All Saints Church, Stratford Road
Until the 1860’s there was no school or church in Nash. It was just a small hamlet in the parish of Whaddon. Sunday services, christenings, weddings and funerals were held in Whaddon church. Coffins were carried to Whaddon on a track which is now known as North Bucks way.
As the village began to grow, the need was felt for a church and school. Consultation took place with the archbishop of Canterbury concerning the building of a new church and school. The outcome of this was that in 1854 Queen Victoria gave her consent to combine the villages of Nash and Thornton into one new parish. As a result the decision was made to build a church which was designed by the well known architect, G.E. Street. His most famous building is the Royal Courts of Justice in London (1871 –1872).
The church was built along an east/west axis. The foundation of stone was laid in 1857 having been brought from a then existing quarry in Thornton. The church was built using an attractive light brown stone. As funds were not plentiful the church was built in two parts. The first part to be built was the chapel (the part of the church containing the altar, sanctuary and the choir). This was erected and consecrated in 1858. When the church had more funds the rest of the church was built and completed (in 1861). This consisted of the nave, where the bellis situated, and the porch.
On entering the church through the porch one faces the bell core on the right. Here is a 24” diameter bell weighing about 3 cwt and which was made around 1861. Also at one’s right at the west end of the church, there is a double stained glass window above; facing it at the eastern end, is a triple stained glass window which was dated 1861. The windows in the church follow a bar tracery design. This is a form of design introduced into England around 1250. It involves interesting rib work made out of slender shafts to form a decorative pattern at the top of the window.
On moving up the church you will notice the attractive kneelers in the pews. There are 74 and each kneeler was made by the congregation over a period of four years in 1987. In the chancel the altar table is raised as a result of a new platform being built in 1972, at the same time that a new Wilton carpet was installed. The organ used to be in the chancel but it was moved to the western end of the nave in 1987 when an electric blower for the organ was also installed.
The construction of the church in two parts has meant that there has been some movement of the chancel away from the rest of the church. As a result, an additional pillar was erected in 1934 to prevent further movement.
Many martyrs and non-martyrs were unrecorded and therefore un-honoured so one day in the year was selected to represent all of these. This became All Saints Day; which is the first of November.
On 21st February, 1862, the Bicester Advertiser featured an article describing the opening ceremony of All Saints church by the Lord Bishop of Oxford. It tells how the building and the school rooms (now the village hall) were completed in stages. (Click here to see the article.)