All Saints Church, Loughborough

The church dates from the 14th century; the tower from the 15th century. It is located on a slight rise within the old town and is probably the site of a pre-Christian place of worship. All Saints is one of the largest parish churches in England, which is an indication of the importance of Loughborough in the mediaeval wool trade. Loughborough Grammar School was likely founded by a priest at the church c. 1496, paid for in the will of local wool merchant Thomas Burton, and the school was housed within the church grounds until it moved away to its purpose-built campus in 1850. The hymn composer G. W. Briggs (himself an Old Loughburian) was rector of All Saints from 1918 to 1934.

Next door is the Old Rectory, originally a mediaeval manor house, the earliest record of which is 1228. It was mostly demolished before it was recognised that large parts of the mediaeval house remained.[1][2] It now contains a museum which is open on summer Saturdays.

The postcode for the church is LE11 1UX, and its official address is on Rectory Road. However, the main entrance leads onto Steeple Row and Church Gate, the latter a mediaeval street that connects the old town and the church to the modern town centre (Market Place), though now devoid of mediaeval buildings is of mediaeval width and now partially pedestrianised.

All Saints is the official seat of the Archdeacon of Loughborough, previously The Venerable Paul Hackwood, who nevertheless normally resides at St Peter's, Glenfield in Leicester. The Archdeacon oversees the 6 deaneries in Western Leicestershire which are named after ancient hundreds; Akeley East (Loughborough), Akeley South (Coalville), Akeley West (Ashby-de-la-Zouch), Guthlaxton, Sparkenhoe West (Hinckley and Market Bosworth) and Sparkenhoe East.

All Saints is the more traditional one of the two main Anglican churches in Loughborough, the other being Emmanuel Church (1835), which is Evangelical and frequented by many Loughborough University students. Emmanuel has St Mary's, Nanpantan as a sister-church. In Loughborough, there is also The Good Shepherd Church in Shelthorpe and All Saints Thorpe Acre with Dishley.

The Akeley East deanery is headed by a rural dean, The Reverend Wendy Dalrymple, rector of this parish.

The tower contains a ring of ten bells hung for change ringing with a tenor weighing 30 long cwt 2 qr (3,420 lb or 1,550 kg) in Db. The present peal were cast between 1897 and 1899 at the John Taylor Bellfoundry in Loughborough., whose foundry was less than a mile away.[5][6] The largest four bells are lost wax castings and have intricate patterns cast on to the waist of the bells.[7]

The church contains a 2-manual pipe organ. It was installed in 1966 by Henry Willis. It uses much pipework from a redundant organ from Bridgway Hall in Nottingham. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

• All Saints Church
• Diocese of Leicester
• Church of England
• Photographs of the interior of the church