All Saints Church, Fleet
Encyclopedia
All Saints Church is an Anglican parish church of the town of Fleet
in the county of Hampshire
, England
. It is notable due to its architect, William Burges
and was constructed 1861-2 as a memorial church to Janet Walker. It was extended to the west in 1934 by A J Steadman and a Lady Chapel was added in 1958 by John Purser. The church was commissioned by the local squire, Charles Edward Lefroy, secretary to the Speaker of the House of Commons as a memorial to his wife. It cost £3,323. It is a Grade II* Listed Building
Pevsner says of Fleet that "it has no shape, nor character nor notable buildings, except one," that one being All Saints. The church is of red brick and its plan is "simple in the extreme." The interior too is simply decorated but the massive sculpture, particularly of the Lefroy's tomb and of the gabled arch below which it originally sat is quintessentially Burges, "not so much muscular (gothic) as muscle-bound." The church is a memorial church to the founder's wife. Originally a Walker, she was the daughter of James Walker
, who established the great marine engineering company of Walker and Burges with Alfred Burges
, father of William, and this family connection led to Burges obtaining the commission.
The interior has been despoiled by the removal of the Lefroy tomb from its original position and by the whitewashing of the apse; "And so a work by a none too prolific genius is irreparably spoiled."
Fleet, Hampshire
Fleet is a town and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England, located 37 miles south west of London. It is part of Hart District. The 2007 population forecast for Fleet was 31,687.-History:...
in the county of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is notable due to its architect, William Burges
William Burges (architect)
William Burges was an English architect and designer. Amongst the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, Burges sought in his work an escape from 19th century industrialisation and a return to the values, architectural and social, of an imagined mediaeval England...
and was constructed 1861-2 as a memorial church to Janet Walker. It was extended to the west in 1934 by A J Steadman and a Lady Chapel was added in 1958 by John Purser. The church was commissioned by the local squire, Charles Edward Lefroy, secretary to the Speaker of the House of Commons as a memorial to his wife. It cost £3,323. It is a Grade II* Listed Building
Pevsner says of Fleet that "it has no shape, nor character nor notable buildings, except one," that one being All Saints. The church is of red brick and its plan is "simple in the extreme." The interior too is simply decorated but the massive sculpture, particularly of the Lefroy's tomb and of the gabled arch below which it originally sat is quintessentially Burges, "not so much muscular (gothic) as muscle-bound." The church is a memorial church to the founder's wife. Originally a Walker, she was the daughter of James Walker
James Walker (engineer)
James Walker, FRS, was an influential Scottish civil engineer of the first half of the 19th century.Walker was born in Falkirk and was apprenticed to his uncle Ralph Walker in approximately 1800, with whom he gained experience working on the design and construction of the West India and East India...
, who established the great marine engineering company of Walker and Burges with Alfred Burges
Alfred Burges
Alfred Burges was a British civil engineer. He was apprenticed to the civil engineer James Walker, and in turn trained several other engineers such as Sir Joseph Bazalgette....
, father of William, and this family connection led to Burges obtaining the commission.
The interior has been despoiled by the removal of the Lefroy tomb from its original position and by the whitewashing of the apse; "And so a work by a none too prolific genius is irreparably spoiled."