Hoby, All Saints

The Church

Hoby is a compact attractive linear village situated on a ridge affording splendid views over the Wreake valley. The village church of All Saints occupies an elevated position within the village and has a churchyard enclosed by a stone boundary wall, filled with gravestones, many from the local slate. The churchyard is managed for wildlife and the church is proud of its Bronze Eco Church status.

All Saints church is listed Grade I, the highest listing grade. Both the church and its churchyard are important elements in the Hoby Conservation Area. This ironstone church is largely medieval, with many elements typical of the years either side of 1300, including the window tracery and the columns of the nave arcades with their subtly varied forms. The tower has a C13th base, with the spire probably added in the C14th. The C13th font sits on a C16th tombstone. All Saints was restored in the 1860s by Ewan Christian, who largely rebuilt the chancel and stripped the plaster from the internal walls.

The church contains furnishings of high value which enhance the significance of the building. These include a collection of C15th timber benches with poppyhead ends in the nave. The Perpendicular-style rood screen forms part of a complete early C20th decorative scheme in the chancel commemorating the Beresford family, who were both rectors and patrons of the church for nearly a century.