A masterpiece of Victorian Gothic Revival

3__All Saints’ Church

A masterpiece of Victorian Gothic Revival

Once considered one of the finest Victorian churches ever built, by 1973 All Saints’ future hung in the balance. In that year, the vicar retired and the parish was merged with that of the Round Church. For years the church stood empty, grass growing high outside and damage caused by neglect spreading inside; by 1979 it was threatened with demolition. A campaign to save it was mounted by local and national conservation groups, not without controversy: some people felt that the money needed for restoration should go to help the living, not empty churches. But saved it was, and since 1981 it has been cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust, which has put into place a programme of restoration.

Its exterior is grey and rather uninviting and, despite its great size, many people manage to pass by it without even noticing that it is there. Inside, it’s neither the altar nor even the paintings that will draw your attention, magnificent though they certainly are; it’s the walls. George Bodley, one of the finest church architects of his generation, drafted in leading Victorian artists to work on the interior, and they were joined by craftsmen from Frederick Leach’s City Road workshop, including David Parr (see ch. 33). When the church was built in 1870, William Morris was commissioned to produce the design for the east end of the church. Here you can see the huge, intricate stencilled patterns against a deep, rich background. Elsewhere, Leach and his son painted much of the rest, which is a riot of pomegranates and flowers. The stained glass windows, so dull from the outside, shine like jewels from within the church. The East Window, which shows figures from the Old Testament, is a Pre-Raphaelite masterpiece displaying the work of William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and Ford Maddox Brown.

Long closed but now open to all, All Saints’ is most definitely worth a visit.

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Address Jesus Lane, CB1 1LQ, +44 (0)20 7213 0660, www.westcott.cam.ac.uk/ all-saints-church | Getting there Citi 1, 1A, 2, 3 or 8 | Hours Open during term-time only, Sat 10am – 4pm | Tip Next door to All Saints’ is the theological college Westcott House, established in 1881 for the training of Anglican ministers. Th e peaceful and attractive grounds are open to the public.