All Saints, Corston
From Rambles About Bath and Its Neighbourhood by R E Peach (6th edition 1875) p261: “The Church, of which Rev. W. B. Doveton is the Vicar, is dedicated to All Saints, and stands in a well-kept churchyard. The chancel is Early English; the nave is of later date. The tower is a plain square structure, with a short conical spire, and appears to have been erected in the year 1622. In 1865, the church was reopened after having been thoroughly restored and enlarged by the addition of a north aisle of Early English architecture. . . . The ancient manor house, once inhabited by the Haringtons, is now the residence of a farmer.” The Harington family referred to is more closely associated with Kelston and had associations with the Tudors. This may explain the stone carving of Tudor rose on the Old Rectory house by the church.
The 1865 restoration of the church was funded by Mr W H P Gore Langton of Newton Park, the lord of the manor, “other gentlemen of the neighbourhood” and the vicar (Bath Chronicle 2-Mar-1865 p3). The press report of the reopening on 24-Feb-1865 gave a long list of clergymen present, including Lord Auckland, the Bishop of Bath & Wells. After the service lunch was provided in the village’s schoolroom but “the guests were so numerous that the schoolroom would not contain then, so they had to sit down by relays . . . Subsequently the male parishioners, to the number of 80, were regaled with substantial fare, and about 160 females partook of tea.”
In 1885 a stained-glass depicting “The Woman at the Well at Samaria” and “The Good Samaritan” was placed in the east window in memory of Richard Hall, of Freshford House, who had been a resident of Corston. A stained-glass window dedicated to Rev W B Doveton was added in 1904.
The graveyard is around all four sides of the church and is divided into sections A-G. Very few old memorials remains. There are small number of slabs by the northern wall of the church with dates in the 18th and early 19th century. There are a few old altar tombs on the western and southern sides.
The burial register includes the location of the graves. The locations for Section A give row and plot number. However, the locations do not correspond with the actual arrangement.
