All Saints' Church Barwick-in-Elmet - II

A general view from the north-east

The tower at All Saints’ church in Barwick-in-Elmet, dated c.1455, has some interesting Perpendicular Gothic style details that relate to the history of the village, but the north aisle and clerestory are relatively featureless. 

The north aisle and clerestory

They have square headed windows, with cusped lights and panel tracery above and, according to the comprehensive church guide, were built c.1380-90 when castellated parapets and gargoyles were not yet the fashion. 

Windows in the north aisle

Moving on to the chancel, standing back to try and get a good general view of the east end of the north elevation – where the vestry and boiler house have been built – I noticed that the masonry of the walling is very irregular. 

Anglo-Saxon herringbone masonry in the south chancel wall

A close look shows that there is a high proportion of herringbone masonry in the north wall, which is interpreted as Anglo-Saxon stonework that has been incorporated into the chancel, when the original church was rebuilt in the Norman style during the early C12. 

The east window of the chancel

The north window, which has renewed tracery, is in the Decorated Gothic style and, continuing past the early C19 vestry, built in dolomitic limestone, the east window of the chancel is seen to be of a similar Decorated style, with curvilinear tracery. 

A detail of lime mortar in the chancel

The chancel is dated to the C14 by Pevsner and the Historic England listing, although the church guide refers to the building of the current chancel arch between 1250 and 1290. It is built in local Carboniferous sandstone, with irregularly shaped and coursed blocks, but the original window dressings are dolomitic limestone. 

A sample of lime mortar

The masonry has been pointed at various times but, in places on the east end of the chancel, the original lime mortar is exposed. Even at some distance, a large proportion of black flecks can be seen against the background of white mortar, which look like coal when viewed with a hand lens. 

The south wall of the chancel

Much of the masonry of the south elevation of the chancel is obscured by a tree, but further herringbone masonry can be seen in the wall and the west window matches that of the north elevation, with most of its original limestone dressings still intact. 

A general view from the south-east

The south aisle and clerestory are similar to those of the north elevation, added in the C14, but the porch was added in the late C15 or early C16. Here, large blocks of yellowish massive sandstone, with distinctive cross-bedding, have been used.

The south aisle and porch