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All Saints' Church

A Charter granted in 926 to King Edgar mentions a church in Chelsworth, and a Domesday Church is first recorded here in 1086. The church in Chelsworth has been dedicated to All Saint’s from 12th Century at least.

The present building by the river Brett dates from the 13th Century with the majority of its fabric dating from the Perpendicular Period (late 14th Century onwards). Among many fine features, you should try to see the Font, the Crusader Tomb of John de Philibert, a surviving Rood Loft Stair and Doom Painting over the Chancel Arch, and the fine South Porch with 16th Century Stained Glass panels.

The tower had 4 bells in 1552 but in 1746 the three smallest were sold. The remaining bell was recast in 1763 and rehung in 1767.

Box pews were removed in 1866 (and are shown in Walter Hagreen’s drawing of 1851).

The ‘Minstrels Gallery’ was removed some time between 1866 and 1876

NORTH AISLE

ENTRANCE View of North entrance. This and the North Porch were renovated in 1852..
THE FONT The 14th century font has identical cusped arches on the eight faces of its bowl. It is of the ‘Decorated Period’ (1280-1380) and predates the present church
THE TOMB Believed to have been in memory of Sir John de Philibert, Lord of the Manor (from 1334 to 1351). Typical of the Decorated Period it is older than than the church and the aisle in which it stands. It is thought to have been moved from elsewhere, or perhaps from an earlier Chelsworth church. It has been cut into sections and on re-erection it was possibly found unsafe for the pilasters to stand unsupported, as was clearly intended. Much of the carving was sunk into the wall for support. The tomb space was then formed in the thickness of the wall, and the wall itself set back to form the unusual projection seen outside. The medieval ledger stone was inserted into the floor circa 1900. More detail on Sir John can be found here.
PISCINA The tracery of this piscina breaks the splay of the adjacent window, and it may have been built into the wall at the same time as the tomb.  
PISCINA IMAGE BRACKET The presence of the piscina in the south side of the aisle, with the image bracket above it, shows that the aisle was formerly used as a chapel  

NAVE AND CHANCEL
THE 'DOOM' This painting of the Last Judgement was discovered over the chancel arch during re-decoration in 1849. Experts rank it high among surviving church murals of the 15th century. It was crudely 'restored' following discovery. Part of another mural, found on the right of the western arch, has completely disappeared, but a contemporary drawing of it hangs in the church.
ORGAN The two-manual organ, by Auguste Gern of Notting Hill, was installed in 1876, replacing a 'psalmodic barrel-organ' which stood in a gallery half-way up the western arch. The organ was restored in 1993.
PULPIT Like the rest of the chancel furnishings, the pulpit dates from 1866, and takes the place of an earlier 'three -decker'.
PISCINA This is in the traditional position, on the south side of the altar.

SOUTH AISLE
ROOD-LOFT STAIRS The entrance to these was re-opened in the present century. Their height shows that the rood-screen (of which no trace remains), must have been exceptionally lofty.
TILES/CHEST The encaustic tiles at the foot of the stairs, like the nearby chest, are attributed to the 14th Century.  
PISCINA Discovered during re-decoration in 1953, it shows that this aisle was also once used as a chapel.
HATCHMENTS

The hatchments are those of the Pocklington family:

Robert Pocklington (died 1767) and his wife Sarah (died 1808)
Sir Robert Pocklington and his wife Catherine Frances
Samuel Pocklington and his wife Pleasance.

WINDOWS The two heraldic windows, east and west, illustrate the coats of arms of successive Lords of the Manor. The main East Window was replaced in 1866 as the fabric of the earlier window was so poor.

VESTRY

DOORWAY The South Porch, enclosed and converted into a vestry in 1843, has a fine perpendicular doorway, flanked by figures of monks.
GLASS The source of the jumble of glass is unknown. It was discovered on the island west of the church. The small scale of the figures suggests that it is domestic glass.  
BOSS Notice the curious curved heads on the roof-boss.  

EXTERNAL FEATURES
TOMB The projection near the North Porch has already been explained. The row of ball-flower ornaments date it as of the 14th Century.  
CHAPEL Corbel-stones on the north wall of the chancel probably once supported the roof of an external chapel. Part of the tracery of an opening leading to it may be seen just east of the 'Priest's door' (blocked up in 1866).

 

 

All Saint's Church in the past

     
Three drawings by the artist Fred Russel from 1850 and 1851. Above Left: The North View showing the old North Porch prior to its renovation. The Orbell family graves are seen in the foreground and the Fowke vault is seen to the left. Right: The Box pews in the Chancel and Nave are still in place, as is the Minstrel's Gallery. The Parish Chest is seen in the left foreground. Above Right: South View - showing the South Porch just prior to its conversion to a vestry. The Pocklington family vault is seen to the left.
A photograph from 1870 showing North side of All Saint's Church, with the Barns on Deys Field that were demolished in the 1950s.
     
 
Left: The Western Arch between 1866 and 1870. The box pews are no longer visible but the Minstrel's Gallery is still present. Right: 1870 - with the new August Gern organ in place.
 

 

All Saint's Church in the present day