Turvey
All Saints Church
All Saints Church
"A large and very rewarding church" (Pevsner)
Parts of Turvey church date from the Saxon period c.980. The three west bays of the nave and the lower part of the tower are Saxon in their masonry, as shown by the two deeply splayed windows above the south arcade and by the blocked doorway high on the tower towards the nave.
The south aisle was added in the 13th century and the west tower about the same time. In the 15th century the north aisle was added, the nave walls were raised and the clerestory windows inserted. Sir Gilbert Scott undertook a huge restoration scheme in 1852. He removed the box pews and moved the chancel screen, the chancel and the sanctuary were added.
The church has a number of interesting features including:
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a font, thought to be Norman and raised on four volute capitals
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a nave roof with carved bosses and 12 angels
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a wall painting dating from the 13th century showing the Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary and Saint John
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four monuments to the Mordaunt family, the oldest dating to 1506 honouring Sir John Mordaunt and his wife Lady Edith. Sir John fought at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
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the Higgins family mausoleum in the churchyard. The motif of the pinnacles borrowed from Turvey Abbey and that of the balustrade with big lettering from such houses as Castle Ashby
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the south door with iron scroll work attributed to Thomas of Leighton, whose work also survives at Eaton Bray and Leighton Linslade
Sources
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All Saints Church Turvey by George McHardy, Archaeological Journal, Vol 139, 1982
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The Buildings of England: Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough by Nikolaus Pevsner, 1968
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Church guides in the collection of Bedford Central Library
All Saints Church, by Bedfordshire Libraries, 2007
Page last updated: 15th May 2007
