We will not be continuing with our project and will be winding down our programme of events here at All Saints’. Our final event will be on January 24 2027.
Over the past five years FOPC have enjoyed opening All Saints’ church to welcome the local community as well as visitors from far and wide. In this we have supported the church and the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) who own this wonderful building.
In planning for the future, however, FOPC and the CCT have had a difference of opinion. We have different views on how the church should be managed and how we should work together. We have therefore agreed with the CCT that we will continue our programme until January 2027. After that we will leave All Saints’ for the CCT to manage.
However we will be exploring other ways for our volunteer group to direct our energies, and we hope to find another venue where we can continue our series of concerts. If you have any ideas please let us know by contacting thepaintedchurchcambridge@gmail.com
In the meantime we will focus on the wonderful calendar of events that we have over the coming months and really make the best of the rest of our time together in this very special place.
The parish of All Saints’ was once one of the largest and fastest growing in the city of Cambridge. Its medieval church, which once stood opposite Trinity and St John’s colleges, became too small for purpose and a new church was designed to replace it. The land was gifted by Jesus College and building work began in 1863 to the designs of George Frederick Bodley. The lofty spire made it for a short time the tallest building in the city. Sadly, regular services finished in 1973, the parish having reduced dramatically in size due to redevelopment of the King Street area, with the remaining dwellings nearby being used as student accommodation. The church was threatened with partial demolition which would have changed the city’s skyline forever. Thankfully, a small group of dedicated campaigners put paid to those plans and it was vested in The Churches Conservation Trust in 1981.
Today it is best known for its wealth of interior decoration which showcases the work of master decorator Frederick Leach of Cambridge and his firm of decorative artists. Step through the original swing doors and you’ll see almost every surface, including the exposed roof itself, is stencilled or hand-painted in greens, reds and golds with delicate flowers, foliage, fruits, birds, and Christian symbology intertwined with Biblical texts. Morning light pours through stained glass by William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Madox Brown and Philip Webb, and throughout the day through windows by Charles Eamer Kempe, Douglas Strachan and Ward & Hughes. There is a filigree screen by the Cambridge firm of Rattee & Kett and an organ designed for the space by Forster & Andrews of Hull. Bold silk hangings surround the altar table, faded over time, but reflecting Bodley’s vision of a 14th century English gothic church.
When the church was taken on by the Churches Conservation Trust in 1981 they carried out restoration work and opened All Saints' to the public again. However, in recent years visitor numbers have declined, so the CCT approached The Arts Society Cambridge to help put All Saints’ back on the map. We are a small group of volunteers - Friends of The Painted Church - who are working to attract more visitors to All Saints’ Church with a range of events and activities throughout the year.
No visit to Cambridge is truly complete without a visit to the city’s most ornate non-collegiate church and although its former glory may have dimmed, it is now set to shine bright once more.
The text on this page, and all photos on the website, are by Adrian Powter, unless otherwise stated.
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