All Saints Church

All Saints Church, Bolton, lies in a lovely setting above the River Eden with the Pennines to the east and the Lake District to the west. It is at the heart of a warm and caring community. The church is a Grade 1 listed sandstone building lying in an ancient churchyard and is approached along an avenue of clipped yew trees. Its origins are early 12th century with later additions in the 14th, 17th, 18th centuries. The church and churchyard contain a number of interesting features. The most notable is on the north wall. Above a window is a medieval carving in sandstone of knights jousting, which is believed to be the only sculpture of a joust to be found on any country church in England, it is attributed to the time of Henry II in the 12th Century. Alongside it is an almost unreadable inscription, again carved in sandstone, which suggests that the sculpture was a gift to the church to commemorate a local tournament. There is a modern replica of the knights inside the church, On the south wall to the left of the porch is a stone figure of a lady which may have once been part of a medieval coffin lid. Inside the church, filling the chancel arch, is an unusual wooden screen of open tracery, there are many 17th Century features in the church. Leaflets which give details of the church’s history and features are available near the font.

Services are held in church at 9.15am on most Sundays. Please see the board at the church gate for details of the next service or see details on the North Westmorland Churches website. The church is open every day of the year for visitors and receives many warm comments on the peace and serenity people feel in a place of rest and prayer. The church is used monthly by a group of children from the school and nursery, a Youth Group is run by members of the church, many annual events are held such as Remembrance Day, Harvest Festival and Coffee Mornings.

Renovations in 2025/26.

Identified in 2024, extensive storm damage to the west walls, buttresses, belfry tower and ground level and vestry damp, led to a fund-raising campaign to have the damage repaired and repointed, with successful grant applications to National Churches Trust, Wolfson, Headley and others plus generous donations from many in the congregation, villagers and local organisations . The buildingand groundwork started in the summer of 25 and was completed successfully in Spring 2026.

For more information contact  www.northwestmorland.church