All Saints' Church is an Church of England parish church

Church of England parish church

A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...

 in the town of Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

 in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

. The church is on Downshire Square, a tree lined square in West Reading

West Reading, Berkshire

West Reading is a district of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.-Geography:The district has no formal boundaries, but the name is generally used to refer to the area to the west of Reading's town centre, to the north of the suburbs of Coley and Southcote, to the east of the...

 close to the Bath Road.

The church was built between 1865 and 1874, as a daughter church of the Minster Church of St Mary

Reading Minster

Reading Minster, or the Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin as it is more properly known, is the oldest ecclesiastical foundation in the English town of Reading...

, to serve the growing population of the Bath Road area. It was designed by the architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 James Piers St Aubyn

James Piers St Aubyn

James Piers St Aubyn , often referred to as J. P. St Aubyn, was an English architect of the Victorian era, known for his church architecture and confident restorations.-Early life:...

. The construction is of coursed rubble with ashlar

Ashlar

Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...

 dressings and weathered buttress

Buttress

A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...

es. The roof is tiled, and the church has a five bay aisle

Aisle

An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...

d nave

Nave

In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

 with a short transept

Transept

For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...

. The interior includes a painted arcade

Arcade (architecture)

An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....

, a rich five window apse

Apse

In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...

, and mural

Mural

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...

 mosaic

Mosaic

Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...

s. The church is categorised as a Grade II listed building by English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

.

The ecclesiastical parish of All Saints covers a portion of the district of West Reading (roughly that part that lies in the triangle formed by the Bath Road, Tilehurst Road and Prospect Park

Prospect Park, Reading

Prospect Park is both a public park and a historic house at Tilehurst in the western suburbs of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is at .Prospect Park was originally the site of Dirle's Farm and part of the estate of Calcot Park...

), together with the western parts of Coley (west of Coley Hill) and Coley Park

Coley Park

Coley Park is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is largely built on the estate of a country house of the same name.-Location:...

(west of Shaw Road).