All Saints' Church is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

church located in

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. There have been multiple churches on the site of this one. The earliest mention of a church dates to 973 AD with the original dedication having been to either St Mary, or The Blessed Virgin and All Martyrs. The

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

Early English Period 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 a ...

, but the main structure is in the Late

Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...

style, dating from about the reign of Henry VII, and rebuilt in 1620. It was restored under the direction of

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely 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 ...

when new oak roofs were added, and the old carving, retained wherever possible, or faithfully reproduced. It consists of chancel,

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 ...

, aisles, south porch and a western tower of Perpendicular era, containing four bells. There are several stained windows, a

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

of carved

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

around which runs an elaborate railing of metal work, in which a combination of copper, brass and tin has been used, the whole resting on a stone base. The font is of carved stone supported on columns of jasper, Irish and foreign marbles. There is a large organ with three rows of keys and containing between thirty and forty stops. The stalls are of carved oak, interspersed with walnut and cedar. A

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

of carved oak, enriched with figures, niches and canopies, was erected in the 1800s. The

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

was enlarged and ornamented with caning. The church has seating for about 500 persons. The registers of the parish of St John Baptist, brought here at the demolition of the church of that name, date from 1585; those of All Saints are from 1558. The celebrated entry of the baptism of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

occurs in the register of St John's under the date of 1599, and there is a mention, about twenty years later, of his having done penance for some improper conduct. The name of Cromwell frequently occurs: Robert Cromwell father of the Protector, was buried in the church, 24 June 1617. There is also mention made of the resting within its walls of the body of

Mary Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

on its way from

Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, and formerly known as Peterborough Abbey or St Peter's Abbey, is a cathedral in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. The seat of the Church ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, to which latter place it was removed by order of her son, James I.

References

* ''This article includes text incorporated from E.R. Kelly's "Kelly's directory of Bedfordshire, Hunts and Northamptonshire." (1885), a publication now in the public domain.''

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntingdon, All Saints 973 establishments Church of England church buildings in Cambridgeshire 10th-century church buildings in England Huntingdon Churches completed in 1620 Churches in Huntingdonshire 1620 establishments in England

See also

References

External links