All Saints' Church is a 12th-century

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Lathbury Lathbury is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is just to the north of Newport Pagnell and just outside the Milton Keynes urban area. History The village name is an ...

in the

City of Milton Keynes The City of Milton Keynes is a unitary authority area with both borough and city status, in Buckinghamshire. It is the northernmost district of the South East England Region. The borough abuts Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and the remainder o ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, England. It was designated a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1966.

Architecture and fittings

The church is an ancient structure, consisting of a west tower, clerestoried

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, north and south

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

s, south

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

, and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

. The tower, nave, and aisles, are embattled, the roofs are covered with lead, the east end of the chancel is finished with a plain

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

, and the porch is plain and gable-roofed, and retains the stone sediles. The tower contains a clock, and four bells. The earliest work in the building is

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

, of which style the south doorway and some piers and arches on that side are plain examples. The tower is Early English, with a later battlement added; the rest is Decorated, with some very good windows. At the angles of the aisles are large

gurgoyles In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

, and there is a cross on the apex of the nave. The south aisle is divided from the nave by two pointed arches supported by a massive circular pillar; the north side being ornamented with a band of zig-zag moulding. The pillar on the south side is decorated with curious carving, probably from designs brought home by a crusader, depicting grotesque dragons having two heads, one at each extremity, and foliage. In one of the square piers in the south aisle is a slab, carved in bold relief, with some creature resembling a serpent and two curiously formed animals. The two pointed arches of the north aisle rise to a greater height than the arches on the opposite side. There is a

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman ...

at the east end of the south aisle, shewing the spot to be the site of an

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

in ancient times. In the south aisle are the steps which formerly led to the

rood A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...

loft. The oak roofs are not concealed by ceilings; that of the nave is supported by sculptured corbels of stone. The six clerestory windows are pointed, and of two lights each. The pulpit is of oak, and octagonal in shape. At the west end is a circular arch, now filled up; and the walls throughout the church retain much of the old paintings in distemper. The chancel arch is pointed, and the east window is of four lights, with quatrefoils in the head, and filled with stained glass, representing Our Lord seated, and in the act of blessing; angels, the sacred monogram, the symbols of the Evangelists, flowers, and foliage. The

sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, usually made of stone, found on the liturgical south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for use during Mass for the officiating priest and his assistants, the ...

, or three seats in the south wall for the priests, has trefoil heading, and a plain band running along the top. In the same wall is the piscina, a very good one, with a pillar supporting the arch. The chancel is paved with black and white marble, laid at the cost of Sir H. Andrewes, bart, at the request of his daughter Margaret, to whom there is a long poetic epitaph in this marble floor. On many of the white marble squares are memorials of the Andrewes family interred there. Near the communion-table is an inscription to Elizabeth, Lady Leigh, Baroness of Stonly, who died in 1678. On the north side of the chancel is a mural marble tablet with the representation of a lady in Elizabethan costume kneeling at an altar, behind her is a youth, also kneeling, and two babies in a cradle; above the heads of the children are the arms and crest of the family of Chandflower. Near the above, is a brass plate, with arms, and under them, an inscription. In the nave, near the pulpit, is affixed a brass plate, with arms, crest, and inscription. In the north aisle is a mural monument of marble, containing a long inscription to Henry Uthwatt. In the same vault is buried Frances (died 1800), his wife, daughter of Sir J. Chester, Bart. There are likewise in the church memorials of the families of Dobinson and Forster. The church register dates from 1690.

References

External links

*
All Saints Church
at the parish of

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. It is separated from the rest of the urban ...

All Saints Church
at BritishListedBuildings.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Lathbury, All Saints Churches in Milton Keynes Grade I listed churches in Buckinghamshire 12th-century church buildings in England Church of England church buildings in Buckinghamshire