All Saints Church, Leek

All Saints’ Church stands on a sloping site in the southern part of Leek, Staffordshire. Norman Shaw designed the building in the late 19th century, completing it between 1885 and 1887. An earlier church on the same site had opened in 1863, enlarged in 1885 before the new structure rose. Joseph Challinor, a local solicitor, donated part of the land and nearly a third of the cost. The foundation stone was laid in 1885 and the church consecrated two years later. The Grade I listed church has a broad crossing tower with clasping buttresses and a deep porch on the north-west side. Inside, the nave stretches four bays wide, while the crossing adds a single bay. A low clerestory lets in light above the nave walls. The vestry sits beneath the chancel because of the sloping ground. Morris & Co. created much of the stained glass, some designed by Edward Burne-Jones. Visitors find the Lady Chapel’s south wall window and the chancel’s painted decorations by Gerald Horsley. The crossing tower dominates the exterior, its buttresses giving strength and rhythm. The wide entrance in the deep porch welcomes those climbing the slope. The church’s interior balances light and shadow, with Morris & Co.’s glass casting coloured patterns across the stone.