All Saints

The forest crowds up to the churchyard here, and yews and oaks overhang the lychgate.

Minstead, Hampshire

Opening times

Church open daily.

Address

Church Lane
Minstead
Hampshire
SO43 7EX

From the outside, the little church looks rather like a cottage with extensions added willy nilly. The informal feel is reinforced inside with an enchanting jumble of seats, private pews and galleries dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.

All Saints probably looks as very many rural churches did before Victorian restorations tidied them up, but its remote rural setting helped it to escape such attentions. So the private pews remained, some with fireplaces and comfortable furnishings.

In the churchyard is the tomb of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

Key features