All Saints' Church, Hertford facts for kids

Quick facts for kids All Saints' Church, Hertford
All Saints' with St John's, Hertford
All Saints' Church, Hertford, from the southwest
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OS grid reference	TL 328,125
Location	Queens Road, Hertford, Hertfordshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	All Saints, Hertford
History
Former name(s)	All Hallows, Hertford
Status	Parish church
Founded	?700 AD
Dedication	All Saints
Consecrated	20 February 1895
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	12 April 1973
Architect(s)	Paley, Austin and Paley Austin and Paley
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival (Perpendicular)
Groundbreaking	1893
Completed	1905
Specifications
Capacity	800
Height	140 feet (42.7 m)
Materials	Runcorn sandstone
Administration
Parish	All Saints with St. John, Hertford
Deanery	Hertford and Ware
Archdeaconry	Hertford
Diocese	St Albans
Province	Canterbury

All Saints' Church is a beautiful and important church located in Queens Road, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England. It's an active Anglican church, meaning it's part of the Church of England. It serves as the main church for the town and county.

This church is very special and is listed as a Grade II* listed building on the National Heritage List for England. This means it's a historically important building. All Saints' Church is the largest church in Hertfordshire, apart from St Albans Cathedral, and can hold up to 1,000 people.

History of All Saints' Church

The history of this church goes back a very long time, even before the 10th century. A church was already standing on this spot when the Domesday Survey was completed in 1086. This survey was a huge record of land and property in England.

During the 15th century, the original church was replaced by a new one. This church had a cross-shaped design and a tower at the west end. In the 17th century, the parish of All Saints joined with the parish of St John.

Rebuilding After the Fire

Sadly, on December 22, 1891, the church was completely destroyed by a fire. A competition was held to find the best design for a new church. The winning design came from a firm of architects called Paley, Austin and Paley from Lancaster.

The first stone for the new church was laid on March 25, 1893. The new building was officially opened and blessed by the Bishop of St Albans on February 20, 1895. The insurance from the old church only covered a small part of the cost, about £2,800. The community helped raise a lot more money, about £12,500, to build the new church.

The church was fully completed between 1904 and 1905 when the west end and the tower were added. This work was done by the same architects, whose firm was then known as Austin and Paley. This final part cost about £10,366. Later, in 1934, a special Memorial Chapel was finished. It was built to remember those who lost their lives in the First World War. In 2003, new glass doors were added at the west entrance of the church.

Church Design and Features

Outside the Church

All Saints' Church is built from red Runcorn sandstone, with roofs made of lead and tiles. Its style is Gothic Revival, specifically Perpendicular. This means it looks like churches from the late medieval period, with tall windows and strong vertical lines.

The church has a main area called a nave with a clerestory (a row of windows high up). It also has side sections called aisles, a porch, a north transept (a part that sticks out like the arms of a cross), and a chancel (the area around the altar). There's also a vestry and a south chapel.

The tower has three levels. It has a half-octagonal stair turret on one side and strong buttresses at the corners. There's a large door at the west end with a big window above it. The middle level has windows and clock faces on all sides. The top level has openings for bells. The top edge of the tower is castellated (like a castle wall) and has gargoyles at the corners.

Inside the Church

Inside, the tower is held up by large, eight-sided piers (columns). The main arcades (rows of arches) are supported by eight-sided columns. At the entrance to the south chapel, there is a beautiful oak screen that was put in place in 1961.

Two steps lead up from the main part of the church to the chancel. The alabaster reredos (a decorated screen behind the altar) was given to the church in 1914. It has a carved scene of the Last Supper and four saints. In the south wall of the chancel, there is a small piscina (a basin for washing sacred vessels) and a twin sedilia (seats for clergy).

The pulpit (where sermons are given) is made of sandstone and is attached to a column. The font (used for baptisms) is made of polished fossil limestone. It has a carved eight-sided bowl on top of a column.

The stained glass in the east window, from 1900, was made by Kempe. The stained glass in the Memorial Chapel's east window shows four martyrs and was designed by J.N.C. Bewsey. Other stained glass on the north side of the church is by Shrigley and Hunt.

The church also has pieces of old brasses from the earlier 15th-century church. The chapel has a marble memorial to the 1st Battalion of the Hertfordshire Regiment, designed in 1921 by Reginald Blomfield.

The Church Organ

The church has a large three-manual organ. It was built between 1899 and 1900 by Henry Willis & Sons, a famous organ builder. More parts were added by the same company in 1910.

In 1971, the organ was rebuilt by Cedric Arnold, Williamson & Hyatt after it was damaged by fire. It was rebuilt again with some new additions in 2001 by the Village Workshop. The organ was originally hand-blown until an electric blower was installed in 1923.

The organ has been carefully maintained and improved over the years. New pipes were specially made to match the original Willis pipes. The church also has a ring of ten bells. All these bells were made in 1907 by Mears and Stainbank at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

Churchyard Features

The churchyard has several memorials that are also considered important historic buildings. Five of these are listed as Grade II listed buildings. These include:

• A chest tomb made of white Portland stone from 1774.
• A chest tomb made of stuccoed brick from the 18th century.
• Two stone gravestones from the 18th century.
• A carved Portland stone headstone from 1711.
• A group of six headstones from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Notable People Buried Here

• William Tutty

See also

• Grade II* listed buildings in East Hertfordshire
• List of works by Paley, Austin and Paley
• List of ecclesiastical works by Austin and Paley (1895–1914)