All Saints, Harewood

All Saints is hidden away within the park of Harewood House. A 15th century church much restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1862-63, its rather severe interior houses a spectacular and fascinating collection of alabaster tombs, dating from 1419 to 1510, commemorating the owners of Harewood and of a nearby estate, Gawthorpe. Six pairs of effigies, intricately carved, and virtually without rival in England, provide a unique history of mediaeval armour and costume, and of the development of the art of alabaster carving for which England was famed throughout Europe. The earliest, to Judge William Gascoigne, shows him in the robes of Lord Chief Justice, with a finely carved purse on one side and a dagger on the other, while his wife wears a square head-dress and rests her feet on a little dog. Later tombs show greater sophistication in carving, and each clearly reflects the fashions of the day in the men’s armour and the women’s dresses, jewellery and head-dresses. The latest tomb, to Edward Redman and his wife, is probably the finest, and the carving of the face may well be a true portrait of the man, rare in mediaeval times. At his feet is a tiny but perfectly carved figure of a bedesman who is shown saying prayers for the soul of the departed.

The church also features a fine west window (1894) by the Kempe Studio.