All Saints Church is a historic

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in the village of

Aldwincle Aldwincle (sometimes Aldwinkle or Aldwinckle) is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, with a population at the time of the 2011 census of 322. It stands by a bend in the River Nene, to the north of Thrapston. The name of the v ...

, Northamptonshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of The Churches Conservation Trust.

History

The church originated in the 13th century. During the next century the north aisle, the vestry and the

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

were added. In the 15th century the tower, porch and chapel were built. The chapel was a chantry chapel founded by the Chambre family and dates from 1488 to 1489. In 1863 the chancel was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

, followed by the rest of the church in 1893. By this time the parish of All Saints had been united with that of St Peter's, Aldwincle, and All Saints subsequently became disused. It was declared redundant in 1976, and has been made into an architectural museum. The poet John Dryden was born in the nearby rectory in 1631, and was baptised in the church. Another poet,

Mary Rolls Mary Rolls née Hillary (also known as Mrs Henry Rolls; 13 September 1775 – 8 April 1835) was an English poet. Life Born on 13 September 1775 to Hannah (née Wynne; 1738–1806) and Richard Hillary (1703–1789) in Westmorland, she was raised ...

, wife of All Saints' rector Henry Rolls, lived at the rectory from 1820 until her death in 1835.

Architecture

Exterior

All Saints is constructed in limestone, and its roofs are covered partly in lead and partly in Collyweston stone slate. Its plan consists of a nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a south porch, a chancel with a chapel to the south and a vestry to the north, and a west tower. The tower is in four stages with buttresses at the corners. The stages are divided by

string courses A course is a layer of the same unit running horizontally in a wall. It can also be defined as a continuous row of any masonry unit such as bricks, concrete masonry units (CMU), stone, shingles, tiles, etc. Coursed masonry construction arranges ...

carved with a variety of images. In the lowest stage is a west doorway. Above this, in the second stage and extending into the third stage, is a three-light window. Over this, in the third stage, is a small

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

. The top stage is the largest, and is almost completely filled by bell openings on each side. These are square-headed and double, each side containing two lights. Above them is a frieze containing quatrefoils, a battlemented parapet, and a tall crocketted

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

at each corner. The sides of both aisles each contain a doorway and three-light windows, and the clerestory has two square-headed two-light windows on each side. There is a two-light window on the east and west sides of the north aisle, and at the west end of the south aisle. The east window has four lights, and there are two-light windows in the north and south walls of the chancel. The chapel has a four-light east window and two three-light windows in the south wall; all these contain Perpendicular tracery. There also is a doorway in the south wall of the chapel.

Interior

The arcades are each of three

bays 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, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

with the arches carried on circular

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

. There is a piscina in the south wall of the chancel, and brackets for statues on each side of the east window. At the southeast corner of the north aisle is another piscina, this one dating from the 14th century, but it is damaged. There is a third piscina in the chapel. The

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

is octagonal and dates from the 13th century. The communion rail is Jacobean in style. In the nave there are fragments of a wall painting depicting

Saint Christopher Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is veneration, venerated by several Christianity, Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Deciu ...

. Above the chancel arch is a royal hatchment flanked by the Ten Commandments. In the chancel is a hatchment to the Spinacre family. In the chancel floor is a brass to the memory of William Aldwyncle who died in 1463. On the north wall of the north aisle is a brass commemorating John Pykering, a physician who died in 1659, incorporating an inscription composed by himself. Some of the windows in the church contain medieval stained glass. The church plate includes a cup and paten from about 1570, and two patens from 1861.

External features

In the churchyard are two items designated as Grade II listed buildings. These are a headstone dated 1696, and a chest tomb from the 17th century. At the entrance to the churchyard is a lychgate to the memory of Fanny Satterfield Hodgson who died in 1917.

References