Church of All Saints, Doddinghurst (EHER 26519)

A 13th century church with 14th and 16th century alterations. The walls were largely rebuilt or refaced in 1886-1887, except the north wall of the nave. It is built from flint rubble with limestone dressings, and has a peg-tiled roof.

February 1967. Grade I listed. A 13th century church with 14th and 16th century alterations. The walls were largely rebuilt or refaced in 1886-1887, except the north wall of the nave. It is built from flint rubble with limestone dressings, and has a peg-tiled roof. It comprises a simple nave and narrower chancel with north vestry. There is a timber-framed belfry tower built in around 1400 within the west end of the nave and a long 16th century timber-framed porch to the south door. <1> See photos <2>. 2001. Dendrochronological sampling. 9 core samples taken, 8 were undated and one from a belfry sole plate, a repair of 1790. <3> 2001. Watching brief. Monitoring of repairs to the belfry at All Saints' Church recorded details of its sill foundations. <4> See photo <5>. 2002. Dendrochronological sampling. Dendrochronological analysis of five Essex bellframes is described. Seventeen bellframes had previously been assessed for their suitability for dendrochronological analysis, and three had already been analysed. 57 samples were obtained from a further five bellframes that were selected for extensive sampling and analysis. The analyses were commissioned as part of a wide-ranging survey of surviving bellframes in the county. Dates were obtained for timbers from the primary phase of one bellframe, the primary phase of one belfry, and the later modification phases of two bellframes. The results have helped illuminate the developmental sequence of surviving bellframe types. This study has reaffirmed that tree-ring dating of timbers from buildings in Essex is difficult. This appears primarily due to the use of fast growing young trees which are less suited to the technique. A particular problem with this study has been the limited numbers of trees used to build most extant bellframes. Nevertheless, data have been produced which will add to the research currently underway to create a long, well replicated, county based chronology, and which may help to date more bellframes in the future. Two timbers were sampled, taken from the sole plates that support the belfry. The absence of surviving sapwood prevents precise felling or construction dates from being obtained. The 99-year chronology is dated AD 1637 to AD 1735 inclusive. The dates of the latest rings vary by nearly 30 years, one at 1735 and one at 1706, however it seems probable that they are a co-eval pair of timbers, dating from sometime after 1745. <6> See photo <7>. 2006. Dendrochronological sampling. This bellframe consists of four trusses, labelled A-D with A easternmost. The bellframe is integral with the timber belfry and therefore presumably of the same date. All the structural timbers were oak. Twelve samples, numbered 1 to 12, were obtained from the bellframe and the belfry. Samples 4 and 9 were unusable as they fragmented badly during extraction, whilst samples 10 and 12 contained too few rings for reliable analysis. The eight suitable samples were measured and the sequences compared with each other. No cross-matching was identified between any of this material. None of the data was found to date when compared with an extensive collection of reference data. <8> NRHE data transfer: See <9>. NRHE summary description: Church built in 13th century with additions in 14th and 16th centuries. The walls were largely rebuilt or refaced in 1886-1887. It was constructed of flint rubble with limestone dressings, and peg tiled roofs. A timber framed belfry tower dates to circa 1400, within the west end of the nave, and a long 16th century timber-framed porch to the south door. Note: no source is given by the NRHE for this text but it is probably from <1>.