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ALL SAINTS PARISH CHURCH BUILT 1277

All Saints is in the Ouzel Valley Team Ministry in the St Albans Diocese of the Church of England.
Leighton Buzzard is in the county of Bedfordshire, England.

There is evidence that the present church is at least the second to stand on the site. It is built in an early English style dating from the mid 13th century. The building is visible from all approaches to the town - the 190 foot broach spire dominating the roofline as can be seen in the illustration on the Leighton Buzzard home page.

The Leighton Buzzard Page for information on the town of Leighton Buzzard

There are services Monday to Saturday and on Sunday the parish family meets for worship at 8 a.m. Holy Communion; 9.15 a.m. Parish Eucharist (Sung with choir); 6 p.m. Evensong (with choir). In addition there is a less formal young families' Eucharist at 11.15 a.m. on the first and third Sunday and on the fourth Sunday Evensong is followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

All Saints' is a happy church and welcomes visitors from all over the world.

The Church was severely damaged by fire in 1985. The fire happened just as a restoration programme was nearing completion. It destroyed most of the nave and chancel roofs and caused serious structural damage to the tower, spire, and the vestry areas and a number of the windows were damaged beyond repair. The ring of ten bells was lost as were both the organs. The total cost of the damage exceeded £1.5 million pounds (US$2.4 million dollars).

Within 24 hours of the blaze the congregation had begun its second restoration programme in as many years. The 15th century roofs, described as the church’s tour de force, have been repaired and the fine carvings of angels and saints which adorned them have been repaired or replaced. The spire has been stitched and relined with fresh stone. The tower has been stabilised with a massive internal ring beam.

A new ring of twelve bells (thirteen with the sharp second) cast in the key of C sharp by Taylors of Loughborough has been hung. Each bell carries the name of one of the apostles, with the heaviest, dedicated to St Peter, weighing 35 cwts 1 qtr 14 ozs. It is a heavier peal than most cathedrals and ranks 21st out of 92 rings of twelve in the world.

The organ was made by Harrison and Harrison of Durham. It contains 2434 pipes, ranging from half an inch to 16 feet. It weighs over 6 tons. The coats of arms on the case are those of Lincoln - All Saints’ first diocese, St Albans - the present diocese, and Durham where the instrument was manufactured.

Although most of the fine Kempe stained glass in the church survived some windows were damaged. Replacements have been installed and attention is drawn to the Appleby window in the north aisle and to the four archangels window in the south transept, both of which match existing Kempe glass in the church and come from churches now closed or demolished. The tower altar is of Totternhoe clunch limestone, like most of the church, and weighs 3.4 tons.

A new extension has been added on the north side to provide much needed meeting space. It contains a coffee shop as well as toilets, a chapel, vestry and meeting rooms. As you walk around the church look for the medieval graffiti on the pillars, including the famous Simon and Nell group in the south transept.

The font pre-dates the present church, it was moved from the west end during rebuilding following the fire. The eagle lectern is thought to be the oldest of its type in Britain dating from the time of the original consecration of this building in the 13th century. The rehallowing mark, a cross in a circle, made by the Bishop of St Albans on 7 May 1989, is on the left pillar by the crossing steps.

See All Saints with these 360 degree panoramas

Exterior View 1 Exterior View 2

P is the viewpoint for each panorama. Use your mouse to look up into the roof and zoom in for close-ups.  Please wait for the picture to download fully.