Church of All Saints Great Faringdon, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

GREAT FARINGDON CHURCH STREET SU 2895 (north side)

3/14 Church of All Saints 21.11.66

• I

Stone church mostly of C12 to C13 with C15 and C19 additions and alterations, 'one of the richest churches in Berkshire' (Pevsner). Stone tiled roofs. Nave and aisles, transepts, chancel and north-east chapel. Broad short crossing tower. Nave: Early and late C12. Early C12 buttresses to west front, late C12 4-bay arcade with moulded round arches and round piers with stiff-leaf capitals. Narrow round-headed clerestory lights. C15 Perpendicular west window and west door. North aisle altered in C15, 2 fine 6-light Perpendicular windows to north side and projecting C19 baptistery with reset late C12 doorway with crenellated frieze around arch and weathered carved jambs. South aisle rebuilt 1853 (J Hugall, architect) with exceptional C13 plank door with rich scrolled dragon-head ironwork. Crossing: Late C12, richly shafted with varied stiff-leaf caps and 4 moulded pointed arches. Small quatrefoil recesses in spandrels with carved heads. Upper part of tower C13 with 2 plain lancets in recesses to each face. Top of tower and spire destroyed 1645. Plain parapet. North Transept: C13 with C14 west aisle. Large pointed chamfered C13 east wall arch with smaller C15 opening to north-east chapel inset. Smaller C13 arch adjoining, opening to C19 vestry, 2 C19 north lancets. West side has narrow late C12 pointed billetted arch to north nave aisle on C19 pillar and wide C19 arch to transept aisle. Fine C14 4-light north window to aisle, recticulated tracery and elaborate cinquefoiled rear arch. South Transept: 1853 with western aisle to match north side, lancet windows. Chancel: C13 with range of 6 lancets to south wall, 3 to east end, 2 to north wall with 2 C15 arches to north-east chapel. C13 trefoil headed piscina and later C13 elaborate triple sedilia on south wall. C14 to C15 trussed rafter roof. North-east Chapel: C15 with 5- light east window and 4-light north window. Monuments: series of small reset C15 brasses in chancel. 3 fine C18 marble monuments in north-east chapel to Henry Pye and his two wives. In north transept and aisle C16 monuments to Unton family, especially Sir Thomas Unton d.1533, chest tomb with two recumbent figures, Sir Alexander Unton d.1547 Purbeck marble Gothic canopied recess with brasses. Kneeling female figure part of a supposed larger monument to Sir Henry Unton d.1596. Also fine late C17 marble monument to Sir Henry Purefoy of Wadley. Stained Glass: c.1852 glass in east windows and 2 chancel lights each side. South transept glass by Wailes, c.1865 in south lancets, c.1855 in transept aisle.

Listing NGR: SU2887095726