All Saints

The present building was completed in 1455. It is an important example of the Perpendicular style and is still essentially unchanged from the fifteenth century. Until the early part of the 19th century All Saints was the parish church of Weymouth.
The main door is of heavy ply construction and an original feature. The pews, English oak with individual carvings, date from 1859.

On the central pillars of the nave are carved heads of King Henry VI and Queen Margaret of Anjou, in whose reign the church was built.

The Lady Chapel was designed by Walmsley Lewis in 1948. The organ was built by Henry Jones in 1884 and is still a very fine instrument.

The high altar on the east wall was gifted in 1918 by Revd Edward de Bassett-Thurston, a previous Rector of Wyke Regis. The original altar housed the distinctive altar stone. In 1859 the stone could be seen laid on the floor of the chancel but, following alterations, it is no longer visible.

The tower, which rises 84 feet and looks out over Lyme Bay, continues to be a notable landmark. It houses a clock, given by former Rector Rev and Mrs Henry Pigou in memory of their son Henry who died in 1867, and a ring of eight bells, the smallest being a 4½ cwt treble and the largest a 16 cwt tenor.

The font, perpendicular in style and another original feature of the church, stood in the central aisle, just behind the rear pews, but was re-sited during restoration work in 1969.

Among those buried in the churchyard are Captain John Wordsworth, brother of the poet William, and many of the 261 who perished when the Earl of Abergavenny sank in Weymouth Bay in February 1805. Other notable burials include William Lewis, smuggler, whose gravestone inspired the author of Moonfleet, and William Thompson, nineteenth century pioneer of underwater photography.

More detailed information about All Saints is available on the church audio tour, or in the church guide booklet.