All Saints' Church, Oakham is a

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, ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

Oakham Oakham is the county town of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, east of Leicester, south-east of Nottingham and west of Peterborough. It had a population of 10,922 in the 2011 census, estimated at 11,191 in 2019. Oakham is to the west o ...

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

. It is

Grade I listed 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 I ...

History

The spire of Oakham parish church dominates distant views of the town for several miles in all directions. The impressive west tower and spire, built during the 14th century in the

Decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

style, are slightly earlier in date than most of the rest of the exterior of the building, which (apart from some

Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. It was not the same proces ...

) is in the

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It c ...

style. Oddly, the south doorway and its porch seem to be the oldest parts of the church, the doorway probably dating from the early 13th century with the porch having been added later that century. In the light, spacious interior there is more evidence of the mature Decorated style of the 14th century. The tall, slender columns of the

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-typ ...

have intricately carved

capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

showing animals, birds, figures, foliage and scenes from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

including

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

, the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ang ...

and the Coronation of the Virgin Mary. There is also a fine

Green Man The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every Spring (season), spring. The Green Man is most commonly depicted in a sculpture, or other representation of ...

. It is a Grade I listed building. It was restored in 1857 to 1858 by Sir

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

Bells

During the church restoration in 1858 the first stage of the tower was fitted with a new ringing floor and the bells were rehung in a new oak frame. Two bells were re-cast by Mears of London. There is a ring of eight bells cast by

Gillett & Johnston Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a be ...

in 1910, and a priest's bell of 1840. On 9 December 1923 the tenor bell broke loose from the headstock but fortunately was captured in the bell frame and did not penetrate into the ringing room. The bell frame was still in a poor condition in 1937 which prevented it being used to ring for the Coronation of King George VI.

Organ

An organ by

Brindley & Foster Brindley & Foster was a pipe organ builder based in Sheffield who flourished between 1854 and 1939. Background The business was established by Charles Brindley in 1854. He was joined by Albert Healey Foster in 1871 and the company acquired the ...

was installed in 1872Grantham Journal - Saturday 6 April 1872 in the Lady Chapel at a cost of £750 (). It was enlarged in 1896. In 1937, Roger Yates improved and electrified it, and moved it to the north west corner of the Church, with the console in the Trinity Chapel. This organ was removed in 1994. The new two manual pipe organ dates from 1996 and is by the builder Kenneth Tickell and Company. A specification of the organ can be found on th
National Pipe Organ Register

Organists

Parish status

Oakham Parish Church is in a team ministry with: * St Andrew's Church, Hambleton *

St Edmund's Church, Egleton St Edmund's Church is a church in Egleton, Rutland. It is a Grade I listed building. History The church is essentially Norman with good examples of Norman carving in the chancel arch and the south door. Patterned columns support the doorway. T ...

* All Saints' Church, Braunston-in-Rutland *

St Peter's Church, Brooke, Rutland St Peter's Church is a Church of England parish church in Brooke, Rutland. It is a Grade I listed building. History The church has a carved doorway which rises to a pointed arch, which wasn't introduced to England until after the church was bui ...

Church of St Peter and St Paul, Langham The Church of St Peter and St Paul is a church in Langham, Rutland. The Church of England parish church is a Grade I listed building. History The church dates to the 13th century. The chancel arch and the arcades in the nave date to the 14 ...

* St Andrew's Church, Whissendine *

Holy Trinity Church, Teigh Holy Trinity Church is the parish church in Teigh, Rutland. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The current building was built in 1782, having been designed by George Richardson (architect), George Richardson for Robert Sherard, 4th Ea ...

* St Mary's Church, Ashwell, Rutland * Church of St Peter and St Paul, Market Overton

Gallery

Image:Oakham_Church_and_cottage.jpg, All Saints' Church seen from Northgate Image:Oakham Church Interior.jpg, Interior of All Saints' Church; view from north aisle looking southwest towards font Image:Oakham Capital fox and geese.jpg, Early 14th-century capital, showing fox and geese and other creatures Image:Oakham Church capital Angel Gabriel.jpg, Early 14th-century capital, showing the Angel Gabriel (part of the Annunciation scene) (left), and Adam and Eve between Christ and the Jaws of Hell (right) Image:Oakham Green Man capital.jpg, Early 14th-century capital, showing a Green Man

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oakham, All Saints' Church Grade I listed churches in Rutland Church of England church buildings in Rutland Oakham