The Church of All Saints is the Anglican parish church for the village of Willian in Hertfordshire. The benefice is united with St Paul's church in nearby Letchworth, [1] although each church has its own parish. It is in the Diocese of St Albans. [2] The church has been a Grade II* listed building since 1954. [3]
All Saints' dates back to at least Norman times [1] and consists of a nave with two bays and a chancel dating to the 12th and 13th centuries, respectively. The tower and south porch are 15th century. The tower is of three stages with a stair turret and battlemented parapet and has eight gargoyles. The thin red tiles visible on the south side of the tower are thought to mark the day by day progress of the workmen. Major renovation of the tower was carried out in 1996 when seven of the eight gargoyles were replaced with replicas carved by Rattee and Kett. These represent opposites: Life and Death; Saint and the Devil: King and Queen, and a Lion and a Man. The clock was installed to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897; it was restored in 1991. The buttresses supporting the nave date to the 15th-century, while those supporting the chancel are 19th-century. [4] The roof is of Welsh slate with coped gables, while the structure is built of flint and ironstone rubble walls with ashlar dressed stone and buttresses. The 14th and 15th century fenestration is in the Perpendicular style. [3] [5]
The church's interior has a 19th-century timber barrel roof above both the nave and chancel, while the latter still has its original corbel masks and carved seats. The nave is high and light owing to work done in 1866-70 when the window opposite the porch was added and the roof raised. The two windows facing each other date to about 1430 although the stained glass in them is from 1918. The walls are from about 1100 to 1150. The free-standing communion table has a prominent position and behind it is a carving of an elephant and castle on the president's chair, which was made in 1974 using medieval woodwork already existing in the church; on a side panel is the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Recent research suggests that these carvings were originally made in about 1475 for St Andrew's church in Biggleswade and were brought to Willian in about 1830.
There is a monumental brass to Richard Golden (died 1446), priest at Willian 1416–1466, [4] while the walls are adorned with good quality monuments, those in the chancel being to Edward and Joan Lacon (died 1625 and 1624), John Chapman (died 1624) and Thomas Wilson (died 1656). [6] The latter is a fine and rare example. These monuments were cleaned and some were repainted in 1974. The newer of the two lecterns was given in memory of Samuel Valentine, who died in 1974; the older one was given in 1870 by Thomas Legh Claughton, the Bishop of Rochester in whose diocese Willian then lay. [4] The original 15th-century rood screen has been removed. [3] [7] Above the tower arch are the Royal Arms which were probably placed there during the restoration of 1870. At the base of the tower the Ellacombe Chime bell-ringing apparatus on the wall enables one person to ring all six bells. The oldest bell in its original state is dated 1662. The organ was made by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd in 1864, and was refurbished in 1986. The Victorian baptismal font is believed to be the fourth in the church. Its predecessor was taken to the Rectory where it was used as a plant container. [4]
Buried in the churchyard is Annie Jane Lawrence, who built The Cloisters in nearby Letchworth. [8] Here too lies Bernard George Ellis GC, who was awarded the Albert Medal in 1919, translated to the George Cross in 1970. Also here are five graves maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission - one from World War I and four from World War II. [9]
Battlesden is a hamlet and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It is just north of the A5, between Dunstable and Milton Keynes. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 38. Because of its low electorate, it has a parish meeting rather than a parish council. It is in the civil parish of Milton Bryan.
St James' Church is in the village of Gawsworth, Cheshire, England, and is sited near Gawsworth Hall. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Macclesfield. Clifton-Taylor includes it in his list of 'best' English parish churches. The authors of the Buildings of England series describe the church as being "pretty, but odd".
All Saints Church is in the small village of Weston-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Gloucester, the archdeaconry of Cheltenham and the deanery of the North Cotswolds. Its benefice 'RiverVale Churches' is combined with those of St Peter's, Welford, St Swithin's, Quinton and St James The Great, Long Marston, Warwickshire.
The Church of Saint Andrew is an Anglican parish church located on Turnhill Road, in High Ham, Somerset, England. It shows evidence of 12th- and 14th-century building and was largely rebuilt in 1476. On 17 April 1959, it was designated as a Grade I listed building.
St Michael and All Angels Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Edmondthorpe, Leicestershire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
All Saints Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Beeby, Leicestershire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
St Michael's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Cotham, Nottinghamshire, England. The building dates back to the 12th century.
All Saints' Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Icklingham, Suffolk, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands in the highest point in the village, adjacent to the A1101 road between Mildenhall and Bury St Edmunds. This was formerly the ancient trackway of Icknield Way, and Icklingham is close to an important junction on this trackway.
St Michael's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Burwell, Lincolnshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It stands on a hillside by the A16 road as it passes through the village.
All Saints Church, Saltfleetby, is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Saltfleetby All Saints, Lincolnshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands in the marshland of Lincolnshire, and has a leaning west tower.
St James' Church is a redundant Anglican church near the village of Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) as a Grade I listed building, having been designated in 1967. The church is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church is about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the southeast of the village on the north side of the B181 road. It stands on the top of a hill overlooking the Lea marshes.
All Saints’ Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Theddlethorpe All Saints, Lincolnshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands to the east of the A1031 road in the area of the village named Theddlethorpe All Saints, and is some 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Mablethorpe. It has been called the "Cathedral of the Marsh".
All Saints Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Little Wenham, Suffolk, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It stands in an isolated position close to Little Wenham Hall, about 0.6 miles (1 km) to the northwest of Capel St. Mary.
St Andrew's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Buckland, Hertfordshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands at the highest point in the village to the east of Ermine Street, now the A10 road, between Royston and Buntingford.
St Laurence's Church is in Union Street, Chorley, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Chorley, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the diocese of Blackburn. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
All Saints' Church is in Queens Road, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Hertford and Ware, the archdeaconry of Hertford, and the diocese of St Albans. It is the civic church of the town and of the county. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is the largest church in Hertfordshire, other than St Albans Cathedral, and can seat up to 1,000 people.
All Saints is a parish church in Ulcombe, Kent. It was begun in the 12th century and is a Grade I listed building.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is the Church of England parish church of Letchworth in Hertfordshire. A church appears to have been on the site since before the Norman Conquest. The current church was built in the late 12th century and is Grade II listed. It comes under the Diocese of St Albans. The original dedication of the church is unknown; it was rededicated to St Mary during the First World War.
The Church of St Nicholas is a Church of England parish church in the village of Hinxworth in Hertfordshire and is a Grade II* listed building dating mostly to the 14th century. The church comes under the Diocese of St Albans.
St Peter's Church is the parish church of Dalby, North Yorkshire, a village in England.
