All Saints Church is a former church on the north side of the

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

in central

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

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 ...

, on the corner of

Turl Street Turl Street is a historic street in central Oxford, England. Location The street is located in the city centre, linking Broad Street at the north and High Street at the south. It intersects with Brasenose Lane to the east, and Market St ...

. It is now the library of Lincoln College. This former church 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 original All Saints Church was founded in 1122 on this site. However, on 8 March 1700, the

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

of the church collapsed, destroying most of the building. There was an appeal for funds and the current building, seating 350, was completed in 1720. The building was designed by

Henry Aldrich Henry Aldrich (15 January 1648 – 14 December 1710) was an English theologian, philosopher, architect, and composer. Life Aldrich was educated at Westminster School under Dr Richard Busby. In 1662, he entered Christ Church, Oxford, and in 1 ...

, the Dean of Christ Church.

Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor ( – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principal architects ...

is thought to be responsible for the tower and spire. Four of the original bells survived the collapse. The repairs to the church were very expensive and donations were received from most of the

colleges and also Queen Anne. In 1896, when St Martin's Church at Carfax was demolished (except for its tower), All Saints became the official City Church, where the Mayor and Corporation were expected to worship. In 1946 a

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

which had been draped over the coffins of prisoners of war at Batu Lintang camp, Sarawak, Borneo was placed in the church together with two wooden memorial plaques; they were later moved to

Dorchester Abbey The Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul, more usually called Dorchester Abbey, is a Church of England parish church in Dorchester on Thames, Oxfordshire, about southeast of Oxford. It was formerly a Norman abbey church and was built on th ...

Dorchester on Thames Dorchester on Thames is a historic village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, England, located about 9 miles (14 km) southeast of Oxford at the confluence of the River Thames and River Thame. The village has evidence of preh ...

. In 1971, All Saints Church was declared redundant and the City Church moved to

St Michael at the North Gate __NOTOC__ St Michael at the North Gate is a church in Cornmarket Street, at the junction with Ship Street, in central Oxford, England. The name derives from the church's location on the site of the north gate of Oxford when it was surrounded ...

. All Saints was then

deconsecrated Deconsecration, also referred to as decommissioning or ''secularization'' (a term also used for the external confiscation of church property), is the removal of a religious sanction and blessing from something that had been previously consec ...

and offered to Lincoln College, located immediately to the north of the church. Since 1975, after conversion, the building has been Lincoln College's library.The Library

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Flemin ...

Library

The only major change to the interior of the church during its conversion into a library was the raising of the original floor by over four feet to provide space for the lower reading rooms. The upper reading room is known as the Cohen Room and has an elegant plastered ceiling. The decorations include the shields of the major donors who contributed to the cost of the 18th-century rebuilding. The lower reading room is the science library and the senior library, holding older books. The science section is named after a former Lincoln College

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Howard Florey Howard Walter Florey, Baron Florey, (; 24 September 1898 – 21 February 1968) was an Australian pharmacologist and pathologist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Ernst Chain and Sir Alexander Fleming for his ro ...

(1898–1968), instrumental in the development of

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...

, for which he won the

Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single ...

. The Library still has a full peal of eight bells, which are regularly rung by the

Oxford Society of Change Ringers The Oxford Society of Change Ringers, established in 1734, is a society dedicated to change ringing in Oxford, England. It should not be confused with the Oxford University Society of Change Ringers. The society is based at the Cathedral Chur ...

, founded in 1734. They are also rung for special occasions, such as the election of a new Rector of the College.

Headington

There is another All Saints Church in the suburb of

Headington Headington is an eastern suburb of Oxford, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames valley below, and bordering Marston, Oxford, Marston to the north-west, Cowley, Oxfordshire ...

to the east of central Oxford, on Lime Walk.All Saints Church, Lime Walk, HeadingtonHeadington History
It was consecrated in 1910.

References

Gallery

Image:All Saints Church Oxford.jpg, View of All Saints Church from the west along the

. Image:Jesus College engraving 1839.jpg, Engraving looking south along

, with the spire of All Saints Church in the background (1839). Image:All Saints from St Marys.jpg, All Saints Church from St Mary's, on the High Street. Image:All Saints from Turl Street Oxford.jpg, All Saints from

, looking south. {{Authority control 1122 establishments in England 1971 disestablishments in England Church of England church buildings in Oxford Former churches in Oxford Former Church of England church buildings Grade I listed buildings in Oxford Libraries of the University of Oxford Lincoln College, Oxford Religious buildings and structures completed in 1720 Grade I listed churches in Oxfordshire

History

Library

Headington

References

Further reading

Gallery