All Saints Church - Leighton Buzzard - Beds - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

"

The church is dedicated to All Saints and has a 190ft spire and some outstanding medieval ironwork, graffiti and roofs "aflutter" with carved angels gifted in the mid 15th century by Alice de la Pole, Countess of Suffolk and grand daughter of Geoffrey Chaucer.

It has been described as the cathedral of South Bedfordshire and is probably the finest church in the county. Dating from 1277 it is the second church on the site. Such an old structure requires constant attention through its Preservation Trust.

The Church was severely damaged by fire in 1985. The fire happened just as a restoration programme was nearing completion. It destroyed most of the nave and chancel roofs and caused serious structural damage to the tower, spire, and the vestry areas and a number of the windows were damaged beyond repair. The ring of ten bells was lost as were both the organs. The total cost of the damage exceeded £1.5 million pounds (US$2.4 million dollars). Within 24 hours of the blaze the congregation had begun its second restoration programme in as many years. The 15th century roofs, described as the church’s tour de force, have been repaired and the fine carvings of angels and saints which adorned them have been repaired or replaced. The spire has been stitched and relined with fresh stone. The tower has been stabilised with a massive internal ring beam.

Misericords
All Saints' has 25, late 14th century misericords, the weathering on the stalls probably indicates that they were in a builder's yard for some time - which is not as unusual as it may seem - they are thought to have originated at St Albans Abbey, which was pretty much gutted at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It is also worth noting that the fan shaped slots at the free ends of the stalls are indicative that they have been shortened at some point."
the above details taken from Wikipedia Web Site.

from the church web site :
There is evidence that the present church is at least the second to stand on the site. It is built in an early English style dating from the mid 13th century. The building is visible from all approaches to the town - the 190 foot broach spire dominating the roofline as can be seen in the illustration on the Leighton Buzzard home page.

The Church was severely damaged by fire in 1985. The fire happened just as a restoration programme was nearing completion. It destroyed most of the nave and chancel roofs and caused serious structural damage to the tower, spire, and the vestry areas and a number of the windows were damaged beyond repair. The ring of ten bells was lost as were both the organs. The total cost of the damage exceeded £1.5 million pounds (US$2.4 million dollars).

Within 24 hours of the blaze the congregation had begun its second restoration programme in as many years. The 15th century roofs, described as the church’s tour de force, have been repaired and the fine carvings of angels and saints which adorned them have been repaired or replaced. The spire has been stitched and relined with fresh stone. The tower has been stabilised with a massive internal ring beam.

A new ring of twelve bells (thirteen with the sharp second) cast in the key of C sharp by Taylors of Loughborough has been hung. Each bell carries the name of one of the apostles, with the heaviest, dedicated to St Peter, weighing 35 cwts 1 qtr 14 ozs. It is a heavier peal than most cathedrals and ranks 21st out of 92 rings of twelve in the world.

The organ was made by Harrison and Harrison of Durham. It contains 2434 pipes, ranging from half an inch to 16 feet. It weighs over 6 tons. The coats of arms on the case are those of Lincoln - All Saints’ first diocese, St Albans - the present diocese, and Durham where the instrument was manufactured.

Although most of the fine Kempe stained glass in the church survived some windows were damaged. Replacements have been installed and attention is drawn to the Appleby window in the north aisle and to the four archangels window in the south transept, both of which match existing Kempe glass in the church and come from churches now closed or demolished. The tower altar is of Totternhoe clunch limestone, like most of the church, and weighs 3.4 tons.

A new extension has been added on the north side to provide much needed meeting space. It contains a coffee shop as well as toilets, a chapel, vestry and meeting rooms. As you walk around the church look for the medieval graffiti on the pillars, including the famous Simon and Nell group in the south transept.

The font pre-dates the present church, it was moved from the west end during rebuilding following the fire. The eagle lectern is thought to be the oldest of its type in Britain dating from the time of the original consecration of this building in the 13th century. The rehallowing mark, a cross in a circle, made by the Bishop of St Albans on 7 May 1989, is on the left pillar by the crossing steps.


note also This Church has 3 sundials which is unique.
and My God daughter and neice was baptised here as well.

Wikipedia Url: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log to this waymark you need to visit and write about the actual physical location. Any pictures you take at the location would be great, as well.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.