All Saints Church Ashover - The Exterior

A general view of All Saints church

When exploring Ashover, to look at its geology and vernacular architecture, All Saints church could be seen from just about everywhere I went, which is mainly due to the 39 metre high tower and spire – said to have been built by Thomas Babington. 

The tower and spire

According to the church guide, although Domesday Book mentions a church, the present structure was essentially built from c.1350 to 1419, in the Perpendicular Gothic style, and entering the churchyard at the south-west corner and then walking in an anti-clockwise direction, the various features confirm its age. 

The porch and south aisle

The porch and south aisle are constructed in large ashlar blocks of Ashover Grit, with no obvious changes of this pattern in the walling, and these pass into a bold castellated parapet, which is also seen in the chancel, clerestory and the tower. 

The south aisle

Looking at the 3-light windows of the south aisle and the chancel, they are all square headed, with round and four centred arches respectively, tall mullions and no tracery, which is an indication of the later phase of the Perpendicular Gothic style. 

The east end of the south aisle and the chancel

The renewed east window to the south aisle has 3-lights with panel tracery above and in the south wall of the chancel there is a priest’s door with an ogee arch. The east window to the chancel has a similar design, except that the arch is flatter and the lights are cusped. 

The east window of the chancel

Moving round to the north elevation, the Victorian vestry loosely reproduces the Perpendicular Gothic mediaeval details previously seen and the organ chamber has a window that has a similar style to those seen in the east end. 

The vestry and organ chamber

On the north aisle, it is possible to see that the upper four courses and the plain parapet are composed of large blocks of ashlar, with the lower section of the wall being built of coursed but smaller and more irregularly shaped stones. 

The north aisle

Furthermore, the stones beneath the square headed Perpendicular Gothic style windows, which are similar to those seen on the south elevation, are also very large – suggesting that the windows are actually a later insertion into an earlier C14 wall. 

An ogee arch to a door in the north aisle

Although I didn’t get close enough to further investigate on this occasion, the more recent stonework seems to coincide with a distinct red/brown colouration of the individual blocks, which I assume is due to the growth of algae. 

A gargoyle on the tower

Continuing around to the tower, passing another door with an ogee arch, I noted the C12 stone coffin at it base and the now eroded mediaeval gargoyles, before entering the church through the south door, which dates to c.1275.

The south door