Church of All Saints at Billesley (Grade I Listed Building)

A place for lunch on a muggy June day, and although a Grade I listed building the churchyard seemed badly cared for, mainly full of nettles.

The Church of All Saints at Billesley is a Grade I Listed Building.

This endearing little church, approached through an avenue of lime trees, looks at first sight like a rustic Georgian building, with tall, round-headed windows with clear glass. Its classical features, however, mask a fascinating and much longer history. 

The origins of the church go back as far as the 11th century, when there was a thriving village here. Some remains of the early church survive, in particular the two spectacular 12th century stone carvings, which you can see on the east wall of the vestry. One, a richly decorated tympanum, shows a soldier in a kilt, a snake, a dragon and a bird, all surrounded by wonderfully twisted foliage. The other is part of a stone cross on which is a carved figure of Christ holding the hand of another person. 

The design of the interior reflects the major rebuilding that took place in 1692. There is a west gallery and box pews. The elegant fireplace and fine circular window in the south transept mark where once the occupants of the Hall nearby had their pew, and were able to worship in greater comfort and seclusion. 


There is a tradition that William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in the earlier church on the site, and also that Shakespeare's granddaughter Elizabeth Barnard was married there. However as the parish registers have not survived, this cannot be confirmed.