All Saints' Church

All Saints’ Church stands on North Street in York, a Grade I listed building with parts that date back to the 12th century. The nave belongs to that early period, while the arcades are from the 13th century and the east end was rebuilt in the 14th century. A 15th-century anchorite cell was added at the west end so Emma Raughton could watch the Mass through a squint. The church was restored in the 19th century by J. B. and W. Atkinson, who rebuilt the south aisle wall and added a porch, vestry and new organ. Brother Walter Wilman lived in the anchorite cell from the 1930s until the 1970s, receiving visitors and attending services from within his small room. The church holds the finest collection of medieval stained glass in York apart from York Minster, most of it made in the early 15th century. One window shows the Fifteen Signs before Doomsday with verses from the Prick of Conscience dated about 1410. Another famous window, The Corporal Acts of Mercy, depicts six of the seven acts and includes the Blackburn family, among whom Nicholas Blackburn served as Mayor of York. The north aisle contains windows of coats of arms, the Lady Chapel east window from the 14th century, and figures such as St Thomas and St Michael. Inside, visitors find a 17th-century pulpit and a 1906 chancel screen designed by E. Ridsdale Tate. The 1867 Forster and Andrews organ remains in use, and the walls display memorials to figures such as John Etty, Joan Stoddart and William Stockton. The chancel ceiling and reredos were painted by Mr Knowles, and the floor laid with Minton tiles during the 19th-century restoration. The church’s stonework, carpentry and glazing were carried out by local craftsmen including Mr Brumby, Mr Dennison and Messrs Hodgson.