The Interior of All Saints Church

It is only as we walk through the South door into the interior of the church that its enormous size can fully be appreciated as the following pictures show:

 

 

Taken from the chancel steps looking west towards the font

 

 

 

The North aisle

 

Stone side bench

As you look to your right upon entering, you will notice running down the side wall of the church a stone bench. Why is this? When the church was first built there would have been no seating. The nave was one large open space where the congregation stood. Services were long and could last several hours so if anyone felt unwell or could not stand any longer, they rested on this stone bench. This is the origin of the phrase “the weakest go to the wall.”

 

 

The Memorial to Lawrence Washington

 

On the left of the South door as you face it is the most famous of the All Saints’ memorials. This is to Lawrence Washington who was the 4 x Great Uncle of George Washington, the first President of the United States.

 

Lawrence Washington was born in 1546 in Northamptonshire but moved to Maidstone in about 1601 and became one of the town’s two MPs in 1603. He was a lawyer by profession and a Justice of the Peace for the County of Kent. He died in 1619. This memorial, which was erected by his son, originally stood on the north side of the High Altar. When the wall paintings were installed in the Chancel in the early 20^th Century, the memorial was moved to this position.

 

The family crest at the top of the monument has three stars and two stripes, still in colour. This is the oldest known representation of these Arms in the country and, of course, was here long before they appeared on the American flag.

 

 

 

 The Washington Memorial

 

The Adoration of the Shepherds Window

The large window in this corner of the church was made by Wailes of Newcastle in 1861. Wailes is one of the most important names in Victorian stained glass and his windows are in the cathedrals of York, Ripon, Ely and Gloucester.

 

This window was originally at the east end of the church but was removed to make room for the building of the new organ chamber. At the top are six prophets each with its own text. The main middle section of the window is a portrayal of the Shepherds adoring the infant Jesus in the stable at Bethlehem. At the bottom of the window is inscribed the dedication: “To the memory of Philip Corrall and Mrs Ann Carter, his sister, by their friend Alexander Randall, 1859.”

 

 

The Adoration of the Shepherds Window