Listed Building record MDR5640 - All Saints' Church, Off Tamworth Road, Sawley

All Saints' Church, off Tamworth Road, Sawley, originally an 11th century building. 'A Prebendary of Sawley was appointed in 822 by Bishop Ethelwald. All Saints' Church 'consists of an exceptionally wide nave, side aisles, south porch, chancel, and tower surmounted by a spire at the west end.... [Since] there was a church here in 822, Saxon work is ... looked for in this fabric. ... The archway into the chancel is a semi-circular one ... ; the masonry above the arch, and on the north side within the chancel, is rude, and a small part of herring-bone work can be detected. This is undoubtedly Saxon'. Cox considered that the church had not been enlarged or repaired in the Norman period, with the next oldest work being Early English, in the form of a lancet-window in the west wall of the south aisle, now blocked up; and also in the responds at the east end of the nave arcades, suggesting that the church was extensively rebuilt about the middle of the 13th century. Decorated work seems to extend from about 1290 to 1320. In the south wall of the chancel is an external founder's recess, evidently coeval with the building of the chancel, c1320. Hugh de Scoter, the first vicar of Sawley, 1266-1315, was probably chiefly responsible for the building of the present north aisle, and the nave arcades etc. It is evident that Robert Bothe, on the death of his father in 1467, considerably altered the church. The whole of the tower and spire are also 15th century. In the south wall of the chancel is a projecting bay of late Perpendicular character, described by Cox as 'a most exceptional feature in a parish church'.' (1) 'Because of the herringbone masonry it contains ... it has frequently been claimed that [the chancel arch] ... does not belong to the Saxon period. The breadth of the arch span is alone sufficient contradiction of any claim to a date earlier than the Conquest. Herring-boning is found in its earlier quantities in the walls of early Norman castles like Lincoln, Richmond and Tamworth, and its presence can never safely be accepted as evidence of Saxon work. The chancel arch with its walling probably belongs to the second half of the 11th century, though it is also quite possible that the arch may have been put up at a still later time. There are several cases of plain arch chancels in north Yorkshire which, ... do not seem to be earlier that the second quarter of the twelfth century'. (2) 'There are two objections which might be lodged against Dr Cox's (Authority 1) confident assertion on the question of [Saxon] date. Firstly, the voussoirs of the arch are not 'through-stones'; from both wall-faces they apparently butt up against a central rubble core which seems more characteristic of Norman technique. Secondly, Dr Cox's belief that herring-bone masonry necessarily connotes a Saxon date is not held to-day. Sir Alfred Clapham calls it a common feature of 11th century rough or rubble walling which was largely abandoned by the beginning of the 12th century. F.E. Howard writes that herring-bone work is found in late pre-Conquest and early Norman building, but most frequently in the latter. It would be safer to date Sawley chancel arch and the rough chancel walling as early Norman.' (3) 'No Saxon work was evident during a site visit in 1967.' (4) 'All Saints' Church has a Norman chancel arch with much wall exposed above. It has a very wide nave, and arcades of octagonal piers with late 13th century to early 14th century capitals and double-chamfered arches. It has a late 13th century chancel with typical tracery. The five-light east window is especially fine, with arches upon arches. The church has a Perpendicular clerestory, which is embattled, as is the south aisle. The west tower is also Perpendicular but in a different stone. There are angle buttresses, and the spire is recessed behind the battlements. Inside, the tower is open to the nave in an opening not larger than a door. Inside the chancel there are two especially noteworthy features: a solid stone screen just west of the east wall separating a back vestry; and a kind of bay-window, deep and with panelled sides and a four-centred vault. It is a chantry chapel and holds the alabaster effigy of John Bothe (1496). There are also other 15th and 16th century monuments. The pulpit dates to 1636, still in the Jacobean tradition, with a handsome tester with pendants. The screen is perpendicular in style, with single-light openings. There are also fragments from two other screens.' (5) 'All Saints Church. 11th, 13th and 14th century with 15th century clerestory and tower, restored 1889. Grade I.' (7) From the National Heritage List for England: 'SK 43 SE; 4/42 PARISH OF LONG EATON, TAMWORTH ROAD, SAWLEY (south side) Church of All Saints 22.10.62 GV I Church. C11, C13 and C14 with C15 clerestory and tower, restored 1889. Rubble and ashlar sandstone with sandstone dressings, deep moulded plinth to tower and moulded sill bands to all except south aisle. Shallow pitched leaded roofs hidden by embattled parapets with ridgeback copings and with coved eaves band to nave and aisles, steeply pitched slate roof with stone coped east gable topped by ridge cross to chancel. West tower, nave with north and south aisles and large chancel, also south porch. Two-stage west tower has full-height, stepped clasping buttresses to all corners, projecting embattled parapets with ridgeback copings and gargoyles and tall recessed octagonal stone spire above. First stage has a pointed moulded west door and slit windows with moulded surrounds to north and south, also a large circular clock face above to north and a diamond shaped niche, formerly for a clock face to west. Moulded string course above and flat headed 2-light louvred bell openings to all sides with ogee headed lights and pierced spandrels, set in moulded surrounds. Above, the spire has cusped ogee headed lucarnes to four sides. North aisle has full height stepped buttresses between all the openings and to either end. West wall has strange 3-light panel tracery window with pointed top cut off by the parapets. North elevation has three 3-light pointed windows with triple stepped lancets. Between western windows is the north door, mostly renewed but with pointed moulded arch on nook shafts which are now missing, and with string courses at impost level and to top of arch with two vertical strings between, also with C19 lantern above. East window to aisle is similar to northern ones. Above there are four C15 flat headed 2-light clerestory windows with cusped double lobe headed lights, set in deeply chamfered surrounds. Chancel to east is built of rubble and has two C13 Y-tracery pointed windows to west and a C16 flat headed 2-light window with cusped semi-circular headed lights to east. East elevation has full height stepped clasping buttresses and central 5-light pointed window with C19 tracery. South chancel elevation has a 3-light C16 window to east, similar to northern window and a cusped headed doorcase with relieving arch above to west. Beyond to west is a C19 Y-tracery window which has a C13 external tomb niche below it. To western end of chancel is a full height C15 chapel with 4-light panel traceried four-centred arched window to front and similar 2-light window to side. South aisle has a 3-light pointed east window with reticulated tracery and three similar windows to south elevation. To either corner of aisle there are low clasping buttresses and between two western windows is the south porch which has a double chamfered doorcase and blocked flat headed 2-light windows to either side. West elevation of aisle has a single lancet and above there are four C15 clerestory windows similar to those to north. INTERIOR has a wide nave with late C13 arcade to north and south of tall double chamfered pointed arches on octagonal piers with moulded capitals and bases, except eastern responds which are three clustered shafts. Simple C11 semicircular headed chancel arch with moulded impost band and small C15 pointed doorcase into the tower. Chancel roof is C19 but nave and aisle roofs are C15, although all have been considerably restored. Nave has central carved bosses to tie beams. Chancel has the unusual feature of a stone screen to the east end behind the altar, with a simple chamfered pointed doorcase plus studded oak door to north side. In eastern jambs of windows just to west of screen are inserted cusped headed niches with corbels to base, which are probably contemporary with the screen, ie: C13. Below the north window there are two plain alms cupboards with wooden doors and to the base of the southern window is a simple piscina which has a stone drain through the wall. The chancel also has handsome Perp oak screen and choir stalls; screen with panelled base, cusped tracery to open panels above and crenellated top, stalls of similar design with panelled front and backs each with crenellated tops and bench ends with blind cusped panelling. Carved and gilded reredos is early C20. Inserted into one of the southern windows of the chancel is a large C19 organ. The nave has a fine octagonal oak pulpit with pendented tester dated 1636, and some robust oak C16 pews from which C20 copies have been made for the rest of the church. North and south aisles each have pointed cusped piscinas to east ends and each also have parts of another Perp screen of similar design to that in chancel. South aisle has a crude octagonal stone font with wooden cover, of indeterminate date. There are numerous fine monuments including two C15 ones to the Bothe family in the chancel. Against the north wall is the tomb of Roger Bothe who died 1467 which has a base decorated with blind quatrefoils, over which is an ogee headed canopy with crocketed pinnacles. The back wall is panelled and the top of the base has small brasses of Roger Bothe, his wife and their eleven children. Set in the bay-window-like chapel to south side of chancel is the tomb chest of John Bothe who died 1496. This has a full size effigy to top of base which is decorated with blind quatrefoils. The top of the window has a panelled vault with painted shields. Also in the chancel is an early C18 wall memorial to Walter Colette with achievement to top and scull below, and two mid C19 slate and white marble wall memorials. Below the chancel arch is another tomb chest with similar base to the others and a polished marble top with brasses to Robert Bothe and family who died 1478. Adjacent, to north, is an early C19 wall memorial with slate obelisk over marble urn. South aisle has two small brass memorials, one to Edward Edmonson who died 1589, the other c1937. Above there are two early C19 marble wall memorials, and one of c1852 to the Trowell family. Also to west end of aisle is a slate plaque to John Trowell who died 1766. North aisle has two re-set C13 effigies and a stone slab with brasses to Richard Shylton who died 1510. There is also a wall war memorial and an enamelled brass plaque commemorating the restoration of the church in 1889. North and south aisles have late C19 stained-glass east windows and the east window to south side of the chancel has similar glass. There is also a c1950 stained-glass window in the south aisle and a war memorial stained-glass window in the north aisle. In the tower there is a large hatchment dated 1767. Listing NGR: SK4724631365 This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Register. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 30 October 2017.' (8)