All Saints Church History

Arksey's Jewel

All Saints church is a fine example of Norman and Medieval architecture, and at almost nine hundred years old, it is the jewel in Arksey's crown. In this article we look at the church's rich history, from its magnificent architecture, to its historical contents.

Contents

• A Church For Arksey
• Saxon Origins
• The Normans Build A Church
• Inside the Church
• The Chancel and Choir
• The North and South Transepts
• The Crossing
• Later Additions to the Building
• The Tower 
• The Bells
• The South Aisle and Porch
• The South East Chapel and Vestry
• The North East Chapel
• The West End
• Jacobean Furniture
• Pews
• Chests and Boxes
• Renovations
• The Churchyard
• Other Church Matters
• Tunnels
• Vicarages
• The Old Vicarage
• The High Street Vicarage

A Church for Arksey

Saxon Origins

Prior to the arrival of the Normans, the manors of Arksey and Bentley were held separately by Osulf (Bentley), and Godric (Arksey). The land at Bentley had solid limestone foundations, whereas Arksey was on a raised sandy island, which was often cut off due to flooding. It would therefore make sense for the new Norman lord in 1066 to build his church on the solid land at Bentley - unless there was already a church at Arksey?   

There is archaeological evidence to support the existence of an Anglo-Saxon church. Some of the stones in the lower chancel wall (the east end, where the altar is) are quite crude and could have been part of an earlier building. Also, there are four reddish stones which may have been cornerstones in a Saxon tower. 

The chancel wall

There is also evidence in the dedication of the Norman church, which was originally called 'All Hallows', from the middle English for holy place, a dedication popular in the late Anglo-Saxon. 'Hallows' refers to saints, which is where the current 'All Saints' comes from, and referred to the holy shrine in which the relics (remains) of saints were kept.

At the time of the Domesday survey of 1086 it seems that no church existed at Arksey, or at least, no usable church. It could be the case that the Saxon church had fallen into disuse, or had been dismantled prior to re-building.

The Normans Build A Church

The Norman lords of the manors in the twelfth century were the Newmarch family, who resided at Moat Hills in Bentley. Adam de Newmarch, the grandson of Bernard Newmarch, one of William the Conqueror's companions-at-arms, inherited the manors in 1123, and it was either Adam or his father, Ralph de Newmarch who ordered the first phase of building in around 1150. 

The building was designed to a typical Norman cruciform plan (like a cross), and a single story tower was added to the centre. It was constructed from locally quarried upper magnesian limestone rubble, a hard stone that lasted well. Later additions were of lower ashlar magnesian limestone, which is softer and has therefore partially eroded. 
 

Door under the clock

Almost all of the early building survives (around 80%), including the vertical stone pillars which support the tower (called crossing piers). The tower originally only reached to the top of the lower tower windows. Weathering on the north and south sides of the tower indicate an earlier roof line, and there is a small twelfth century wooden door under this on the south side (see right). 

Along with the tower, other surviving portions of the Norman building include the west front, the north and south transepts (the crossing arms of the church) and the east end or chancel. The early building would have looked similar to the illustration below.

Example of an early Norman cruciform church

Later additions to the building included the north aisle (1180 A.D.), the south aisle and porch (thirteenth century), the north east chapel (1300 A.D.), and the south east chapel (fifteenth century). All phases of the building are illustrated in the plan below.

Church floor plan

    

Inside the Church

The Chancel and Choir

The Chancel lies at the east end of the church and features the High Altar. There are three windows which were installed in 1914,  they are round-headed and stepped below a continuous hoodmould. There is half a window embrasure in the north wall, while the south wall has half a pointed arch, these are the remains of original exterior windows. The south wall also incorporates a quatrefoil leper's squint, which allowed lepers to view the service without coming into contact with other members of the congregation. It may also have served as a means for the curate to observe and replicate the service at a second altar. There is another (closed) squint on the north east corner of the outer chancel wall.

The chancel and choir

Fragment of arched window in south wall

Quatrefoil squint

The other leper's squint on the chancel exterior

 

The three walls are all tinted white as far down as the dark oak reredos panelling. In front of this is the High Altar, which has a 16th century altar-stone incorporated into it. General Robert Portington is said to be buried beneath this altar. 

For more on General Robert Portington go Arksey Hall.

The High Altar

Also in the chancel, there is a thirteenth century trefoil headed piscina (basin used to wash communion vessels) with an octagonal pedestal, and a sedilia bench with shaped arms, which would have been used by the officiating priest and his assistant during Mass. The leper's squint is situated just above the sedilia bench (see below).

Chancel with piscina and sedilia bench

A parclose rail separates the chancel from the choir, and there are two steps up to the high altar. The tessellated pavement on the floor of the chancel and choir was laid in 1913, when extensive repairs were carried out in memory of Rev. William Stoddart, vicar of Arksey (1854-1865). The cost of the repairs was met by Colonel Stoddart, nephew of the above. Masonry work was carried out by James Henry Trout, builder of Arksey. 

Floor of the choir

The North and South Transepts

The transepts now lie within the body of the church, and don't extend beyond the aisles. Their walls which were once outside, have been pierced by arches. The south transept has a twelfth century priests' door on the south facing end, and there is a low gabled roof on each transept, which, as mentioned earlier, has been altered from the higher original version.

South transept and crossing (photo by Chelle Tovell)

 Priests' door

The north transept, known as the Lady Chapel, or Cooke Memorial Chapel, is dedicated to the Cooke family. A burial vault lies beneath the floor, and there are two marble monuments mounted on the walls, a large ornate memorial, containing the bust of Sir George Cooke (1628-1683), and a smaller, plainer memorial to the brother of Sir William Cooke, George Augustus Cooke Esq (1771-1808). 

Entrance to the Cooke vault, opened in 2013

The chapel features a Norman slit window in the south wall which was once visible on the outside of the church. The Norman round arch on the same wall is a later addition.

The north transept, with the Cooke memorial visible

Memorial to Sir George Cooke

The inscription on the above memorial reads:

'In this tomb rests the body of George Cooke, Baronet, of Wheatley, in the county of York and who died a bachelor the sixteenth day of October in the year of our Lord 1683, and here waits for resurrection and mercy.'

Memorial to George Augustus Cooke

The inscription on the above memorial reads:

'Sacred to the memory of George Augustus Cooke Esq. who died on the 5th of May 1808, aged 27 years.'

Norman window

For more on the Cooke burial vault go to Secrets of the Vault. 

 

The Crossing

The area which lies in the centre of the transepts, chancel and nave is called the crossing, and this supports the tower directly above it. Each side of the crossing is entered by a pointed arch, supported at each corner by massive pillars. The two eastern pillars have a number of slender freestanding columns around them, as can be seen in the photo below.

Arches and pillars of the crossing

At the northwest corner of the crossing (at the top of the nave) is the canopied pulpit. Dating from 1634, it is a carved, octagonal wooden structure on a later base. It has a bracketed book ledge and a carved backboard.

The pulpit

Pulpit backboard bearing the date 1634

Later Additions to the Building

As the congregation grew, so did the size of the church. In 1180 the north aisle was added and a large round arch was inserted in the north transept wall, as seen earlier. The nave wall was replaced with three pointed arches on round piers which together with the octagonal south aisle arches, makes a double arcade along the length of the nave. 

The windows in the north aisle are square-headed and decorated with the arms of several manorial families. The north door has a Tudor arch and a window above.

For more on the church windows go to Manorial Families and Landowners. 

The north aisle and Norman arch

The round and octagonal columns separating the nave from the north and south aisles

 

North door

The Tower

The tower, which was originally only one storey high, was raised to the level we see today between 1180 and 1220. The octagonal stone spire, which was added at a later date, has alternate spire lights (lucernes) and is recessed on the embattled tower top, which is finished with pinnacles at each corner. 

Tower window

The windows in the upper portion of the tower or belfry have a primitive form of tracery (ornamental stonework) consisting of two lancet windows with a shaft between them and an oval window in the round arch above them. Above each window is a stone gargoyle, another gargoyle is on the corner of the north-east chapel.

The roof is leaded and the black iron clock has been restored but the numerals were painted white instead of gold which met with the disapproval of the clergy.

The tower

 

The gargoyle on the right corner of the chapel

Church clock

Inside the church the tower is accessed by a small door in the enclosed octagonal staircase. The staircase was originally part of the church exterior but evidence of an early roof line can be seen on the stonework, which bears deep diagonal grooves (see photo below). This early roof was part of a narrow aisle which was later extended. A narrow slit window lights the stone spiral staircase within.

Tower base with slit window, note the grooves near the top,
evidence of the earlier roof line

Entrance to the tower

The bell-ringing room is at the top of the stairs, and a further flight leads to the bell stage. From the bell stage another flight of steps rises to the base of the spire and a door leads to the embattled tower top. 

The bell-ringing room with steps up to the bells

 

Arksey bells

The Bells

Today the tower contains a full peal of eight bells. A survey in 1552 recorded one bell and a sanctus bell (a hand bell) at the church. These were added to over the next centuries, so that today the tower contains five bells dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. The bells were rehung in 1897 at the expense of a parishioner who also paid for a new treble bell. 

The inscriptions and details of each numbered bell is listed below.



1st 

R.I.P. REMEMBER THE FALLEN 1914 - 19

A treble war memorial bell. Cast by John Taylor & Co. of Loughborough in 1919. Inscription is on the waist of the bell with the Taylor badge on the opposite side.


2nd 

PEACE AFTER VICTORY

A war memorial bell. Cast by John Taylor & Co. of Loughborough in 1919. Inscription is on the waist of the bell with the Taylor badge on the opposite side.

3rd

T TODD. VICAR

TO THE GLORY OF GOD

AND IN THE COMMEMORATION OF THE SIXTIETH YEAR

OF QUEEN VICTORIA'S REIGN

THIS BELL WAS GIVEN BY

WILLIAM CHADWICK JUNE XX 1897

Around the shoulder of this bell is inscribed:

John Taylor and Co * founders * Loughborough * Leicestershire *

The * represents a 'stop', a small ornament, either plain or decorative, used as a spacer between the words. The bell was cast in 1897 by Taylor's foundry.

4th

EX * DONO * GEO * COOKE * DE * WHEATLEY * 

BARONETTI * ET * FRATRIS * SVI * HENRICI *

ARM * QVO * ME * SONANTE * RECORDAMINI * 1673

Roughly translates as:

The Gift of George Cooke Baronet and his brother Henry

of whom I sound in memory, (or, which is recorded by my sound)

The bell was cast by Samuel Smith of York in 1673.


Below is a plaster cast of the Cooke Coat of Arms used on the bell gifted by George Cooke. 

Cooke coat of arms.
Bell Foundry Museum,
Loughborough, Leicestershire
Photo courtesy of Ted Steele

5th

TEMPLA * DEDIT * PRISCI * PIETAS * NON * GARRULA *

SAECLI * CAMPANA * POSVIT * N * LOQVAX * NIMIVM * 1673

The Latin on this bell is very poor with some words defying translation, however it seems to mean something like this:

The quiet faith of an earlier age placed these bells in the house of God but spoke little of it

This bell was cast by Samuel Smith of York in 1673.

6th

JESUS * BE * OUR * SPEED * 1657

* WP CHURCH WARDEN * A * S * FECIT * WC *

The WC is actually the founder's mark of William Curedon. The bell was cast by Abraham Smith (A * S) and William Curedon in 1657.

Below is a plaster cast of the founders mark from this bell. The 'S' motifs refer to Abraham Smith of York and the 'WC' to William Curedon, a Doncaster founder who worked for a time with the Smiths. 

Founder's mark from the 6th bell.

Bell Foundry Museum,

Loughborough, Leicestershire.
Photo courtesy of Ted Steele

7th

GLORIA * IN * ALTISIMUS * DEO * 1718 * THO * RODWELL * VICCAR

THO: TIRWHIT IAM HALL CHURCH WARDENS E SELLER EBOR

Cast by E Sellor of York in 1718. The initials IAM should actually read JAM, a shortened version of the name 'James'. The inscriber may have substituted an 'I' for a 'J' if he was missing that particular letter from his set of stamps.

8th

ALL LAVD AND PRAYES NOW LET VS SINGE GOD SEND THEM HEAVEN THAT HEAR ME RYNG 1622

This tenor bell was cast by William Oldfield of Doncaster.

Sanctus bell dating from 1865

Arksey sanctus bell from 1865

Many thanks to Ted Steele for information on the bells and their inscriptions.

The South Aisle and Porch

A narrow south aisle was built in the early 13^th century which was possibly used as a chantry chapel. The deep grooves in the stonework of the tower staircase (as seen previously) are evidence of the roof line of this early chapel. 

There are three pointed arches on octagonal piers into the nave, which are very different to those on the north side of the nave. 

The south aisle was extended to its present size in the mid fifteenth century. The windows on the south side are pointed, with plain lead lights. 

The south aisle

The porch was constructed at the same time as the south aisle was widened. The outside of the porch displays the arms of the Wyndham, Scrope, Tibetot and Fitzwilliam manorial families and can be seen above the porch door. The porch itself has two stone seats inside and may have been used as a school in medieval times. 

The arms of Wyndham, Scrope and Tibetot

The Fitzwilliam arms

Inside the porch

The porch

The South East Chapel and Vestry

The south east chapel was added around 1400 and curiously, extends beyond the limits of the chancel next to it. The chancel walls were opened out at the same time and replaced with two arches.

On the exterior, the east parapet of this chapel has a re-used thirteenth century cross slab incorporated into it. This bracelet type slab has a straight-armed cross on it and was originally inside the church. The slab served as a grave or tomb cover probably belonging to one of the Newmarch family.

East end of the south east chapel

Grave slab incorporated into the parapet

  

At the east end of the south chapel is a decorated screen, probably constructed by George Gilbert Scott during his renovations. It was constructed from the remaining pieces of medieval screens taken out of the arches of the eastern crossing and north and south transepts. 

Behind the screen is the vestry. A cast iron plaque displayed on the wall records the gift of George Radley to the poor of the parish in 1824. There is also a second Cooke vault under the floor of the vestry which was constructed in 1853 to house 34 coffins of the Cooke family, coffins which were relocated from Doncaster Parish Church following the fire in February of that year.

South chapel and vestry

The inscription above reads as follows:

'Memorial. George Radley of Gainsbro Gent paid into the Doncaster Savings Bank on the 24th April 1824 a benefaction of twenty pounds to the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of Bentley with Arksey. In trust for them and their successors for ever, the interest arising therefrom to buy bread to be distributed every year to the most necessitous widows and widowers of the said parish on the Sunday nearest to Saint Thomas day, in commemoration of his only child Elizabeth Foster who died December 12 1811 and is interred at the west end of this church.' Thomas Hall, Hall Vill. John Lilleyman, Arksey, churchwardens.

Inside the vestry

To see the memorial inscription for Elizabeth Foster go to Church Graves and scroll to FOSTER.

The North East Chapel

The north east chapel dates from 1300, and now houses the church organ. The pipe organ was constructed by a Mr Abbot of Leeds at a cost of £550 and installed in 1879. It was renovated in the 1940's and again in 1999 and is considered to be one of the finest church organs in Yorkshire of this size.

Arksey church pipe organ

Organ keyboard

The north east chapel is locally known as the Seaton Chapel. Although there appears to be no written documentation to support this, the presence of Seaton memorial stones in the chapel seem to bear this out. A wall memorial to Ann Seaton, wife of Richard is in the chapel. She died in 1766 (a further memorial to Ann Seaton is set into the floor by the west window). 

The West End

The west end of the church is paved with many interesting grave covers, some dating from the 1600's, brought into the church from the churchyard. 

For transcriptions of the church memorials go to Church Graves.

Example of the west floor

The great west window was re-glazed in 1977 for the Queen's Silver Jubilee. It has some older stained glass panels added to it, and has the following inscription:

'This window was reglazed to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 1952-1977.'  

The two other windows at the west end both contain fragments of early stained glass. A great deal of medieval and heraldic glass was lost in alterations carried out in the 1850's.

West window

Commemoration inscription

The west end of the church is also where the font is sited. The carved Jacobean font cover dates from 1662 and bears the initials, TT, SB and SB. These are the initials of the vicar, Samuel Burdett, and churchwardens, Thomas Tirwhitt and Samuel Broughton for that year.  

Initials on the font cover

The font bowl is ashlar and is probably older than the cover. There is a pulley and weight mechanism for lifting the font cover which requires very little effort to lift. The pulley cord is attached to the font cover which runs through two wheels attached to the roof, and ends at a lead weight next to the west wall (see below).

The font

Pulley system for lifting the font cover

Jacobean Furniture

Pews

Arksey church is home to some fine examples of Jacobean furnishings. 'Jacobean' is a style of furniture produced between the reigns of James I (1567) and James II (1685). It is often made of oak or pine and is characterized by its large sturdy and practical make up. It is usually very uncomfortable to sit on too!

Both the pulpit and font cover are Jacobean as has already been described, but there are other pieces to talk about too. The centre pews, made by local craftsmen, date from 1662 and are interesting as their pew ends differ in shape. Those on the south side of the nave have round tops, while those on the north side have egg shaped tops. 

Pews to the north and south of the nave, note the different shapes of the pew ends

The side aisle pews were constructed by joiners employed in the 1870 restoration by Gilbert Scott. Reusing as much of the good 17th century timber as possible, they came up with a simple trefoil finial. Prior to the 1870 restoration the west end of the church was fitted with high box pews, lined with red baize it was where the squire, landlords and their families sat. 

The north aisle pews with
their trefoil tops

Chests and Boxes

The timber chest by the north door is a fine example of a three lock parish chest dating from the 14th century. Another Jacobean chest stands outside the vestry. 

14th century three lock parish chest (photo by Chelle Tovell)

Jacobean chest outside the vestry

The ancient alms box, positioned near to the entrance, is similar in design to the parish chest with three locks. Three churchwardens would have each held a key, requiring all three to be present for the box to be opened.

Alms box  (photo by Chelle Tovell)

Renovations

A number of renovations have been carried out at Arksey church over the centuries, most notably between 1868 and 1870 when Sir William Cooke employed George Gilbert Scott (later Sir George Gilbert Scott) to renew glazing, restore the chancel and chancel aisles, as well as re-seating the church using 17th century timber.

During the alterations building materials were kept in a small building in the church grounds, purposely constructed for the duration of the work. This building later went on to serve as an air raid shelter for the people of Arksey in the Second World War.

Victorian storage building

The latest renovation work is on-going from 1993, and the church is raising funds so that work on this Grade 1 listed building may continue.

External renovations

Internal renovations

The Churchyard

Outside the church is a moderately sized churchyard with many interesting memorials dating from the 1700's. These have been photographed, transcribed and recorded on this site. 

Other, even older memorials which lie all over the floor of the church interior were originally outside.

For more on the church memorials go to Church Graves.

The churchyard

Other Church Matters

Tunnels

Arksey church has three tunnels leading away from it. One is said to lead from the church to the white cottage next to the Almshouses, while another led to the Old Vicarage on Ings Lane, these are long sealed up. Another leads from the north east chapel to Arksey Hall. The church organ sits on the entrance in the chapel, while the exit is located in the side of the well in the rear gardens of Arksey Hall. The tunnel roof was exposed during the laying of new drains on Marsh Lane and was witnessed by many local residents.

I don't have any information as to why or when these tunnels were constructed, but to say they had something to do with the Reformation would provide a 'best guess'.

Destination of first tunnel

The Old Vicarage at the end of the second tunnel

Arksey Hall, site of the third tunnel

Vicarages

Many priests and vicars have presided over the parish of Arksey, and in medieval times it wasn’t unusual for the priest to live in the church tower, however, the lord of the manor would normally provide a house or ‘vicarage’ for his residence. 

The Old Vicarage

This vicarage on Ings Lane predates the vicarage next to the church, and could be Tudor in origin, or as some architectural features suggest, date from the sixteenth century. The house was probably last used as a vicarage in the 1840’s, when Rev. William J T Dodgson was the vicar of Arksey. The way that the 1841 census is ordered leads me to this conclusion, as all the later census returns place the records of the vicarage near to the Plough Inn, as one would expect; but in the case of the 1841 census, the Plough Inn and the vicarage are four pages apart. 

The Old Vicarage pictured in 1992

The 1851 to 1871 censuses do not mention the Old Vicarage by name so it is impossible to say who lived there between those dates. The first census to mention the Old Vicarage by name is the 1881 when Joseph Showler, his wife Emma and son Joseph lived there. Joseph was a saddler, employing three men and two boys. The family had a live-in housekeeper, Ellen Grinold.

In 1891 a different family were in residence, Thomas W Neale and his wife Maud lived there. With them, either permanently or temporarily, were their grandchildren, Edith and Leslie Neale. Also present on census night was their niece Margaret Keld, a school governess.

The cottage had changed hands again by 1901. This time Benjamin Ranby and his wife Hannah lived there. Benjamin was a retired grocer.

Though not used as a vicarage since the 1840's, the church held on to the vicarage until the early twentieth century, when it was sold.

From 1956 to 2012 the property was owned by the Mangiacapra family, but once Jessie Mangiacapra died the house was sold and has now been altered. 

Some information courtesy of John Mangiacapra.

The High Street Vicarage

The High Street vicarage dates from 1834/5 and is Grade II listed, although it has been altered over time. 

A succession of Arksey vicars have lived the vicarage over time, right up to 1998. The last vicar to live there was Canon Colin Hickling from 1986 to 1998.

For a full list of vicars go to Vicars of Arksey.

 

The High Street Vicarage.

In around 1998 a new vicarage was built in nearby Chadwick Gardens. It was first occupied by Arksey's only female vicar, Rev. Joan Ashton. Following her departure in the mid 2000's the house was discontinued as a vicarage and is now a private home.

The parish is now shared with the church of St Philip and St James in Bentley, and the current vicar has a vicarage on Victoria Road.

For more old photos of Arksey church go to Old Photo Gallery .

__________

Alison Vainlo 

First written 2013, updated 2016, revised 2019