All Saints' Church, Stamford

All Saints’ Church stands on the north side of Red Lion Square in Stamford, a town in Lincolnshire. It is a Grade I listed parish church of the Church of England. A church has stood here since at least the 11th century, when the Domesday Book recorded a central church in Stamford. The oldest parts still visible date from the 12th century, but most of the building comes from the 13th century. Its exterior blind arcading is an unusual feature for a parish church of this period. Nikolaus Pevsner, the architectural historian, called the adjacent All Saints’ Place the ‘visual hub’ of Stamford. The Browne family shaped the church in the 15th century. John Browne, a Merchant of the Staple of Calais, paid for major additions in the 1400s. His son William, who became Mayor of the Calais Staple, funded the tall steeple. The late-15th-century work is praised for its inventive use of ornamental battlements. Only members of the Browne family are buried inside the church. From 1730 to 1747 the antiquary William Stukeley served as vicar here. Inside, the church contains a fine William Hill & Sons organ built in 1890 and rebuilt in 1916 by James Jepson Binns. The nave and aisles show the 13th-century structure, while the 15th-century additions rise above. The steeple dominates the skyline of Stamford. The churchyard opens onto Red Lion Square, linking the building to the town’s centre.