The Church of All Saints is a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

at Brockhampton in the English county of

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. The church was commissioned by Alice Foster as a memorial to her parents,

Eben Eben is a name of Hebrew origin. It is sometimes short for Ebenezer. The name can refer to: People Given name * Eben Alexander (author) (born 1953), American author and neurosurgeon * Eben Alexander (educator) (1851–1910), American educator * ...

and Julia Jordan. The architect was

William Lethaby William Richard Lethaby (18 January 1857 – 17 July 1931) was an English architect and architectural historian whose ideas were highly influential on the late Arts and Crafts and early Modern movements in architecture, and in the fields of ...

and construction took place between 1901 and 1902. It is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and is considered among the best examples of the works of the

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

History

Alice Foster was the daughter of

Eben Dyer Jordan Eben Dyer Jordan Sr. (October 13, 1822 − November 15, 1895) was an American business executive, best remembered as the co-founder of the department store chain Jordan, Marsh & Co. with Benjamin L. Marsh in 1841. Early life Jordan was born in ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, the co-founder of the

Jordan Marsh Jordan Marsh was an American department store chain founded in 1841 by Eben Dyer Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh. It was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and operated throughout New England. The destruction of the historical flagship store o ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

. On Alice's marriage to the Rev. Arthur Wellesley Foster of Yorkshire in 1885, her father bought the couple the Brockhampton Court estate as a wedding present. Following her father's death in 1895, and that of her mother in 1897, Foster commissioned

to build the memorial church, with

Randall Wells Albert Randall Wells (1877–1942) was an English Arts and Crafts movement, Arts and Crafts architect, designer, craftsman and inventor. He was the son of an architect, Arthur Wells of Hastings. After a practical training in joinery and foundin ...

as clerk of works. The

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

was by

Christopher Whall Christopher Whitworth Whall (1849 – 23 December 1924) was a British stained-glass artist who worked from the 1880s and on into the 20th century. He is recognised as a leader in the Arts and Crafts movement and a key figure in the moder ...

. William Lethaby was born in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

, Devon in 1857, the son of a craftsman. Apprenticed to

Norman Shaw Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...

, he established his own architectural practice in 1889. He also became involved in a range of societies and organisations, such as the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the Victorian restoration, destructive 'restoration' of ancient bu ...

and the

Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of al ...

, which became the nuclei for many of the artists, architects and thinkers who developed the

. Lethaby chose to be closely involved with the construction of the church, directly engaging craftsmen, contracting with suppliers and taking overall responsibility for all aspects of the design. However, Wells proved an unreliable apprentice. He failed to keep Lethaby informed of difficulties which arose during construction, particularly related to his increasing the height of the crossing tower beyond that agreed, and beyond the limit which the foundations could properly support. This caused ongoing problems during the building period and a deterioration in Lethaby's relationship with the Fosters, leading ultimately to Lethaby waiving his fee. All Saints was to be his last architectural work; thereafter he focussed on his role as

Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey The post of Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey was established in 1698. The role is an architectural one, with the current holder being responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of Westminster Abbey, the Abbey and its buildings. In the p ...

, and on his writing and lecturing. The church remains an active parish church in the

Diocese of Hereford The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England, and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. The cathedral i ...

. Peter Davey, in his work ''Arts and Crafts Architecture'', describes All Saints as "one of the greatest monuments of the

Architecture and description

The body of the church is built of

Red sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains, cemented together by another mineral. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed o ...

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

. It consists of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, a porch surmounted by a bell tower, a crossing tower, north and south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s and a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

. The roof construction is unusual for its time, the vaulting is unreinforced concrete, over which Lethaby placed a

thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ('' Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

roof. The concrete allows for sweeping pointed arches in local stone which rise almost from floor level and run the length of the nave. Lethaby's inspiration for the arches has been debated by architectural historians.

Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins FLSW (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust f ...

sees parallels with

Edward Schroeder Prior Edward Schroeder Prior (1852–1932) was a British architect, instrumental in establishing the Arts and Crafts movement. He was one of the foremost theorists of the second generation of the movement, writing extensively on architecture, art, c ...

's St Andrew's Church, Roker and also with work by

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

; while Alan Brooks, in the 2012 revision to the ''Herefordshire'' volume of the ''

Buildings of England The ''Pevsner Architectural Guides'' are four series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. ''The Buildings of England'' series was begun in 1945 by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, with its forty-six original volumes pub ...

'', notes similarities to work by Lethaby's teacher,

Adcote Adcote School is a non-selective independent day and boarding school for girls, located in the village of Little Ness, northwest of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The school was founded in 1907, and is set in a Grade I listed country house b ...

but also to genuine medieval French and Catalan abbeys, such as the monastery at

Poblet Poblet Abbey, otherwise the Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet (), is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151, located at the foot of the Prades Mountains, in the comarca of Conca de Barberà, in Catalonia (Spain). It was founded by Cisterc ...

. Davey notes the innovative, practical advantages of Lethaby's roofing arrangement, as well as its pleasing aesthetic. The combination of thatch and concrete ensured excellent insulation; Davey considers the roof "one of the most sophisticated constructions of its day - and more so than many of our own". The church is a

. The

lychgate A lychgate (from Old English ''līc'', corpse) or resurrection gate is a covered gateway found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard. Examples also exist outside the British Isles in places such as Newfoundland, the ...

has a separate Grade II listing.

Replica

A three-quarter size replica of All Saints was constructed on the upper floors of a skyscraper in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan. The replica acts as a wedding venue. The interior was laser scanned.

Gallery

All Saints Church, Brockhampton - geograph.org.uk - 636330.jpg, The west front All Saints, Brockhampton - geograph.org.uk - 859161.jpg, The north front All Saints' nave - geograph.org.uk - 1356686.jpg, The nave Stained glass window detail, Brockhampton church, Herefordshire (17221830149).jpg, Stained glass Stained glass window, Brockhampton church, Herefordshire (17406075772).jpg, Memorial window to

Lych gate, All Saints - geograph.org.uk - 1185712.jpg, The lychgate which has a separate Grade II listing

Notes

External links

Great English Churches, Brockhampton

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Commons category Brockhampton Diocese of Hereford Grade I listed churches in Herefordshire Arts and Crafts architecture in England