All Saints Church, Loughborough facts for kids
Quick facts for kids All Saints with Holy Trinity, Loughborough |
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All Saints with Holy Trinity, Loughborough
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| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Broad Church |
| Website | www.allsaintsloughborough.org.uk |
| History | |
| Dedication | All Saints |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Loughborough |
| Diocese | Leicester |
| Province | Canterbury |
All Saints Church, also known as All Saints with Holy Trinity, is a Church of England parish church. It is located in the town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in England. This church is part of the Diocese of Leicester.
Contents
History of All Saints Church
This church has a long and interesting past. It was first built in the 14th century, and its tall tower was added in the 15th century. The church stands on a small hill in the old part of town. This spot might have been a special place for worship even before Christian times.
All Saints is one of the biggest parish churches in England. This shows how important Loughborough was during the Middle Ages. Back then, the town was a major center for the wool trade.
Loughborough Grammar School was likely started by a priest from this church around 1496. A local wool merchant named Thomas Burton left money in his will to help pay for it. The school was located on the church grounds until 1850. Then, it moved to its own specially built campus. A famous hymn writer, G. W. Briggs, was the rector (head priest) of All Saints from 1918 to 1934. He had also attended Loughborough Grammar School.
Next to the church is the Old Rectory. This building was originally a manor house from the Middle Ages. Records show it existed as early as 1228. Most of it was torn down before people realized how much of the old house was still there. Today, it is a museum that opens on summer Saturdays.
The church's main entrance is on Steeple Row and Church Gate. Church Gate is a very old street that connects the church to the modern town center. Even though it doesn't have medieval buildings anymore, it is still the same width as it was long ago. Part of it is now a pedestrianised area, meaning only people can walk there.
Rectors of the Church
The rector is the main priest in charge of a parish church. Here is a list of some of the rectors who have served at All Saints Church over many centuries:
- Richard de Dalham, 1193 – 1214
- Robert de Verdon, 1215 – 1227
- Thomas de Turville, 1227 – 1244
- Thomas de Torp, 1244 – 1280s
- Thomas de Stanton, 1315 – 1321
- John de Denton, 1321 – 1325
- John Whitstone, 1325 – 1348
- John Leeke, 1349 – 1353
- Robert de Hull de Segrave, 1353 – 1358
- John Leeke, 1358 – 1369 (again)
- Richard Bokelly, 1369 – 1375
- John de Campeden, 1375 – 1381
- Thomas Wroxton, 1381 – 1408
- John Southam, 1408 – 1416
- Thomas Henkeston, 1416 – 1419
- Robert Fry, 1419 – 1435
- Thomas Loughborough, 1435 – 1450
- John Auncell, 1450 – 1452
- John Trypp, 1452 – 1454
- Henry Greene, 1454 – 1473
- John Fisher, 1473 – 1494
- Simon Tavenour, 1494 – 1500
- Richard Lavender, 1500 – 1508
- Robert Blackwall, 1508 – 1509
- Geoffrey Wren, 1509 – 1527
- Robert Fabyan alias Clerke, 1527 – 1533
- Thomas Adeson, 1533 – 1540
- Peter Ashton, 1540 – 1548
- John Willock, 1548 – 1554
- Arthur Lowe, 1554 – 1559
- John Willock, 1559 – 1585 (restored)
- John Browne, sr, 1586 – 1616
- John Browne, jr, 1616 – 1643
- Nicholas Hall, 1643 – 1647
- Oliver Bromskill, 1647 – 1662
- Nicholas Hall, 1662 – 1669 (restored)
- George Bright, 1669 – 1696
- John Alleyne, 1696 – 1739
- Thomas Alleyne, 1739 – 1761
- James Bickham, 1761 – 1785
- Samuel Blackall, 1786 – 1792
- Francis Wilcox, 1792 – 1798
- Richard Hardy, 1798 – 1826
- William Holme, 1826 – 1848
- Henry Fearon, 1848 – 1885
- Thomas Pitts, 1885 – 1917
- George Wallace Briggs, 1918 – 1934
- William John Lyon, 1934 – 1958
- Ronald Albert Jones, 1959 – 1976
- Leonard George Edward Hancock, 1976 – 1993
- Stephen Arthur Cherry, 1994 – 2006
- Rachel Anne Ross, 2008 – 2014
- Wendy Dalrymple, 2015 – 2023
Church Organization
All Saints Church is the official home of the Archdeacon of Loughborough. An Archdeacon is a senior priest who helps oversee many churches in a region. The Archdeacon of Loughborough helps manage six areas called deaneries in Western Leicestershire. These areas are named after old divisions of land.
All Saints is seen as a more traditional Anglican church in Loughborough. There is another main Anglican church called Emmanuel Church, which was built in 1835. Emmanuel Church is more Evangelical and is popular with many students from Loughborough University. Emmanuel also has a sister-church, St Mary's, in Nanpantan. Other churches in Loughborough include The Good Shepherd Church and All Saints Thorpe Acre with Dishley.
The Akeley East deanery is led by a rural dean. The Reverend Wendy Dalrymple was the rector of All Saints until 2023 and also served as the rural dean.
Church Bells
The church tower holds a set of ten bells that are used for change ringing. This is a special way of ringing bells in a changing pattern. The largest bell, called the tenor, weighs about 1.5 tons.
These bells were made between 1897 and 1899. They were cast at the John Taylor Bellfoundry in Loughborough, which was less than a mile away from the church. The four largest bells were made using a special method called lost wax casting. They have beautiful, detailed patterns carved onto their sides.
| Bell | Diameter | Weight | ||
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| feet & inches | (metric equivalent) | hundredweights-quarters-pounds | (metric equivalent) | |
| Treble | 2 ft 4 in | (711 mm) | 7-1-2 | (369 kg) |
| 2nd | 2 ft 5½ in | (749 mm) | 7-0-21 | (365 kg) |
| 3rd | 2 ft 7½ in | (800 mm) | 7-2-10 | (386 kg) |
| 4th | 2 ft 8½ in | (826 mm) | 7-1-7 | (371 kg) |
| 5th | 2 ft 10 in | (864 mm) | 8-1-13 | (425 kg) |
| 6th | 3 ft 1½ in | (953 mm) | 9-3-3 | (497 kg) |
| 7th | 3 ft 5½ in | (1054 mm) | 12-2-23 | (645 kg) |
| 8th | 3 ft 8 in | (1117 mm) | 15-1-25 | (786 kg) |
| 9th | 4 ft 1 in | (1245 mm) | 20-3-6 | (1057 kg) |
| Tenor | 4 ft 7 in | (1397 mm) | 30-2-0 | (1549 kg) |
Music at All Saints
Music is a very important part of worship at All Saints Church.
Director of Music
The church has a Director of Mission through Music. This person helps lead and organize all the musical activities. Emma Trounson has held this role since 2019. She studied music at the University of Bristol and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff.
Musical Groups
All Saints Church has several groups that make music:
- An adult choir
- A children's choir
- An All-Age Music Group, where people of all ages can play together
- A Contemporary Collective, which plays more modern music
- Taize Musicians, who play music in the style of the Taizé Community
The Church Organ
The church has a large pipe organ with two keyboards. It was put in place in 1966 by a company called Henry Willis. Many of the pipes in this organ came from an old organ that was no longer needed at Bridgway Hall in Nottingham. You can find more details about this organ on the National Pipe Organ Register website.
Organists of the Church
Here are some of the people who have played the organ at All Saints Church:
- John Baptist Cramer, 1838–1877
- Dr. Charles Hage Briggs, 1878 - 1902
- R. T. Bedford, 1903–1917
- C. Milton-Bill, 1917–1919
- Miss Rigg, 1920– ????
- Albert Ernest Barton Hart, 1924–1960s
- David Briers, 1970s
- Dr. Peter J. Underwood, 1985–2017
- David Cowen, 2017–2018 (Acting)
- Simon Headley, 2019–Present (principal organist)
