All Saints Church, Saltfleetby facts for kids
Quick facts for kids All Saints Church, Saltfleetby |
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All Saints Church, Saltfleetby, from the south
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| OS grid reference | TF 455 905 |
| Location | Saltfleetby All Saints, Lincolnshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| History | |
| Dedication | All Saints |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 9 March 1967 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Norman, Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Greenstone, limestone and ironstone |
All Saints Church, Saltfleetby is an old Anglican church in the small village of Saltfleetby All Saints, Lincolnshire, England. It's no longer used for regular church services, which means it's a "redundant church." This special building is protected as a Grade I listed building, meaning it's very important. A group called the Churches Conservation Trust now takes care of it. The church is located in the marshy area of Lincolnshire and has a unique feature: its tall west tower leans a bit!
Contents
History of the Church
This church has a long history, dating all the way back to the 12th century (the 1100s). Over the years, people made changes and added new parts in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. More work was done in 1611 and again in 1873.
Inside the church, you can still see parts of a building that might be from around 1150. The church was built in two main styles: the Early English style and the Perpendicular style. These are both types of Gothic architecture.
In 1886, a person named R. J. Withers helped repair the church. Later, in November 1973, the church was officially declared "redundant." This means it was no longer needed for daily worship. In the same year, it was given to the Redundant Churches Fund, which is now known as the Churches Conservation Trust. This group makes sure old churches like All Saints are looked after and kept safe for the future.
What the Church Looks Like
All Saints Church is built from many different materials. You can see greenstone, limestone, and ironstone mixed together. Some parts also have brick, and others are covered with a smooth finish called render. The roofs are made of lead and slate.
The church has a main area called the nave, with a smaller section on the south side called an aisle. There's also a south porch, which is like a covered entrance. At the east end is the chancel, where the altar usually is, and a small chapel next to it. The church also has a tall west tower.
Outside the Church
The tower was first built in the late 12th century, but it was made taller in the 15th century. To help support it, large diagonal buttresses (support structures) were added in 1886. One of these buttresses has a small stair turret inside. The tower has three levels and a battlemented parapet at the top, which looks like the top of a castle wall. You can also spot gargoyles (carved stone figures) at the corners.
On the west side of the tower's bottom level, there are two narrow, pointed windows called lancet windows, one above the other. The middle level has rectangular windows on the north, west, and south sides. You can also see the faint outlines of older, round-topped windows from the 12th century that are now blocked up. The very top level of the tower, added in the 15th century, has two pairs of two-light bell openings on each side, where the church bells would have been.
On the north side of the nave, there are two single-light windows with a pointed doorway between them. Further east, there are large rectangular windows with three sections. The north wall of the chancel has two pointed windows from around 1300 and two lancet windows. The east wall has a large pointed window, and the south wall has a three-light rectangular window.
Along the south wall of the aisle, you'll see pilaster buttresses, which are flat supports, with larger buttresses added in 1886. Towards the east end of this wall, there's a three-light pointed window from the 15th century. The rest of the wall has four windows with Y-tracery, which is the stone pattern in the upper part of the window. The porch is located between the middle two of these windows.
The porch itself has a gable (a triangular part of the wall under the roof) and was built in the 15th century. It has angle buttresses and a pointed doorway. Above the doorway, there's an inscription in Latin and some carved shields. Inside the porch, you'll find benches. The doorway that leads into the church from the porch dates back to the 14th century.
Inside the Church
As you step inside, you'll see the tower arch, which is from the early 13th century. The arcade (a row of arches) dates from about 1200. It has four main sections, plus a smaller one, with pointed arches supported by round piers (large columns). The pointed arch leading into the chancel is from the middle of the 12th century.
There are beautiful wooden screens from the 14th century that separate the nave from the chancel, and the chancel from the chapel. The chancel has a double arcade on its south side. In its north wall, there's an aumbry (a small cupboard for sacred vessels), and in the south wall, a piscina (a basin for washing communion vessels). The chapel has a carved stone reredos (a decorated screen behind the altar).
The church has two pulpits (raised platforms for preaching). One is in the Jacobean style and is very ornately carved. The other is from the early 17th century and was given to the church by Oriel College, Oxford. You can also see an 18th-century box pew, which is a private, enclosed seating area.
The font (where baptisms take place) has an octagonal (eight-sided) bowl from the 13th century. This bowl sits on shafts (supports) from the 14th century, which then stand on a richly carved octagonal base from the 15th century.
See also
