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The
First 100 Years
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All
Saints is an exceptionally old church, having been built around 1100 AD.
Only the tower and vestry are
additions, having been built in 1523 and 1875 respectively. Unlike many
churches of the period the basic structure has not been enlarged and as
the walls in the nave and chancel are the original ones it is not too
difficult to imagine what it was like at first. The Chancel arch, the
original west door (visible from the tower base) and the narrow
round-headed windows are all typically Early Norman. All show the local
tufa - a soft limestone.
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We believe there were five Norman windows in the nave although the addition
of the tower and bigger windows has reduced this to two, one of which
(by the pulpit) you will see has had one corner filled in. There were
probably two others, one on each wall, and one on the west wall. All
these were at a high level to reduce draughts as glass was a luxury and
although this would have made the nave dark this was not important as
there were no books and it was quite likely that only the priest would
have been able to read.
In
the chancel there are three Early Norman windows at the east end and it
is likely that there were two more, one on each side where there are
larger windows now. This would have provided light where it was most
needed -- at the altar (then a stone slab) which was the focus of the
service -- the Mass. In these early years the nave would have been empty
except for a few benches by the walls ("the weakest go to the
wall"), the floor covered with rushes and the walls perhaps
decorated with paintings.
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Changes
in Three Centuries
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About
1200 an altar to Our Lady was set up near where the pulpit is now and a
tall pointed glazed window put in with a seat at its base for the priest
and a piscina for ceremonial washing. Only the altar has gone, at the
Reformation. This arrangement was repeated by the main altar and both
are still there. Between 1300 and 1400 the big window was inserted and
the font seen today (and its fine cover) replaced an earlier one. The
bottom half of the present tower (with a wooden structure on top) was
built in 1523 at a cost of £5.
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Reformation
Changes - about 1550
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Latin
was replaced by English and the church still has its original copy of
the 1611 Authorized Version. Holy Communion replaced the Mass and Matins
and Evensong became the popular services. The stone slab gave place to a
wooden altar. One of the treasures of the church is a cross, of bronze,
brass and wood with emblems of the evangelists; it was buried nearby,
probably by the last pre-Reformation vicar to save it from confiscation,
and was not found for nearly 300 years. It is now in the British Museum
but there is a painting in the chancel.
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From
1550 to 1875
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A
pen and ink drawing at the west end shows what the church was like in
this period although most dates of the various changes have not been
established. The east wall had the Creed and the Commandments on slates
and there was a three-decker pulpit. There were a number of box pews,
presumably for the bigger houses, the largest of which (a Jacobean
"Hall" pew) remains at the west end of the nave, now put to
more mundane uses. Villagers sat at the back or in a gallery at the west
end that also housed a "yellow piped barrel organ". The small
window in the south-west corner was put in to give light under the
gallery. The top part of the tower was built in 1841.
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The
Restoration of 1875
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Almost
all of these additions, including the gallery, were swept away at this
time and brought the church near to its present condition. The Norman
chancel widows received stained glass, the reredos with its mosaics and
the vicar's vestry were built and new choir stalls, organ, pews, pulpit
and tiled floors were installed. The present south porch replaced an
earlier one and the plaster ceiling was removed to reveal the fine oak
beams we now see. The cost of all these changes was £1500.
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The
Bells
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There
are three bells, two dating from 1640 and the other from 1655. The tenor
was re-cast and re-hung in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee.
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Recent
Changes
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Due
to the discovery of hazardous material in the blower box, the Victorian
organ was replaced in 1998 by a new electronic instrument which is well
suited to the needs of the building. This also enabled the vestry to be
re-ordered and further changes to make the nave more user friendly are
currently under consideration.
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