The History Of All Saints' Stansfield

The outside of the Church

Notice the double chequer base courses of knapped flint. The stair turret lies at the SW corner of the tower. Around the West window are three niches which once, presumably, held statues of saints. The East window has two crocketted niches with foliated ogee canopies and finials which also held statues. The buttresses are C14 and there are scratch dials or Mass dials on the two buttress on the South side immediately next to the Porch. These are easier to see in the morning or the evening when the sun light falls diagonally on them The priest's door on this side is Early English. On the North side there is a splendid octagonal rood stair turret, battlemented at the top and decorated with rosettes and small grotesques, which also gives access to the nave roof.

The Porch

The porch is probably early 16th century judging from the carving of the beams in its roof. It is battlemented with pinnacles at the corners, but the cross is late Victorian as are the others on the roof. The quatrefoils at the bases of the angled buttresses contain shields. Inside, the stoup on the right hand side is a Victorian recutting.

Initials of varying periods have been carved into the soft stone of the window surrounds. The inner doorway is late 14th century but the door is part of the restoration carried by the Revd Phipps in the last century, however the original medieval closing ring has been re-used in the centre of the door.