Church of All Hallows

Details

ALL HALLOWS ROAD (east side) 28-FEB-1980 CHURCH OF ALL HALLOWS II

Anglican church. 1899. By Sir George Oatley in the decorated Gothic revival style.

MATERIALS: Coursed Pennant rubble stone with Bath or Doulting stone ashlar dressings. Brick narthex to the west end with tile hung gable. The roofs are covered in plain clay tiles. The floors are wood block with terracotta tiles to the choir and sanctuary. PLAN: Three bay nave with north and south aisle, north and south transept, chancel and semi-hexagonal sanctuary. Single storey narthex to west end. Single storey church hall to north. EXTERIOR: The west end has three two-light lancet windows with a tile hung gable behind. Angled buttress to each side with roll-top coping to parapet. A red brick, single storey, coped narthex with stone dressings to the three rectangular windows. There are ashlar stone porches to each end with raised parapets and Tudor-arched doorways with ridged two-leaf doors. The east end has a semi-hexagonal apse with single storey ambulatory with single lancets and angle buttresses rising up through the sloping roof to the apse which has two light two centred arched stained glass windows with late Decorated Gothic-style tracery and roll-top coping to the parapet. To the north is a one bay vestry. Short, full-height north transept, flush with the north aisle, has paired gables and angle buttresses, and a sill band below two two-light windows with Decorated tracery. The north elevation has a three bay nave with a parapeted aisle with two-centred arched windows, and paired clerestory windows above. A similar south elevation, with a two-centred arched doorway to the left side of the transept.

INTERIOR: Exposed coursed Pennant rubble stone with stone dressings. The arches to the aisle and sanctuary include head motif label stops to the hood moulds. The roof to the nave is a collar rafter roof with supporting angle braces. The chancel has an ambulatory to the sanctuary with tri-cluster shafts supporting two-centre arches, separated by half shafts to a braced timber vault; similar shafts to tall apse and chancel arches. Two-bay choir has a raised floor surrounded by low walls, and paired arches to the transepts. Similar piers to steep nave arcade, hood moulds with head motif label stops, and half shafts to a collar rafter roof. Four segmental arches to narthex.

FITTINGS: The carved oak altar was designed by George Oatley and decorated by London artist Mr Aveling Green; suspended rood designed by The Birmingham Guild Ltd; war memorial plaque to east end; octagonal timber pulpit to the left of the chancel arch with statues in canopied niches by H. H. Martyn & Co.; Romanesque-style octagonal stone font in the narthex with waterleaf capitals; plain choir stalls; fine brass lantern.

HISTORY: Sir George Oatley won the competition to design the Church of All Hallows in 1898. The foundation stone was laid by The Master of Merchant Venturers (Mr Avery Jones) on the 17th March 1900 and the church was consecrated on the 2nd November 1901 by the Bishop of Bristol. The builders were Messers R. Wilkings and Sons. The west end was completed in 1938. The builders were Hayward & Wooster.

SOURCES: First edition Ordnance Survey map (1884); Second edition Ordnance Survey map (1903); Third edition Ordnance Survey map (1918); A. Gomme, M. Jenner and B. Little, An Architectural History: Bristol (1979) 330; N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: North Somerset and Bristol (1958) 452; S. Whittingham, Sir George Oatley (1863-1950): A Nonconformist Architect: a critical biography and catalogue of works (2005) unpublished; Oatley Archive at Bristol University Arts and Social Science Library Special Collections, DM1812/1/1/208-210 and DM1812/3/6/160-188.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: All Hallows Church is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * The most complete example of a church designed by the Bristol architect George Oatley * The integrated massing of the internal space to reflect liturgical practices and to allow clear views of the east end and processional spaces * The survival of the high quality internal fixtures and fittings such as the suspended rood and altar * Group value with All Hallows Hall (Grade II) and the vicarage (heavily altered), both designed by George Oatley

Listing NGR: ST6090073853

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

378827

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: North Somerset and Bristol, (1958), 452
Gomme, A H, Jenner, M, Little, B D G, Bristol, An Architectural History, (1979), 330

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.