All Saints Church, Odiham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids All Saints Church, Odiham |
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All Saints Church, Odiham from the northeast
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| 51°15′10″N 0°56′26″W / 51.252678°N 0.940485°W | |
| Location | Odiham, Hampshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | allsaintsodiham.org.uk |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 24 November 1961 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic and Tudor |
All Saints Church is a historic Anglican church. It is located in the village of Odiham, Hampshire, in England. The church is close to Odiham's main street. It is about 10 miles (15.2 km) from Basingstoke. This church is very important. English Heritage has given it a Grade I listed building status. This means it is a building of special historical interest.
Contents
History and Design of All Saints Church
There has been a church on this spot for a very long time. Records from the Domesday Book show a church here by the 11th century. The oldest parts you can see today are from the early 1200s. These include the chancel and the bottom of the tower. The main part of the church, called the nave, was changed later. It was made bigger with side sections called aisles. The top of the tower was rebuilt in the 1600s.
The church today has a nave with gabled aisles. These aisles are about the same height as the nave. They go all the way to the western tower. The chancel sticks out to the east. It has gabled chapels on each side. The church walls are made of flint stone. Some parts, like the top of the tower, are made of red brick. The roof is covered with tiles.
Outside the Church
On the outside, there are seven supports called buttresses on each side. These frame the windows. The windows have different designs from different time periods. You can see styles like Decorated and Perpendicular Gothic. These styles are clear in the large windows at the west ends of the aisles. There is a covered entrance, called a porch, on the north side. It protects a doorway into the north aisle.
The tower has foundations from the 1200s. These are made of flint and rubble. The upper part of the tower was rebuilt in the mid-1600s using red brick. At the bottom of the tower is the western entrance. It has a Tudor arch that was recently fixed. Above this is a window with a brick frame. The tower has two main sections. The first section has a square window in the Tudor style. The bell section has a large, round-topped opening. It has classical details like decorative bricks and columns. The tower is topped with a crenelated parapet. This looks like the top of a castle wall. It also has decorative points called pinnacles from the 1800s. The tower holds six bells. These bells were made in 1614.
Inside the Church
Inside, the nave is separated from the aisles by arches. These arches are from different times and have different styles. The arches on the south side are from the 1200s. They have four sections and columns with delicate shafts. The arches on the north side are from the 1300s. They have three wider arches supported by eight-sided columns. The chancel is mainly from the early 1200s. It is separated from the nave by a large arch. It has two sections and opens into a chapel on each side. These arches are supported by strong columns.
The church has a font from around 1500. A font is a basin used for baptisms. There are also many wooden fittings from the 1600s. These include the pulpit, where sermons are given. There are also galleries at the ends of each aisle near the tower. These were put in in 1632. In 2010, a new gallery was built at the end of the nave. Its design copied the older galleries. This new gallery supports the church's organ. The organ was installed in 2011. It was designed to look like organs from the 1700s.
The chancel has a special window with three sections. It has stained glass from the late 1900s by Patrick Reyntiens. This glass shows the Adoration of the Lamb. Other windows have stained glass from the 1800s and 1900s. These were made by famous artists like Hardman of Birmingham, Burlison and Grylls, George Farmiloe, and Caroline Benyon.
Church Life and Community
All Saints is a busy church in the heart of Odiham. It has a long history, going back to the 1200s. Today, it is a growing church that is important to the community.
The church is open every day from 9 AM to 5 PM. It offers three Sunday services. There is a traditional service at 9:30 AM. An informal family service with Children's Church is at 11 AM. Evensong, a special evening service, happens once a month. The current Vicar, or priest, is Rev'd Chris Dudgeon.
The church works closely with the village. It offers a food bank to help those in need. There are also home groups for people to connect. The church provides pastoral care and many activities for children. These include holiday clubs and after-school clubs. They also host free community events [1]. The church has connections with groups like Mothers Union and Christian Aid. The Friends of All Saints' Church Odiham helps raise money. This money is used to care for the church building and its churchyard.
Music at All Saints
All Saints' has a choir with about 40 children, young people, and adults. They wear special robes and sing on Sundays. They also perform concerts. The choir is part of the Royal School of Church Music. All the younger singers follow a training program called "Voice for Life." The current director of music is Alex Hodgkinson.
The Church Organ
The idea for the current organ came from Ian Ledsham. He became the organist of All Saints' in 2000. Sadly, he passed away suddenly in 2005 before the organ project could be finished. A successful project, led by Tim Paton, then built the organ. It was officially dedicated on September 25, 2011. It was named the Ledsham Memorial Organ in his honor.
The organ was built by Martin Goetze and Dominic Gwynn. Its design was based on organs from the 1700s. These were made by English builders like Bernard Smith. The organ's wooden case was partly inspired by an organ from Lincoln Cathedral built in 1662. It has beautiful carvings by Nick Hunter. These carvings are based on designs from the organ at Framlingham, Suffolk, and other old examples. A new gallery was built at the west end of the nave for the organ. It has steel beams and a wooden front. This front looks like the 1600s galleries on either side. The organ case is made of oak wood. The back case, swell, and wooden pipes are made of pine. The keyboards were made by Verners Kalacis from Latvia. The organ has special bellows that create air pressure for the pipes.
Church Bells
The All Saints Odiham Bellringers are an important part of the church. They are very involved in church activities.
