All Saints Church, Ulcombe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids All Saints Church, Ulcombe |
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| Location | Ulcombe, Kent |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | [1] |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 26 April 1968 |
| Completed | 12th to 15th centuries, restorations 20th century |
| Administration | |
| Deanery | North Downs |
| Archdeaconry | Maidstone |
| Diocese | Canterbury |
| Province | Canterbury |
All Saints Church is a really old and special church. It is located in a village called Ulcombe in Kent, England. People started building it way back in the 1100s! It's so important that it's officially protected as a Grade I listed building. This means it has a lot of history and unique features.
Contents
What is All Saints Church Like?
This church was first built in the 12th century. Over the next 300 years, people made many changes and additions. More recently, parts of the inside were updated between 1956 and 1963. The whole church was carefully repaired in the 1980s.
How Was the Church Built?
The church is made from different kinds of stone. Some parts use neatly cut stones, while others use rougher, unshaped stones. The roofs over the main hall (called the nave) and the altar area (called the chancel) are covered with flat tiles. Because of its age and special design, it is a Grade I listed building.
What Are the Main Parts of the Church?
The church has a main hall, the nave. On its south side, there's an aisle, which is like a walkway. On the north side, there's a small room called a chapel. The chancel, where the altar is, also has chapels on both its north and south sides.
The West Tower
The tower at the west end of the church was built in the 1400s. It has three main levels. At the very top, there's a battlemented parapet. This is a low wall with gaps, like a castle. Below this, you can see gargoyles, which are carved stone figures that also help drain water.
A taller, narrower tower, called a stair turret, is attached to the south-east corner. It also has battlements and gargoyles. The openings for the bells in the third level have two lights (windows) with fancy curved tops. The second level has single windows with three-leaf shapes at the top. The large window above the main west door has three lights and decorative stone patterns.
On the south side of the tower, there's a small room called a vestry. It was added in the 1800s or later. It has a sloping roof and contains an old medieval window that was moved there.
The South Side of the Church
The south aisle was built in the 1200s. It has a plain low wall at the top. There's a window from the 1300s to the left of the porch. Another window from the 1800s is to the right. The wall is supported by three buttresses, which are stone supports.
The porch, which is the entrance area, was built in the 1400s. Its top wall matches the aisle. The inner doorway, leading into the church, is probably from the 1300s. The south chancel chapel is even older, from the 1100s. Its top wall is lower and simpler. Most of its two south windows and the east window were added in the 1800s.
The North Side of the Church
The north wall of the nave has two windows with two lights each. There's a doorway between them. The chapel on the north side of the nave was built in the late 1200s. It connects smoothly with the north chancel chapel, which was built later, in the late 1400s or early 1500s. The outer corners of these chapels have diagonal stone supports.
The east window of the north chancel chapel has three lights with stone patterns. The chapel wall also has two other three-light windows and one two-light window. The nave chapel walls have three-light windows on their north and west sides.
The east wall of the chancel has a pointed top and stone supports on its outer corners. The south window is from the early 1300s and has three lights made of a special dark stone called Bethersden Marble. The north window, also from the 1300s, has three lights. The main east window of the chancel, from the 1200s, has three separate lights, with the middle one being taller.
Inside the Church
Inside, the nave is separated from the south aisle by three large arches. These arches, built in the 1200s, rest on rectangular stone supports. The arch leading to the north nave chapel is similar.
The chancel is separated from its chapels by two arches on each side. The arches to the south chapel are from the 1200s, but one of the columns is from the 1100s. The arches to the north chapel were built at the same time as the north chapel itself. The main arch leading into the chancel is from the 1200s. The arch under the tower is from the 1400s. The arch between the south aisle and the south chapel is also from the 1400s.
The roof of the north chancel chapel is from the early 1500s and has decorated wooden beams. The other roofs were rebuilt in the 1800s and are covered with wooden boards.
Special Features and Art
The south wall of the south chapel has a piscina from the 1200s. This was a basin used for washing sacred vessels. The east end of the chancel has two aumbries, which are small cupboards in the wall.
The western parts of the north and south arches in the chancel have carved screens. The northern screen is from the late 1400s or early 1500s. It has a special "linenfold" pattern carved into its lower part. The southern screen is from the 1400s. It has seven openings with fancy tops and wooden stalls below with three carved seats called misericords. These seats could be tipped up to provide a small ledge for standing during long services.
The church walls have old wall paintings. These include a painting of Saint Michael defeating Satan, several scenes of the crucifixion, and a story about a rich man and a poor man called Dives and Lazarus.
The north window of the chancel has "grisaille glass," which is glass painted in shades of grey. The east window of the north chapel (also known as the "St Leger Chapel") has stained glass windows. These windows remember the St Leger family, who were important lords of the manor in Ulcombe for a long time.
Memorials and Tombs
The church has many memorials and special brass plaques. These remember important people from history:
- Sir William Maydeston (died 1419)
- Ralph I St Leger (died 1470) and his wife Anne
- Sir Francis Clerke (died 1685), who was a Member of Parliament for Rochester
- Francis Clerke (died 1691), also an MP for Rochester
- William Belcher (died 1709)
- Samuel Belcher (died 1760)
- Other members of the Belcher family (who died between 1739 and 1819)
- Marquess of Ormonde (died 1820)
- Lady Sarah Wandesforde (died 1838)
There's also another brass plaque for John St Leger (died 1442), but the writing on it is now gone.
The Churchyard
The churchyard outside has a special table tomb from the mid-1700s. It is also a Grade II listed building. You can also find several very old Yew trees in the churchyard. One of them is said to be more than 2,000 years old!
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in Maidstone
