Building record 1669/1/1 - All Saints Church

12th century origins, mainly 13th and 14th century, restored in the 19th century. Squared coursed and regular coursed limestone and ironstone with lead roof. Aisled nave,chancel, north chapel, south porch and west tower.

{1} Church. C12 origins, mainly C13 and C14, restored C19. Squared coursed and regular coursed limestone and ironstone with lead roof. Aisled nave,chancel, north chapel, south porch and west tower. South elevation of chancel is 3-window range of 2-light Perpendicular square-head windows. Shallow gabled roof with plain ashlar parapets. Rainwater head has date 1891. 3-light Perpendicular east window. North elevation of chancel has C19 vestry attached with 2-light east window and north door. Rainwater head has initials 'J.T.'. South aisle of 2-window range of C14 windows with quatrefoils. 3-light east and west windows with segmental heads. Lean-to roof with ashlar parapets. Central gabled porch has C12 outer arch with spaces for 3 orders of shafts, stiff leaf capitals and zig-zag decoration to arch. Inner arch is C14 with roll mouldings. Ashlar gable parapets and finial base. North aisle and north chapel of 4 bays. 3-window range, of C14 square-head windows with ogee-head tracery and all w th carved label stops. North door in bay to right of centre has stepped and chamfered semi-circular arch head. Small low-side square-head window in left bay. 2-stage buttresses between bays. Nave clerestory has 2-light square-head windows. Shallow gabled roof with ashlar parapets. Decorated west tower of 3 stages with 3-stage clasping buttresses to western corners. West door with roll mouldings has niche above with nodding ogee head and lozenge surround. Diamond window with cusping to south f ce of first stage and west face of second stage. 2-light window to south face of second stage and single lancet to north face. 2-light bell-chamber openings to each face of upper stage. Frieze above has ogee heads with quatrefoils in the spandrels. Castellated parapet with cross slits. Flat-topped stair turret behind parapet in south-west corner. Interior: 3-bay nave arcade of double chamfered arches of limestone and ironstone. Octagonal piers, and north arcade has one quatrefoil pier. Doubl chamfered chancel arch and triple chamfered tower arch. Double chamfered arch from north aisle to north chapel and similar arch from chancel to north chapel. C19 roof structures. Staircase to former rood loft has doorway with 4-centre head. Recess in south wall of south aisle has arch head with roll moulding, stiff-leaf finial and flanking pinnacles. Perpendicular screen in both arches to the north chapel. Tub font with central column support and 4 detached columns; 4 carved heads around bow . Piscina or holy water stoup supported on detached column. Late C17 pulpit. Early C19 pews, those on south side have door. Plank door with original lock to south porch. Monuments: John Bloxham c.1519, brass figure left of altar with scroll emanating from head, on a plain chest-tomb. Sir Henry Vere died 1493, in north chapel, formerly Chantry Chapel, alabaster effigy. Various C18 tablets to Lambe family and C19 tablets to Tyley family in chancel. Stained glass: low-side window in north chapel has reset medieval glass, also fragments of similar glass in north aisle window. C19 stained glass to east windows of chancel and south aisle.

{6} Great Addington Church, originally aisleless 12th c, was rebuilt, enlarged, in the 13th - 15th c, restored in 1891.

{8} The early history od the church of Great Addington is shaky. Both the vill and the advowson of the church were allegedly confirmed to Crowland Abbey as early as 833 by Wiglaf, King of Mercia, and subsequently by King Eadred in 948. If this is so Great Addington had a church early in the Saxon period, which was presumably of considerable importance. Crowland was recorded as holding land in Addington in 1086, but no church or priest is explicitly recorded until the C13th.
The church appears to belong largely to the C14th. The earliest part of the fabric to be dateable stylistically is the outer archway of the porch, of c.1200. Although the VCH suggested that it was originally the south doorway of an un-aisled C12th church, the form of the arch shows that it can never have served as a doorway and is almost certainly in-situ. Such a feature is not uncommon around 1200. The door positions suggest that the nave was originally shorter, if of double-square proportions the west wall would run to the west of the west piers. The form of the arcades supports this hypothesis. On the south side of the nave the two east arches are a pair while that to the west is wider and lower. There is also a surviving respond at the south-east corner. On the north the north-west pier has an exceptionally wide plinth. The north doorway and the south porch show that the nave was arcaded by c.1200. The spacing of the two east arches of the south arcade and the south-east respond probably survive from this period. The chancel was built in the C13th. The south arcade was rebuilt in the early C14th and it was presumably about this time that the nave achieved its present length by the addition of a west bay to the arcades. The steep-pitched roof of which the weathering survives on the east face of the tower belongs to this phase. The aisles, which are of equal width, are probably both of C13th origin, lengthened along with the nave. The tower was built a little later, in the mid C14th. In the C14th the north chancel chapel was added and in the C15th the chancel was re-fenestrated. The clerestorey is also probably of C15th origin though apparently completely rebuilt in the C19th. The church was restored after 1886.

{12} Undated photo.

{14} Most of the few remaining traces of medieval glass are concentrated in the north aisle and north chapel windows, but the only in situ glazing is the late C13 tracery filling in the westernmost window in the nave south aisle.

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 14/7 (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), G07 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN41470.

<3> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.204-206 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77326.

<4> Baker G., 1822-36, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Book). SNN10400.

<5> Page W. (ed), 1930, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.159 (unchecked) (Series). SNN100370.

<6> The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.158-60 (unchecked) (Series). SNN10247.

<7> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p.228-9 (unchecked) (Series). SNN1320.

<8> Richmond H., 1988, Survey of Northamptonshire Parish Churches, (unchecked) (Unpublished Report). SNN1195.

<9> CLARKE G., 1850?, Great Addington Church, (unchecked) (Drawing). SNN106029.

<10> FLESHER J., 1800?, Addington Magna, (unchecked) (Drawing). SNN106030.

<11> Northamptonshire Archaeological Unit, 1978, Church Survey: All Saints, Great Addington, (unchecked) (Report). SNN100932.

<12> Photographs of buildings in Great Addington (Photographs). SNN112505.

<13> Historic England, Undated, All Saints Church, Great Addington, BF052974 (Archive). SNN115781.

<14> Marks R., 1998, Stained Glass Of Northamptonshire, p. 80-82 (Book). SNN101533.

<15> Thorn F.; Thorn C., 1979, Domesday Book: A Survey of The Counties of England, (unchecked) (Series). SNN1170.

<16> Serjeantson R.M.; Longden Isham H., 1913, The Parish Churches & Religious Houses of Northamptonshire: Their Dedications, Altars etc., p.267 (unchecked) (Extract). SNN1080.

<17> Glynne S., 1859, Church Notes of Sir Stephen Glynne, (unchecked) (Manuscript). SNN39492.

Record last edited

Dec 17 2024 1:18PM