; Christ calming the storm, 1905; and two bishops, one with cross and eagle, one with crook (Saint Martin of Tours), by H.G. Hiller of Liverpool, 1934.

The baptistery has glass contemporary with the font. The west window, by Lavers & Westlake, 1899, shows emblems of the Evangelists, Pelican of Piety and Ark. The north and south windows, from the same workshop, show symbols such as Alpha and Omega, peacock, fish, phoenix and dove, as well as the Wallace family monogram.