All Saints Church Selsley

Detail from the threetriptychs

All Saints Church is at the very heart of the English Arts & Crafts Movement.
The distinctive saddleback tower of All Saints rises over a hundred feet to catch the changing Cotswold light on its French Gothic gables: the last of the great Cotswold wool churches, and the first to exhibit work of the craftsman movement.

Built under the patronage of Sir Samuel Stephens Marling, the church was an early commission for G. F. Bodley, a young architect who had trained under Sir George Gilbert Scott.George Bodley had got to know the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood in 1858, and it was his promise of commissions that contributed to the establishment of a fine arts design firm by William Morris that included Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown, and Philip Webb.This remarkable partnership of artists and intellectuals was called upon to design stained glass windows for the new Church.

Rose window above the West Door

William Morris & Company
A delightful feature of the church is the series of three large windows along the south side of the nave, which flood the space with light.Uncoloured glass admits this light and contrasts with rich colours in the three triptychs: the Sermon on the Mount by Dante Gabriel Rossetti nearest the altar, St. Paul preaching at Athens in the centre window by William Morris, and Christ Blessing the Children by Edward Burne-Jones in the third window.Capturing afternoon sunshine, the rose window above the west door depicts scenes from the Creation that include a richly coloured Adam and Eve that is considered to be one of the best small scale designs in stained glass by William Morris.
	Detail of Rose Window depicting Adam