All Saints Church

INTRODUCTION

On most days and more particularly on sunny summer's days, it is a common sight to see visitors leaning against & even sitting upon the coping stones of the churchyard wall bordering Bradgate Road. From this vantage point can be obtained good views of All Saints Church and the memorial stones to past members of the Community. It is then almost "compulsive viewing," to go into the churchyard and investigate some of the memorial stones. It may be the family names or the epitaphs which attract churchyard strollers. One very young visitor even suggested that a skull & crossbones on one memorial meant that a pirate was buried there. The reasons for starting the search may be varied but, in the end, the pleasure and satisfaction of a detailed study of shapes & sizes, inscriptions & epitaphs and the human stories connected with the study become overwhelming. In this survey we hope to reveal a large part of the story of the churchyard at Newtown Linford and perhaps encourage further interest in the people who lived, worked and died here.

All Saints Church was made a Grade II* listed building in June 1966 for the following important features.

Church of C14/C15, enlarged C19. Granite and slate rubble stone with Swithland slate roof. W tower with recessed stone spire, nave, C19 N transept, and C19 S porch and chancel. Tower with plinth, four bell openings, battlements, 1706 slate sun dial and restored spire. C14/C15 W window. Nave has C19 3 bay N arcade of moulded arches on octagonal piers, one arch wider to transept. Right of this arch a C15 carved head label stop. Plain plastered nave roof with two tie beams visible. N aisle with two small perp type windows, restored 3 light perp window in transept with carved head label stops inside. Stone stack NE outside corner. 1915 vestry N of chancel. On S wall two C15 2 light windows one over S door and perp 5 light window with transom, renewed tracery upper lights. Perp 2 light windows either side before chancel arch, c1920 stained glass in S. C19 chancel with open common rafter roof with collar beams and struts. E window reticulated type tracery with 1915 stained glass. Pulpit 1893 and C19 font. Mason?s slate ledger stone mounted on W wall and wall monument c1777. On eastern tie beam hangs late C18 three arch screen with royal and earl?s arms in gable and earl?s coronets as pendant finials.

as published by the Charnwood Borough Council

The records for All Saints Church show the Clergy from 1537 the year when Lady Jane Grey was born including the present Clergy. The writer is in contact with the relatives of some of these people and information and photographs will gradually be added. These are the Clergy who have their names inscribed at the back of the Church. There has been other Clergy over the years who have regularly officiated at All Saints and these are recorded below.

In 2000 the copy which has been in use in the church since the survey was completed had deteriorated to the point where much of the typescript was illegible, and unsuitable for further photocopying. This copy was produced by scanning, and on the sketches of the stones, the outlines and decoration retained, touched up only where necessary. However all of the text content on them was retyped, retaining as closely as possible the original spacing. No attempt was made to check spelling or alter any detail, or to update the section on the new burial ground. The descriptive text was printed by OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and only retyped where necessary. Whilst every care has been taken, it is strongly recommended that the actual stone be visited to check details intended for inclusion in family histories. The Register of Burials kept in the church goes back to 1934, and can be inspected by arrangement with one of the churchwardens. Prior to that date, the records are held at the County Records Office in Wigston, (Tel. No. 0116 2571080 Burials of Cremated Remains in the Garden of Remembrance are shown in the Book of Remembrance in the display case.

• Families with relatives already buried in the graveyard may still be able to have Ashes interred.
• Further information on this can be obtained from the Church.
• In 1981 all the grave stones were documented by Alfred 'Tommy' Thompson who lived with his wife in Groby Lane. Read the introduction below about how it came about and then click onto the next pages to see the actual records. You may be able to find your ancestors here. Happy hunting.