All Saints, Godshill, Isle of Wight
All Saints, Church Hill, Godshill, Isle of Wight, PO38 3HY
All Saints, Godshill, is a medieval Church of England parish church on Church Hill in the historic village of Godshill, Isle of Wight. Worship has taken place on the hill for around a thousand years, with tradition linking an earlier stone church to the reign of Edward the Confessor. The present building is mainly 14th-century and Perpendicular in style, with an unusual double nave and chancel, a north-west tower, transepts and historic roof timbers. The church is especially noted for the medieval Lily Cross wall painting in St Stephen’s Chapel, showing Christ crucified on a lily branch, a rare survival of medieval devotional art. All Saints is Grade I listed for its exceptional architectural and historic interest and remains one of the Island’s most visited country churches.
All Saints, Church Hill, Godshill, Isle of Wight, PO38 3HY
Street parking is limited.
Local tradition says the first church was begun at the foot of the hill, but the stones were mysteriously moved to the summit, giving rise to the Godshill legend. The hill may have been a pre-Christian sacred site, and Godshill is one of the Island’s ancient parishes, with links to the Abbey of Lyra, Appuldurcombe Priory, the Leigh and Worsley families, and the wider history of medieval and post-Reformation Isle of Wight life. A notable feature is that all six bells were cast by Llewellins & James of Bristol in 1887, making them the only complete ring by this founder on the Isle of Wight.