20 The Church of All Saints, Farley. 



The Church of All Saints, Farley. 



It comes as a surprise in making a round of typical English 

 village Churches to come upon one designed and built entirely in 

 the Italian Eenaissance style and, for its size, as dignified and 

 monumental as S. Paul's Cathedral. But, if this Church appears 

 to be somewhat of an exotic, the generous scale on which it has 

 been carried out and the purity of its details must appeal to the 

 most unsympathetic, and much more to the ever-increasing number 

 of those who look with favour on the work of the architects of the 

 Renaissance. 



The Church was built in 1688 by Sir Stephen Fox; this was 

 during the rebuilding of S. Paul's, and it is impossible to dissociate 

 this Church from the greater building, although the personality of 

 the architect does not appear to be known. 



The plan of the Church is one of complete symmetry, but not 

 of the cruciform type which has the nave for its longest arm, for 

 here we have nave with transepts projecting midway from its- 

 north and south sides, chancel, and west tower. The south transept 

 forms the main entrance with its door in the middle, and the north 

 transept is a chapel, in the vault below which are buried many de- 

 scendants of the founder. The Chapel is now used for the alms- 

 houses. 



The materials of the walls are brick with stone dressings, rusti- 

 cated quoins, and window architraves. There are no parapets 

 excepting to the tower ; in other places a stone moulded eaves 

 course is carried round, including the east end, for the roofs of 

 both nave and aisles are hipped and not gabled. The ceilings of 

 the nave and chancel are plastered barrel vaulted, returned at the 

 ends ; those to the transepts and tower are flat. 



The chancel screen is a fine one of oak with turned balusters, 

 the design being continued through the doors. The transepts hac 

 similar screens, but that on the south has unfortunately been cut 



