All Saints Church, Fleet

All Saints' Church is the Anglican parish church of the town of Fleet in the county of Hampshire, England. It is notable for its architect, William Burges and was constructed 1861-2. History and descriptionThe church was designed by Burges and was built between 1861 and 1862. It was extended to the west in 1934 by A. J. Steadman and a Lady Chapel was added in 1958 by John Purser. The church was commissioned by the local squire, Charles Edward Lefroy, secretary to the Speaker of the House of Commons as a memorial to his wife, Janet Lefroy. It cost £3, 323. It is a Grade II* Listed BuildingPevsner says of Fleet that "it has no shape, nor character nor notable buildings, except one, " that one being All Saints. The church is of red brick and its plan is "simple in the extreme. " The interior too is simply decorated but the massive sculpture, particularly of the Lefroys' tomb and of the gabled arch below which it originally sat is quintessentially Burges, "not so much muscular (gothic) as muscle-bound. " Janet Lefroy was originally a Walker, daughter of James Walker, who established the great marine engineering company of Walker and Burges with Alfred Burges, father of William. This family connection led to Burges obtaining the commission. The interior was significantly altered in the later twentieth century by the removal of the Lefroy tomb from its original position and by the whitewashing of the apse. Of these alterations, Pevsner comments; "And so a work by a none too prolific genius is irreparably spoiled. "

All Saints' Church is the Anglican parish church of the town of Fleet in the county of Hampshire, England. It is notable for its architect, William Burges and was constructed 1861-2. History and descriptionThe church was designed by Burges and was built between 1861 and 1862. It was extended to the west in 1934 by A. J. Steadman and a Lady Chapel was added in 1958 by John Purser. The church was commissioned by the local squire, Charles Edward Lefroy, secretary to the Speaker of the House of Commons as a memorial to his wife, Janet Lefroy. It cost £3, 323. It is a Grade II* Listed BuildingPevsner says of Fleet that "it has no shape, nor character nor notable buildings, except one, " that one being All Saints. The church is of red brick and its plan is "simple in the extreme. " The interior too is simply decorated but the massive sculpture, particularly of the Lefroys' tomb and of the gabled arch below which it originally sat is quintessentially Burges, "not so much muscular (gothic) as muscle-bound. " Janet Lefroy was originally a Walker, daughter of James Walker, who established the great marine engineering company of Walker and Burges with Alfred Burges, father of William. This family connection led to Burges obtaining the commission. The interior was significantly altered in the later twentieth century by the removal of the Lefroy tomb from its original position and by the whitewashing of the apse. Of these alterations, Pevsner comments; "And so a work by a none too prolific genius is irreparably spoiled. "