Monument record HRT 002 - Church of All Saints

Church. Dedication All Saints. Status : rectory. Structure : chancel, nave, aisles, N and S porches, W tower. Date : Decorated and Perpendicular. Position : S parish in village (S7).
In 1086 a church with 80 acres of free land. (Average endowment of DB churches in Suffolk was 30 acres).
A will of 1471 refers to `chapell situated in the churchyard of Hartest': possibly a reference to present S chapel which looks as if it once stood independent of aisle.
Notable series of documents show tower `fell upon the body of the church' 27 October 1650, fund raising brief, and rebuilding contract (precis) (S1). "All Perpendicular, unless the arcades with octagonal piers and double chamfered arches are earlier. They are certainly earlier than the arches into the chapels. W tower much repaired with brick. N porch of knapped squared flint, over-restored. Three niches over the entrance and shields with initials l and r" (precis) (S3)(S4).
"The aisles are continued along the chancel, which has two large lancet windows at the E end. The nave arches are early Decorated'. The lower part of the tower is late Decorated (precis) (S5). Further architectural & historic details in (S1)(S2).
Recording of two areas exposed by the removal of rotted floor boards in the N aisle and W end of the church in May 1974. Probable evidence for the N wall of an earlier church. The presence of C12 - C13 pottery in the fill of the trench would tie in fairly well with the building of the present N wall, which on architectural grounds is from the Perpendicular period which spanned C14 and C15.
No time to excavate the S aisle and therefore insufficient evidence for a reconstruction. If the earlier building was symmetrical its layout would lead to the conclusion that the nave was 10m wide; this is unacceptably large in a period when the maximum span was normally 8m. S wall of the nave probably under the line of the present arcade. This is not unacceptable, the footings of the old wall could have been utilised as the footings for the arcade. See site report for further details (S6).