All Saints Church
All Saints Church in Oxford is a historic Anglican church located on the High Street, one of the most celebrated thoroughfares in England. The church is now deconsecrated and serves as the library of Lincoln College, Oxford, a function it has fulfilled since 1975. Despite this change in use, the building remains a remarkable piece of ecclesiastical architecture in the heart of Oxford's old city, and its setting along the sweeping curve of the High Street places it among some of the most photographed streetscapes in the country. It is a Grade I listed building, recognised for its exceptional architectural and historical importance.
The history of All Saints Church reaches back to the medieval period, with a church recorded on this site from at least the twelfth century. The current building dates principally from the early eighteenth century, having been rebuilt following the collapse of its tower in 1700. The tower fell into the roof of the nave, and the city of Oxford undertook a major rebuilding effort. The new church was designed in the classical style by Henry Aldrich, Dean of Christ Church, and was completed around 1710. It is considered one of Oxford's finest examples of English Baroque architecture, and Aldrich's design is notable for its confident blend of classical and traditional English church forms. Nicholas Hawksmoor, the great English Baroque architect, was also involved in the project and contributed to the design of the spire, one of the defining features of the Oxford skyline.
The spire of All Saints is particularly celebrated and is regarded as one of the most graceful in England. Rising above the rooflines of the High Street, it draws the eye upward and was famously described by the poet Matthew Arnold as part of Oxford's "dreaming spires." The exterior of the church is built of warm Oxfordshire limestone that glows golden in sunlight, and the classical detailing of the pilasters, cornices, and arched windows gives the building an air of calm authority. The proportions are harmonious, and the church sits comfortably alongside its neighbours despite its considerable presence.
Inside, the building has been sensitively adapted as a library for Lincoln College. The interior retains much of its original character, including the plasterwork ceiling, the tall arched windows that flood the space with natural light, and the sense of airy openness that was characteristic of the early eighteenth-century Anglican interior. Bookshelves have replaced pews, and reading desks occupy the floor space, but the ecclesiastical atmosphere is not entirely lost. Visiting scholars find the combination of historic architecture and scholarly purpose particularly fitting, and the space is considered one of the more charming libraries in Oxford.
The church stands directly on the High Street in Oxford's city centre, surrounded by the buildings of several of the university's oldest colleges. Lincoln College itself is immediately adjacent, and Brasenose College is close by. The Bodleian Library complex, the Radcliffe Camera, and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin are all within a short walk. This part of Oxford is extraordinarily dense in historic architecture, and All Saints is just one element in a landscape that has changed remarkably little in its fundamental layout over several centuries.
For visitors, All Saints Church is best approached on foot, as the High Street is largely pedestrianised for through traffic. Oxford city centre is well served by buses from across the region, and the Oxford railway station is about a fifteen-minute walk away. Access to the interior as a functioning library is generally restricted to Lincoln College members, though the exterior and the immediate surroundings are fully accessible at all times. The best time to appreciate the exterior is on a clear morning when the limestone glows and the spire can be seen against a blue sky, or in the early evening when the setting sun catches the west-facing stonework.
A fascinating and somewhat unexpected detail about All Saints is that its conversion to library use was driven in part by a pragmatic solution to two problems at once. Lincoln College was in need of more library space, and the Church of England had a redundant church on its hands in a location where it could not easily be demolished. The arrangement proved ideal, and the college has maintained the fabric of the building carefully ever since. The church is one of only a handful of historic Oxford churches to have found a new life within the university rather than being converted to commercial or residential use, which gives it a particular dignity that many redundant urban churches elsewhere have been denied.