All Saints Church, Ulcombe
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All Saints is a parish church in
Ulcombe Ulcombe is a village near the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. The name is recorded in the Domesday Book and is thought to derive from 'Owl-coomb': 'coomb' (pronounced 'coo-m') meaning 'a deep little wooded valley; a hollow in a hill side' (Cha ...
, Kent. It was begun in the 12th century and is a Grade I listed building.


Building

The church was begun in the 12th century, with alterations made during the next three centuries. Internal alterations were made in 1956–63 and the church was restored in the 1980s. The church is constructed variously of coursed and rubble stonework and plain tiled roofs to the nave and chancel. It is a Grade I listed building. The nave is adjoined along its south side by an aisle and on the eastern end of the north side by a chapel. The chancel has chapels on the north and south sides. The 15th-century west tower is in three stages on a plinth with a battlemented parapet above a moulded
string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
with gargoyles. A taller stair turret, also with battlements and gargoyles, is attached to the south-east corner. The belfry openings in the third stage are two-lighted with cinquefoiled heads. The second stage contains single light windows with trefoiled heads on the three outward facing sides. The west window above the west door is of three lights and traceried. Attached to the south side of the tower is a 19th-century or more recent rubble-built vestry with a
lean-to A lean-to is a type of simple structure originally added to an existing building with the rafters "leaning" against another wall. Free-standing lean-to structures are generally used as shelters. One traditional type of lean-to is known by its Finn ...
roof. The vestry contains a repositioned medieval trefoil-headed window and a 19th-century doorway and window on the south side. The south aisle is 13th century with a plain parapet above a moulded string. A 14th-century window is to the left of the porch with a 19th-century to the right. The wall is buttressed in three places. The porch is 15th-century with a parapet matching the aisle. The inner doorway is probably 14th-century. The south chancel chapel is 12th-century with a lower parapet without a string. The two three-lighted south windows are mostly 19th-century. The window in the east end of the chapel is similar. The north wall of the nave contains two two-lighted windows with a moulded doorway between. The chapel to the north side of the nave is late 13th century and forms a continuous facade with the adjacent north chancel chapel constructed in the late 15th or early 16th century. The two external corners of the chapels are buttressed diagonally. The east window of the chancel chapel is three-lighted and traceried. The chancel chapel wall contains two three-lighted window and a two-lighted window. The nave chapel walls contain three-lighted windows in the north and west walls. The gabled east wall of the chancel is buttressed on the external corners. The south window is early 14th century with three-lights formed in
Bethersden Marble Sussex Marble is a fossiliferous freshwater limestone material which is prevalent in the Weald Clay of parts of Kent, East Sussex and West Sussex in southeast England. It is also called Petworth Marble, Bethersden Marble or Laughton Stone in relat ...
. The three-lighted north window is also 14th century. The 13th-century chancel east window is formed of three separate lights with the centre taller than the sides. Internally, the nave is separated from the south aisle with a three-
bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...
arcade of 13th-century pointed arches on rectangular piers. The arch to the north nave chapel is similar. The chancel is separated from its chapels with two-bay arcades on each side. The arcade to the south dates from the 13th century but includes a 12th-century column. The north arcade is contemporary with the north chapel. The chancel arch is 13th century on possibly 12th-century bases. The tower arch is 15th century and the arch between the south aisle and the south chapel is 15th century. The roof of the north chancel chapel is early 16th-century with moulded timbers. The other roofs are 19th-century and boarded. The south wall of the south chapel contains a 13th-century piscina. The east end of the chancel contains two aumbries. The western bays of the north and south arcades in the chancel contain carved screens. The northern one is late 15th or early 16th century with
linenfold Linenfold (or linen fold) is a simple style of relief carving used to decorate wood panelling with a design "imitating window tracery", "imitating folded linen" or "stiffly imitating folded material". Originally from Flanders, the style became ...
moulding to the lower part. The southern screen is 15th century with seven cinquefoiled headed lights and stalls below with three carved misericords. The walls feature wall paintings in various locations including St Michael defeating Satan, a number of crucifixions and
Dives and Lazarus The rich man and Lazarus (also called the parable of Dives and Lazarus or Lazarus and Dives) is a parable of Jesus from the 16th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Speaking to his disciples and some Pharisees, Jesus tells of an unnamed rich man an ...
. The north window of the chancel contains grisaille glass and the east window of the north chapel (or "St Leger Chapel") contains
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
in memory of the St Leger family, long
lords of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seigno ...
of Ulcombe The church contains memorials or
monumental brass 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 paveme ...
es to Sir William Maydeston (''d'' 1419),
Ralph I St Leger Ralph St Leger (died 1470) (''alias'' Randolf, etc.) of Ulcombe in Kent was Sheriff of Kent in 1467/8 and was constable of Leeds Castle in Kent. He was a member of the St Leger family. Family He was the eldest son and heir of Sir John St L ...
(''d'' 1470) and his wife Anne, Sir Francis Clerke (''d''. 1685, MP for Rochester), Francis Clerke (''d''. 1691, also MP for Rochester), William Belcher (''d''. 1709), Samuel Belcher (''d''. 1760), members of the Belcher family (''d''. between 1739 and 1819),
Marquess of Ormonde A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
(''d''. 1820) and Lady Sarah Wandesforde (''d''. 1838). A further brass, its inscription now lost, is for John St Leger (''d''. 1442). The churchyard contains a Grade II listed mid-18th-century table tomb. Also in the churchyard are several ancient
Yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...
trees, one of which is claimed to be over 2,000 years old.


See also

* Grade I listed buildings in Maidstone


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulcombe, All Saints Church Borough of Maidstone 12th-century church buildings in England Grade I listed churches in Kent Church of England church buildings in Kent Diocese of Canterbury