All Saints Church is a redundant Anglican church in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

Ellough Ellough is a civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk, located approximately south-east of Beccles. The area is sparsely populated with a mid-2005 population estimate of 40. The parish, which has an area of , ...

, Suffolk, England. The church is

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

in origin and is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as a designated 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 ...

, and is under the care of the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. The church stands in an isolated position on the top of a low hill, some to the south-east of

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fl ...

History

The church dates from the 14th century, and a south porch was added in 1602, paid for by Thomas Love. Suckling. A. (1846) 'Ellough, or Willingham All Saints', ''The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk: volume 1'', pp. 53–57
available online
. Retrieved 2011-06-25. Wall paintings were removed in 1643 when William Dowling, a strict puritan, visited the church. Land from the

glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

of the church of St Marys in Willingham St Mary, the site of which is visible from the church, was consolidated with Ellough in the 18th century. The church was restored in 1882 by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

, including the replacement of the east window. Its parish was combined with that of

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

in the 1970s and All Saints was largely closed with only occasional services taking place. Richard Aldous Arnold became rector of Ellough in 1830, a post he held for more than 60 years.All Saints, Ellough
Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 2011-06-26. He was the father of Australian politician

William Munnings Arnold The Hon. William Munnings Arnold (10 October 1819 – 1 March 1875) was an Australian politician, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1856 until his death. He held numerous ministerial positions between 1860 and 1865 inclu ...

and the rower Frederick Arnold, both of whom were born at Ellough.King.C.J. (1969) 'Arnold, William Munnings (1819–1875)', ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 3, Melbourne University Press, pp 52–53
available online
, accessed 2011-06-26. Memorials to Arnold and his wife are found on the south wall of the chancel. Arnold is credited with building the parsonage immediately to the west of the church, which dates to around 1830 and is a Grade II listed building.Lewis.S (ed) (1848) 'Ellough, or Willingham (All Saints)', A Topographical Dictionary of England, pp. 158–161
available online
. Retrieved 2011-06-25.

Architecture

All Saints is constructed in

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

with stone dressings. 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-type ...

is rendered, and the roofs are

felted A felted material is a hairy or filamentous (hairy-like) fibre that is densely packed or tangled, forming felt or felt-like structures. Anatomy and zoology The dermis is described in Gray's Anatomy as "felted connective tissue, with a varyi ...

. Its plan consists of a two- bay nave, a two-bay

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. Ov ...

, a south porch, a north organ chamber and a west tower. The tower dates from the 14th century and is unbuttressed. It has two-light bell openings containing Y-

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...

, and a flat

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'). ...

. The nave contains 15th-century two-light windows. Its north doorway is blocked, and the south nave doorway and porch date from the 19th century. The chancel has two-light windows on its sides, and a three-light 19th-century east window. Inside the church is a 14th-century

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 Ca ...

and a

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 ...

. The stairs leading to the former

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 are still present. The octagonal font dates from the 15th century, and its bowl is carved with shields and flowers. The reredos and the chancel ceiling were designed by Butterfield. The memorials include two

brasses A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the pavem ...

in the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

, and there is a ledger slab dating from the middle of the 18th century in the chancel. Many of the fittings have been removed.

References

External links

Suffolk Churches, with photographs of the exterior and interior
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellough, All Saints Church Grade I listed churches in Suffolk Church of England church buildings in Suffolk English Gothic architecture in Suffolk Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links