Church of All Saints

All Saints Church stands at the highest point in Crondall, a Hampshire village. Much of the building dates from the Norman period, though its central tower was rebuilt in brick in 1659. The church has been altered several times, most notably in the 19th century when its windows, arcades and porch were changed. Nikolaus Pevsner called it “a puzzle church and an extremely powerful one.” Others have praised it as one of the finest parish churches in the country. The chancel’s ribbed vault, capped by a Lamb of God boss, was added at the end of the 12th century. The church’s history reaches back to an Anglo-Saxon building from the 9th century. Alfred the Great once owned the manor, and the rector then had responsibility for a wide area of north-east Hampshire. Archaeologists have found flint walls from this early church beneath the transepts. Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester and King Stephen’s half-brother, ordered the present church around 1170. Its Romanesque arches and richly moulded west doorway show the work of masons who had helped build Winchester Cathedral. Inside, the nave contains a font thought to be 12th century. Three Crusader crosses on the north porch’s doorway may have been carved by Sir Alexander Giffard before he left for crusade. The 1659 brick tower holds six bells, the oldest from 1616. The 1871 alterations by George Gilbert Scott Jr. left the chancel with its splendid vault. The church’s graveyard is said to be haunted by Parliamentarian soldiers seen riding up the avenue of limes.