Bell 1 of 2
Dove Bell ID: 54025 Tower ID: 20137 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Fleet: All Saints
Diocese of Guildford
Church, 617014
http://www.parishoffleet.org.ukOverview
Grid reference: SU 808 545
Fleet All Saints was commissioned by Charles Edward Lefroy as a memorial to his wife, and completed by his-father in law after Lefroy’s own death in 1862. The architect was WIlliam Burges, who had links to the family, and Fleet was one of his earliest completed ecclesiastical projects. It incorporated the geometrical shapes and bold colours that became a feature of his church designs, but is unusual for Burges’s use of structural colouration, in the form of painted brickwork.
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
The church was burnt down in 2015, and is currently awaiting faculty permission for the re-build.
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Footprint of Church buildings: 536 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
Fleet All Saints was commissioned by Charles Edward Lefroy as a memorial to his wife, and completed by his-father in law after Lefroy’s own death in 1862. The church was extended to the west in 1934 by local Hampshire architect Arthur Stedman, this required the demolition of the original west-end open narthex. At the same time, a choir vestry was added to the north elevation of the building, adjacent to the existing sacristy. In 1958, a Lady Chapel was added to the south of the west of the choir vestry by John Purser. Tragically, the church suffered an arson attack in June 2015 resulting in almost total loss of the main roofs and ceiling fabric; damage to the interior decoration, furnishings and fittings; and smoke damage and roof damage to the chapel and vestry.
Exterior Description
The treatment of the exterior elevations of the church, particularly those to the west and south viewed from Church Road, is quintessentially Burges. The rhythmic use of pairs of lancets together with muscular buttressing and a bold polychrome course beneath the wall plate give these elevations something of the richness of texture common in his designs, something that was amplified and perfected in his later Yorkshire church commissions where he was perhaps less limited by budgetary constraint. However, the loss of the west narthex and the 1934 extension to the west have compromised the integrity of his design to a not insignificant extent. The loss of the original entrance, of triple lancet headed doorways into an open west narthex, is to be particularly regretted.
On the north elevation is a large brick chimney with a decorative fluted upper section, located over the flat roof to the choir vestry.
Interior
Interior Description
All Saints Fleet is simple in plan and construction. It was laid out by Burges as a small, apsidal basilica; the walls of brick with a concrete core. The interior had a decorative scheme described by Mordaunt Crook as “an excursion into polychrome abstraction” with bands of blue and white painted brick to the walls and columns, stencil decoration to capitals and cornices, the ceiling boarded and elaborately decorated. Further stencilled decorative schemes in the the chancel had been whitewashed by 1949, significantly compromising the visual coherence of Burges’s scheme - though his chancel tympanum painting survived, albeit in poor condition. The nave and arcades were extended westward in the style of Burgess in 1934 (requiring the demolition of the original narthex) and a choir vestry added. In 1958 a Lady Chapel was added to the north side of the chancel.
Bells
Bell 2 of 2
Dove Bell ID: 54026 Tower ID: 20137 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Churchyard
Grid reference: SU 808 545
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Sources
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