All Saints Church, Goosey
All Saints Church in Goosey, consists of a chancel 18 ft. 3 in. by 17 ft., nave 35 ft. 6 in. by 15 ft. 6 in., north porch and north-west vestry. These measurements are all internal. There was a church here late in the 12th century, and the eastern part of the south nave wall is apparently of this date. In the 13th century the nave was perhaps lengthened, and the west wall is of that period. Early in the 16th century the chancel was rebuilt. The church has been extensively restored in modern times, most of the south nave wall being rebuilt and the north porch, vestry and west bellcote being added. The chancel has a plain square-headed east window of three lights, and a similar window of two lights in each side wall. The walls are much thinner than those of the nave, and there is no chancel arch. The roof is original and has curved ribs to the principals and curved wind-braces; the end trusses only have tie-beams, and against the plates are fixed boards with trefoil-headed panels. In the north wall of the nave are a restored lancet window and a 15th-century north door with a fourcentred head, and immediately east of it is an octagonal stoup set half in the wall. In the south wall is a round-headed 12th-century window, and further west three restored lancet windows. In the west wall is a large lancet with wide splays and a chamfered rear arch. Above the west end is a modern square bellcote with a shingled spirelet. The king-post nave roof has been largely renewed, but rests on four corbels carved with heads of a bishop, king and lady, and probably of 13th-century date. A massive tie-beam resting on posts at the west end supports the bellcote. The exterior of the church is covered with rough-cast. The fittings include a font with octagonal bowl and stem and chamfered plinth, a pulpit formed of Jacobean panelling with a carved panel in front, and a 17th-century communion table with turned legs. In the first window on the south of the nave is some 15th-century diapered glass with a kneeling figure of a saint holding a book. There are two bells inaccessible except by ladder. The plate and registers are modern. Historical information about All Saints Church is provided by 'Parishes: Stanford in the Vale', in A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 4, ed. William Page and P H Ditchfield (London, 1924), pp. 478-485. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol4/pp478-485 [accessed 3 March 2023]. All Saints Church is a Grade II* listed building. For more information about the listing see CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS, Goosey - 1368468 | Historic England. For more information about All Saints Church see Parishes: Stanford in the Vale | British History Online (british-history.ac.uk). |
