All Saints' Church, Oakham is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

in the

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, ...

Oakham Oakham is a market town and civil parish in Rutland (of which it is the county town) in the East Midlands of England. The town is located east of Leicester, southeast of Nottingham and northwest of Peterborough. It had a population of 12,14 ...

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

. It is

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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 a ...

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 wikt:refurbish, refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England church (building), churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century Victorian era, re ...

) is in the

Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

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-type ...

have intricately carved capitals showing animals, birds, figures, foliage and scenes from the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

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 (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

and the Coronation of the Virgin Mary. There is also a fine Green Man. The church was restored in 1857 to 1858 by 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 ...

. It is a Grade I listed building. The church formerly housed a library of books donated by Anne Harington in 1616. The remaining collection was transferred to the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

in 1980.

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 Kenneth Hugh Tickell (25 August 1956–24 July 2014) was an English pipe organ builder and organist who, over 32 years, built several notable organs, including at Eton College, Worcester Cathedral, Keble College and Lincoln's Inn chapel. His last d ...

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 * All Saints' Church, Braunston-in-Rutland * St Peter's Church, Brooke, Rutland * Church of St Peter and St Paul, Langham * St Andrew's Church, Whissendine * Holy Trinity Church, Teigh * 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