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All Saints, Bisham, Berkshire

Location
(51°33′40″N, 0°46′41″W)
Bisham
SU 848 854
pre-1974 traditional (England and Wales) Berkshire
now Windsor and Maidenhead
medieval Salisbury
now Oxford
  • Ron Baxter
18 August 1991, 8 November 2013

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Description

The fabric of the church was entirely replaced in restorations of 1849, 1856 and 1878, apart from the late 16thc. Hoby chapel S of the chancel and the 12thc. W tower. Late 12thc. sculpture is found on the E arch of the tower and the bell-openings (the latter restored in 1962).

History

The manor, including a church, was held by Henry of Ferrers personally in 1086, and had been held by Bondi in 1066. It was assessed at 8 hides and also contained 20 acres of meadow and 12 arpents of vineyard (approximately 7.5 acres).

In the reign of King Stephen Henry de Ferrers' grandson Robert, Earl of Derby, granted the manor to the Knights Templar who established a preceptory there, but the overlordhip remained with the Ferrers family until 1266, when it passed to the king.

The church of All Saints is not connected to the preceptory, but is the successor of the Domesday church. Its advowson followed the descent of the manor.

Features

Exterior Features

Windows

Interior Features

Arches

Tower/Transept arches
Comments/Opinions

The 1962 restoration of the tower bell-openings by R. Hobday, described in Jones (1990) as "restoring, among other parts, the dog-tooth ornament in the belfry windows where this had decayed", betrays an unfortunate lack of understanding of 12thc. ornament.

Bibliography

P. Compton, The Story of Bisham Abbey, Thames Valley Press, 1973.

H.A. Jones, The Story of All Saints Parish Church, Bisham. Revised H.D. Sim, 1967; revised and supplemented P. Burstall, Maidenhead 1990.

N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England. Berkshire. Harmondsworth, 1966, 88-89.

G. Tyack, S. Bradley and N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England. Berkshire. New Haven and London 2010.

Victoria County History: Berkshire III (1923), 139-52.