Church of All Saints, Baschurch, Shropshire

Description

SJ 42 SW; 15/15

BASCHURCH C.P.,
CHURCH ROAD (south side)

Church of All Saints

27.05.53

II*

Parish church, late C12, early C13, early C14 and early C15, restored
in 1790 by Thomas Telford when north aisle was demolished and again
by George H. Birch in 1885-6; further restoration in 1894. Large
regularly coursed and dressed red sandstone blocks; slate roofs with
coped verges on carved stone kneelers. Nave; chancel; west tower;
south aisle; north-east vestry and organ chamber and another vestry
at west end of aisle.

Tower: Early C13 to bottom four stages with
chamfered plinth and string courses; stepped angle buttresses at north-
west and south-west corners. Top stage with embattled parapet added
c.1400. Conical plain tile cap with C18 brass weathercock on
contemporary finial. Belfry has paired louvred lancets with chamfered mullions
immediately above string course on north, south and west sides and
similar opening on east with south light infilled. Heightening of
belfry has broad 2-light window on each side with cinquefoil heads and
spheric triangle above (cusped on north and east sides). Late C14
west window has heavily restored panel tracery in 4 lights; contemporary or
slightly earlier pointed doorway below. Oval-shaped iron discs to each
face inserted in 1834. Nave. Unbuttressed on north, except at junction
with tower, has moulded eaves cornice. Three 2-light Decorated-style
windows of 1894. Short chancel, mainly of 1790, has moulded eaves
cornice with late C19 two-light Decorated-style window on south.
Three-light Decorated-style east window of 1885-6. Vestry and organ
chamber (1894) has gable of organ chamber to north and lean-to vestry
against north wall of chancel. Gable has 3-light Decorated-style window
and lean-to has pointed doorway with hoodmould and paired rectangular
barred window to east. Octagonal stone chimney with decorated top
on east side of gable. South aisle. Rebuilt in present form c.1300
but roof heightened in C18, refaced and present windows inserted in late
C19. Buttressed in three unequal bays including stepped angle buttresses
at south-east and south-west corners. 2-light Decorated-style windows
in south wall except for window in east bay, which has cusped intersecting
tracery in 3 lights. East window of four cusped lights with quatrefoils
to heads and C19 pointed doorway beneath; 3-light Decorated-style west
window of 1903. Infilled pointed arch immediately to right of westernmost
window in south wall, which cuts apparently C12 infilled round-headed
window. Outline of roof pitch of former porch visible above. Moulded
string course in east bay continues around buttress but has been shaved
off to east wall. Late C19 flat-roofed vestry at west end of aisle formerly
had lean-to roof, removed in 1903 when west window inserted: outline
of roof pitch visible against south face of tower. 2-light mullion
window to west wall and pointed doorway on south. Octagonal stack at
junction with aisle on south.

INTERIOR. Main feature is heavily
renewed late C12 six-bay south nave arcade: circular piers (one with plain
moulded base visible) and square abaci with single-stepped round-headed
arches. Eaves line of C12 nave visible on south with two single-splayed
chamfered lancets alternating with two chamfered roundels to former clerestory.
Early C13 double-chamfered tower arch with corbelled responds and imposts.
Probably C18 king-post roof in seven bays to nave and in four bays to chancel
(2 west bays structurally in nave), latter with cusped struts and Gothic
tracery patterns added by Birch. King-post roof in 9 bays to aisle.
This has pointed arched recess in east wall and pointed arched recess
with inner trefoil-headed recess (probably formerly housing piscina)
to east in south wall, both probably early C14. Three tomb recesses in
south wall also early C14, 2 to east with 3 orders of roll and fillet
moulding (easternmost with ballflower enrichment and inner trefoil-headed
recess) and that to west double-chamfered. Infilled pointed arch-way
also visible internally. Infilled moulded half-arch in south wall of
chancel looks C13. Fittings and furnishings including pews, choir stalls,
pulpit, lectern and low stone wall with marble coping separating chancel
from nave and aisle mainly late C19 or later. Octagonal font at entrance
to chancel has inscription "JW WS 1681". Oak chest in recess with ball-
flower decoration has painted lettering "John Lloyd and Tho.s Oswell
Church Wardens 1775." Stained glass in east window by Kempe (1886),
in south wall of chancel 1912 and in east window of nave 1920. Monuments.
Wall tablet to Revd. Robert Jeffreys (died 1800) - chancel, south side
and C19 wall tablets in south aisle. This has wall memorial to Thomas
Corbet (died 1615) at east end: Corinthian capitals enclosing inscription
panel with heraldic device above. North wall of nave has C19 wall tablets
and memorials and a memorial to William Basnett (died 1754), a justice
of the peace for Middlesex: rococo style with an urn in front of an
obelisk, which has an heraldic device attached. Four C18 hatchments
in south aisle and three in nave, which also has royal coat-of-arms of George
III (1802) fixed to north wall. Two late C18 benefactors' boards in
tower. The church was collegiate in the Anglo-Saxon period.

B.o.E.
pp. 68-9; D.H.S. Cranage, The Churches of Shropshire, Part 9 (1908),
pp. 744-7; appendix, p. 975.

Listing NGR: SJ4223721879

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British Listed Buildings

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Church of All Saints

A Grade II* Listed Building in Baschurch, Shropshire

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