All Saints Church, East Horndon

All Saints is constructed in red brick, with English bond brickwork, and stone dressings. Its plan consists of a three-bay nave with north and south two-storey transepts, a chancel with north and south chapels, a south porch, and a west tower. The tower is in two stages, with large corner buttresses. The buttresses continue upwards and become turrets at the corners. In the upper stage are round-headed bell openings. The parapet is stepped. On top of the tower is a shingled pyramidal roof, surmounted by a weather vane. In the centre of the south side of the church is a gabled transept. In its lower storey is a square-headed three-light window, above this is a small window with a brick surround, and in the gable is a sundial. To the west of the transept is a porch, continuous with the transept, with a pilaster buttress at the junction. Above the entrance to the porch is an arched recess, and at its west corner is a diagonal buttress.[1] Inside the porch is the original seating. The porch leads to the doorway into the church, which dates from about 1500. In the spandrels over the archway are carvings of a shield and a Tudor rose.[5] To the west of the porch is a tall window with a brick surround. To the east of the transept, protruding from the chancel is a two-bay chapel. This contains two square-headed windows, one with two lights, and one with three lights. On the corners are diagonal buttresses. On the north side of the church there is also a central transept. It has similar windows to those in the south transept, plus another square-framed window. To the east of this, in the north wall of the chancel, is a window with an arched head. There are no windows in the north chapel, but there are two large crosses on pedestals. The east window in the chancel has a three-light window with a stone surround, dating from the 19th century.[1]

On the north wall of the nave are monuments to the Powell family, forerunners of Robert Baden-Powell. Beside the south door is a damaged stoup. The north transept contains a narrow brick staircase leading to the upper storey. The upper room of the transept is joined to the corresponding room in the south transept by a beam, the only remaining part of a rood screen. The pulpit dating from about 1700 was destroyed by vandals in 1971. In the chancel, a small chapel known as the Founder's Tomb projects from the north wall. A single fragment of medieval stained glass is in one of the chancel windows. The 15th-century chancel roof was damaged during the Second World War, but the parts that have survived include bosses carved with flowers, fruit, shields and angels. There is a two-bay arcade between the chancel and the south chapel. This is known as the Tyrell Chapel and contains memorials to members of the Tyrell family. The oldest monument is to Lady Alice Tyrell who died in 1422. This had been moved to Layer Marney in 1969 for safety, but was returned here in 1976. There are marble wall monuments to other members of the Tyrell family, with dates in the 17th and 18th centuries. Under the floor of the chapel is a small crypt, now sealed. In the south transept is an altar tomb dating from about 1520, and in the upper storey is a medieval fireplace and chimney. A staircase leads from the upper storey room down to the porch.[5]

Many of the fittings have been stolen or moved elsewhere. A font dating from about 1200, formerly in the north transept, has been moved to Great Wakering in Essex. An escutcheon formerly above the Founder's Tomb has been moved to Layer Marney church. A black marble floor slab to the memory of Sir John Tyrell who died in 1675 is in Heron Hall. The most important monument was made by Joseph Nollekens to Sir John Tyrell, 5th baronet, who died in 1766. This is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.[5]