All Saints' Church, Edmonton

All Saints’ Church stands on Church Street in Edmonton, a north London suburb now part of the London Borough of Enfield. First mentioned between 1136 and 1142, the building was completely rebuilt in the 15th century and has been altered many times since. The four-stage west tower is the only medieval part still visible from outside. Inside, the nave roof and north arcade survive from the 15th century, while the south arcade dates from 1889. A brick skin was added in 1772 and wooden tracery replaced most Gothic windows, leaving only the chancel tracery untouched. The church is worth visiting for its layered history and the people connected to it. In 1772 the rector Dawson Warren put these changes into verse, calling them ‘sacrilegious hands’. Later restorations were led by Ewan Christian, who worked on the chancel in 1855 and the nave in 1871. His former assistant WG Scott designed the south aisle and organ chamber added in 1889. Among those buried here are the essayist Charles Lamb and his sister Mary Lamb, the mathematician John Adams, and the surgeon Montague Gosset. Inside, the nave roof shows 15th-century timberwork while the north arcade keeps its original stone arches. The south arcade, with its 1889 arches, leads to the organ chamber. The west tower still rises four stages above the street, its medieval outline unchanged. Outside, the brick-clad walls and plain windows recall the 18th-century makeover. The churchyard holds graves of local figures, marking the place as Edmonton’s parish church for centuries.