All Saints Church, Oxford

Last updated

All Saints
All Saints Church
All Saints Church Oxford (1).jpg
All Saints Church, now Lincoln College library,
viewed from the High Street
All Saints Church, Oxford
Location Turl Street, Oxford
Country United Kingdom
Denomination Anglican
Website www.lincoln.ox.ac.uk
Architecture
Style English Baroque
Years built1720
Administration
Diocese Oxford

All Saints Church is a former church on the north side of the High Street in central Oxford, England, on the corner of Turl Street. It is now the library of Lincoln College. [1] This former church is Grade I listed.

Contents

History

The original All Saints Church was founded in 1122 on this site. [2] However, on 8 March 1700, the spire of the church collapsed, destroying most of the building. There was an appeal for funds and the current building, seating 350, was completed in 1720. The building was designed by Henry Aldrich, the Dean of Christ Church. Nicholas Hawksmoor is thought to be responsible for the tower and spire. Four of the original bells survived the collapse. The repairs to the church were very expensive and donations were received from most of the Oxford colleges and also Queen Anne.

In 1896, when St Martin's Church at Carfax was demolished (except for its tower), All Saints became the official City Church, where the Mayor and Corporation were expected to worship. [3] In 1946 a Union Jack which had been draped over the coffins of prisoners of war at Batu Lintang camp, Sarawak, Borneo was placed in the church together with two wooden memorial plaques; they were later moved to Dorchester Abbey in Dorchester on Thames. [4] In 1971, All Saints Church was declared redundant and the City Church moved to St Michael at the North Gate. All Saints was then deconsecrated and offered to Lincoln College, located immediately to the north of the church. Since 1975, after conversion, the building has been Lincoln College's library. [5]

Library

The only major change to the interior of the church during its conversion into a library was the raising of the original floor by over four feet to provide space for the lower reading rooms. The upper reading room is known as the Cohen Room and has an elegant plastered ceiling. The decorations include the shields of the major donors who contributed to the cost of the 18th-century rebuilding. The lower reading room is the science library and the senior library, holding older books. The science section is named after a former Lincoln College Fellow, Howard Florey (1898–1968), instrumental in the development of penicillin, for which he won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. [5]

The Library still has a full peal of eight bells, which are regularly rung by the Oxford Society of Change Ringers, founded in 1734. They are also rung for special occasions, such as the election of a new Rector of the College. [5]

Headington

Henry Aldrich, architect of the current church (completed 1720) HenryyAldrich.jpeg
Henry Aldrich, architect of the current church (completed 1720)

There is another All Saints Church in the suburb of Headington to the east of central Oxford, on Lime Walk. [6] It was consecrated in 1910.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Cathedral</span> Church in Lincolnshire, England

Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Construction commenced in 1072 and continued in several phases throughout the High Middle Ages. Like many of the medieval cathedrals of England, it was built in the Early Gothic style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brasenose College, Oxford</span> College of the University of Oxford

Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mid-17th century and the new quadrangle in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln College, Oxford</span> College of the University of Oxford

Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the then Bishop of Lincoln.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carfax, Oxford</span> Crossroads; central area of Oxford in England

Carfax is the junction of St Aldate's (south), Cornmarket Street (north), Queen Street (west) and the High Street (east) in Oxford, England. It is considered to be the centre of the city. The name "Carfax" derives from the Latin quadrifurcus via the French carrefour, both of which mean "crossroads". The Carfax Tower, also known as St. Martin's Tower is a prominent landmark and provides a look-out over the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Oxfordshire</span> History of Oxfordshire

The county of Oxfordshire in England was formed in the early years of the 10th century and is broadly situated in the land between the River Thames to the south, the Cotswolds to the west, the Chilterns to the east and The Midlands to the north, with spurs running south to Henley-on-Thames and north to Banbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Oxford</span> Diocese of the Church of England

The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford, and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It contains more church buildings than any other diocese and has more paid clergy than any other except London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore</span> Church in St Andrews Road, Singapore

Saint Andrew's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Singapore. It is located near City Hall, Downtown Core, within the Central Area in Singapore's central business district. It is the main cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Singapore and serves as the mother church of 27 parishes and more than 55 congregations. The church has existed on the site since 1836, although the current building was constructed in 1856–1861. The logo of the cathedral is the St Andrew's Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radcliffe Quadrangle</span>

The Radcliffe Quadrangle is the second quadrangle of University College, Oxford, England. The buildings have been Grade I listed since 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Milton</span> Human settlement in England

Great Milton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about 7 miles (11 km) east of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,042.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turl Street</span> Street in central Oxford, England

Turl Street is a historic street in central Oxford, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Street, Oxford</span> Street in Oxford, England

The High Street in Oxford, England, known locally as the High, runs between Carfax, generally seen as the centre of the city, and Magdalen Bridge to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broad Street, Oxford</span> Street in central Oxford, England

Broad Street is a wide street in central Oxford, England, just north of the former city wall. The street is known for its bookshops, including the original Blackwell's bookshop at number 50, located here due to the University of Oxford. Among residents, the street is traditionally known as The Broad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorchester Abbey</span> Church in Oxfordshire , United Kingdom

The Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul, more usually called Dorchester Abbey, is a Church of England parish church in Dorchester on Thames, Oxfordshire, about 8 miles (13 km) southeast of Oxford. It was formerly a Norman abbey church and was built on the site of a Saxon cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Market Street, Oxford</span> Street in central Oxford, England

Market Street is a street in central Oxford, England, running east to west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brasenose Lane</span> Lane in central Oxford, England

Brasenose Lane runs east–west in central Oxford, England, between Turl Street and Radcliffe Square respectively. From Turl Street it is only accessible to pedestrians, but vehicles can enter from Radcliffe Square. The lane retains the medieval pattern of a single drainage channel in its centre and has high stone-faced college buildings on each side, being flanked by three historic Oxford colleges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ship Street, Oxford</span> Street in central Oxford, England

Ship Street is a short street in central Oxford, England that runs east–west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buildings of Jesus College, Oxford</span> University buildings

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Rayson</span>

Thomas Rayson was an architect who practised in Oxford, England, and also a watercolourist.

Nathaniel William Harrison was an English architect.

References

Further reading

51°45′09″N1°15′20″W / 51.75250°N 1.25556°W / 51.75250; -1.25556