Latest news

New Archbishop of Canterbury announced

We were delighted to welcome the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE as she becomes the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.

Please pray for the new Archbishop

Read the full announcement from the church of England here.

Read the full announcement from the Diocese of Southwark here.

Join our Team – Choral Trainer Vacancy (Tenor)

All Saints Kingston offers an exciting opportunity for a talented professional singer to gain extensive experience in a renowned choir and to play a key role in a pioneering schools outreach programme.

Full Job Description HERE

To email David Condry, our Director of Music for further details, please email [email protected]

Apply via CofE Pathways by clicking button below

Athelstan Day Events Thursday 4th September

We were delighted to welcome so many visitors for Thursday’s special 1100 anniversary celebrations of the crowning of King Athelstan, the first king of England, particularly those who journeyed considerable distances to reach us.  The day was a huge success, entirely down to the dedication and work of so many members of our community over several years.  We are grateful to those who took part in the events and the service and the renewed shared Saxon heritage connection with Malmesbury, Tamworth and Oldenberg.

We are particularly grateful to the Very Reverend Professor Sarah Foot, Dean of Christ Church, an expert on the period for her sermon on King Athelstan which you can read in full here or you can watch the full service via the button below.

Please do come along to view the embroideries now that they are unveiled.

Click here to watch a slideshow of pictures of the events

Click here for the souvenir booklet

Click here for the service booklet

Click here for Bishop Christopher, the Bishop of Southwark’s sermon

Click here for Mike Seigel, Kingston Town Crier’s speech

Click here for information about King Athelstan, the first King of a united England, crowned at Kingston Upon Thames on 4th September 925.

Athelstan Address by Tom Holland

We were honoured to welcome national historian and co-host of “the Rest is History” podcast (number one History podcast in the UK) Tom Holland to speak as part of the Athelstan Coronation Anniversary Events.

The engrossing talk was a ticketed event and “sold out” months before the event so if you missed out, we are sorry but you can watch the recording by clicking the button below.

We also welcomed author Professor David Woodman, a specialist in medieval history for a book signing of his new book “The First King of England; Aethelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom”, who believes children should be taught about Aethelstan and the birth of England in schools.  You can read his argument here or read about the book here.

Click here for the souvenir booklet

Click here for information about King Athelstan, the first King of a united England, crowned at Kingston Upon Thames on 4th September 925.

Totally Blondie Live Fundraiser Gig

Fri 24 Oct 2025, 7:00pm

All Saints Kingston Presents; Totally Blondie – Expect a blistering live performance fronted by a stunning Debbie Harry lookalike and an experienced professional band.

Blondie was one of the most iconic bands of the 70’s & 80’s with songs like Hanging On The Telephone, One Way Or Another, Call Me, Atomic and heart of Glass and Totally Blondie make sure these fantastic tunes sound as fresh and exciting today as they did back then.
– it’s totally authentic … it’s totally awesome … it’s Totally Blondie ..!

2hrs 20min (inc interval).  Bar at local prices, card payment accepted.  Catered food available on site.
Reduced price early bird tickets available for a limited time, ticket price will then increase so please get your tickets early!  Please note standing/dancing is expected at this event.

View the promo Video HERE

New Free Weekly Friday Lunchtime Organ Recitals

Our Frobenius Organ is one of the jewels of All Saints Kingston and starting in September, there will be a series of lunchtime organ recitals on Fridays featuring some of this country’s best-known organists and opportunities to hear up-and-coming young organists

19 September – Carl Jackson, Chapel Royal, Hampton Court
10th October – Adrian Goss, St Swithun’s, East Grinstead
17th October – James Orford, St Paul’s Cathedral
31st October – Tammas Slater,Royal College of Music
14th November – James Gough,Southwark Cathedral

Dates and performers are subject to change, please check the website calendar before travelling.

FREE Monday Lunchtime Recitals

Our much loved Monday lunchtime music recitals Autumn Season runs from Monday 22nd September, to 17th November 2025 every Monday at 1.15pm.

These concerts are free with an optional retiring collection in support of the musical life of the church.

Dates and performers are subject to change, please check the website calendar before travelling.

KCAH Open Day

Althelstan Ale

Poppy Cascade for Remembrance Sunday

Are you good with crafts or know someone who is?  We are creating a beautiful poppy cascade in honour of those who have died in the service of our country.

The Cascade will “fall” from one or more of the pillars in the Nave facing the altar and will be created from hundreds of hand made poppies created by members of the community.  We are so grateful to all of the local groups who have already sent us their creations helping us to easily surpass our original target of 1,000 poppies and we are now planning two cascades.

The poppies may be made from wool, felt or other materials that are suitable to be be attached onto a light netting material which will be attached to the pillar.  We have patterns and materials available on a special poppy table near our seven Saxon King embroideries or you may choose to use your own.   Completed poppies should please be dropped off at All Saints Kingston at the poppy table near the seven Saxon king embroideries at any time the church is open (typically 10am-4pm daily).

We know the completed work will be stunning and a fitting tribute to those who sacrificed their lives in times of war.

Please join with us for this very special project and please spread the word to anyone (and any groups) you know who is crafty.

Update on Public Talk – Stories from Israel-Palestine

Over 200 people attended this talk from the Very Reverend Nicholas Papadopulos, Dean of Salisbury with Ruth Valerio from the Embrace the Middle East charity.  Over £550 was raised for EAPPI (Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme for Palestine and Israel) plus £165 from the bar towards church funds.  You can read a synopsis here or donate to EAPPI here.

This talk recording, together with a number of many others may be accessed via our You tube channel @allsaintskingston8231.

All Saints Kingston previously hosted a series of Faith talks which featured a number of well known speakers on a variety of important subjects, including the changing shape of war and artificial intelligence.  Please click here to watch them.

Embroidery Project – June 2025

Panel 1, Edward and Lady Aethelflaed, and Panel 6, Edward the Martyr, are now completed with their stunning beading by artist Beatrice Mayfield and and are with the framers.  Framing involves letting the embroidery hang for 6 weeks before attaching to a bespoke backing to keep every stitch and embellishment exactly in place before putting into the museum quality frame itself.  We are very lucky to have commissioned Janie Lightfoot Textiles (JLT) to perform this essential and very precise work.

The final touches are now being put to the design of Ethelred (known to history as Ethelred the Unready, although “unready” in Saxon times actually referred to his lack of good counsel).  Artist Jacky Puzey will then create two full size samples of specific areas of the design for the embroidery project team to asses before work begins on the full panel itself. – will he be ready for September 4th?

We welcome Michael Stokes

Michael joined All Saints Kingston as a pioneer curate following his ordination at Southwark Cathedral on Saturday 28th June 2025.

To red Michaels full bio, please click here.

Stag Beetles at All Saints Kingston

We are being asked to record our Stag Beetle sightings.

Chris Ault, a member of the All Saints Eco group gave the following details; The Stag beetle is the largest beetle in Britain and leads a precarious life.  The female lays eggs underground and when these hatch into larvae, they feed for up to 7 years on rotting wood. During this time they remain underground. Therefore log piles are an essential habitat for their existence. Last year I was planting a shrub on the north west side of the Churchyard where there are the hollow remains of a tree stump which has a lot of sawdust. I accidentally dug up a stag beetle larva which I took into the Church (briefly) and showed to Joe before putting it back into the ground. Therefore it appears that we already have a presence.

When the male adult emerges it’s only intention is to mate , which may require fights with other adult males. They emerge in May or June. The adults usually die by the end of August and it is not certain if they even eat during the intervening 3 months. The adult male has large horns which are used solely for the purposes mentioned above and they cannot bite.

House of Bishops statement on Gaza

Please pray for all those suffering in Gaza.  The House of Bishops have met in York and issued a statement on the war in Gaza which may be read here

We fully support this statement from the House of Bishops.

Our Christian Aid Video

Annual Report 2024-2025

We are rightly proud of all the amazing services, groups, events and activities that take place in our wonderful church.  We will never have space to mention them all but a snapshot is included in this years annual report, shared at our APCM in May 2025 which you may read by clicking the button below.

You can also read the financial report here.

Squirrel Surprise

Public Talks on our Embroideries

Did you know that you can be part of this amazing heritage project?  Our “book of names” fundraising appeal allows you to have a name of your choice entered into the book, made by the same artist who has created these embroidered art pieces.  The appeal closes at Easter, so if you want to have your name added, please do so soon by clicking here.

To watch a special short film about the project, please click here.

Progress with the final embroideries

Members of the Embroidery Project team travelled to artist Jacky Puzey’s Bristol studio to check progress this month.  Edward the Martyr, falling from his magnificent dappled grey horse is complete and awaiting embellishment by beader Beatrice Mayfield and the stunning design for Ethelred the Unready will now have areas worked up as fully embroidered working samples before the full piece is begun.

POSTPONED – Midsummer Medley from All Saints Choir

All Saints Choir invite you to an evening of Entertainment featuring The Pirates of Penzance and other songs and music.

Enjoy our bar and nibbles for this relaxed evening in the East End Cafe area of the church.

£10 per person, £5 for under 16’s including a free drink on arrival.  Bar sales and donations will be going to our Give to Go Green Matched Fundraising appeal to reduce our carbon footprint by improving our energy efficiency. 

Download the Poster to put in your window!

Give to Go Green 6 week campaign

Our Give to Go Green Fundraising Campaign was a HUGE success.  Running from Sunday 1st June to Sunday 13th July, the £20,000 target was smashed with a few hours to go.  We are so grateful to the Church of England for match funding every penny and we look forward to using the funds as planned to help reduce our Carbon Footprint.

At the beginning of the appeal, Revd Joe Moffatt outlined what we hoped to achieve with the fundraising:

“Now that we have upgraded the church lighting system to energy-saving LED lamps, the church heating system is by far our greatest consumer of energy. The system comprises two high-efficiency, low emission gas boilers which feed an underfloor heating system – supplemented, when required, by wall-mounted convector heaters. The underfloor heating system is split into five zones, each covering a different area of the church.

While the heating system itself employs up-to-date technology, it is let down by an inadequate, inflexible control system which is difficult to use. We now intend installing a new, state-of-the-art control system which will enable both the temperature and timing of zones to be controlled individually. The system will have a user-friendly app interface, allowing fine-tuning to take account of the varying patterns of day-to-day church use. This will ensure that heat is only provided where and when it is needed, reducing our energy consumption and consequent carbon emissions.”

A HUGE thank you to each and every person who donated and we hope that you notice the difference this winter!

We are so grateful for every donation!

Throughout April/May/June 2025, KCAH is running a campaign called Spring into Action.

Campaign aim: at least 50 people to take action for KCAH: to raise awareness of local issues on homelessness and/or raise funds for KCAH this spring 🌱

Please see the KCAH website for more info, including suggestions on how you can take action or click the button below.

Choral Scholarships at All Saints Kingston

Choral Scholarships available from September 2025. Apply Now to audition.

Do you know a talented young Bass or Tenor singer going into sixth form in September 2025?

Please click here for details.

For more info, please see our website
For any query, please contact the assistant director or music, David Condry.
To apply, please email CV and covering letter to: Kate Shrimpton.

Information about our choir may be found on the choir page.

Embroideries in National Magazine

It’s great to see our embroideries gaining national attention, and justifiably so, they truly are works of amazing design and quality!  The March/April edition of Embroidery Magazine leads with our project on the front page, noting;

“Meet our cover star King Eadwig whose short life story would not have been out of place in the ruthless world of HBO’s @gameofthrones drama. Inside, we bring you the story of seven Saxon kings and @jackypuzey’s incredible eight-year project to portray them in stitch.” 

Did you know that you can be part of this amazing heritage project?  Our “book of names” fundraising appeal allows you to have a name of your choice entered into the book, made by the same artist who has created these embroidered art pieces.  The appeal closes at Easter, so if you want to have your name added, please do so soon by clicking here.

Embroidery magazine is exclusively devoted to all aspects of embroidery and stitched textiles in art, design, craft and textile culture. You can subscribe or purchase a back issue here.

To watch a special short film about the project, please click below.

The Church Times

We’ve been featured in the Church Times!  Completely unbeknownst to us, a recent visitor shared their experiences of All Saints Kingston in the most recent edition of the church times (Diary: Ann Morisy) in which All Saints is quoted as “an example of the Church of England at her best”.

We are very grateful and humbled to receive such positive affirmation of what we are doing here at All Saints Kingston, you can read the full article here.

Seven Saxon Kings

Update – The embroidery of Edward the Elder and his sister Ethelflaed, lady of the Mercians, son and daughter of Alfred the Great, is now completed and being embellished by Beatrice Mayfield, contemporary hand embroiderer and visiting lecturer at the Royal School of Needlework.  Jacky Puzey, award winning contemporary embroidery artist is now working on samples of the next panel; Edward the Martyr which was commissioned after an AMAZING anonymous donation from a local couple to celebrate an important anniversary.

We are now tantalisingly close to securing our fundraising target for Phase 1 of the project and now looking forward to phase 2 which is to create education and interpretation resources explaining the embroideries to visitors.

Our “book of names” appeal closes at Easter, so if you’ve been thinking about having yours or a loved ones name embroidered into the book as a lasting legacy, please do so now before this appeal closes!  This would make a wonderful personal present for anyone with links to Kingston!  To find out more about this, the project and how you and your family can be part of keeping this heritage alive for generations to come, please click here.

Would you like your group to have a guided talk on our embroideries?  We can arrange talks at your groups usual venue or at All Saints Kingston, with our knowledgeable project leaders giving a real insight into the craft and/or historical aspects of the embroideries, including viewing the embroidered samples up close.  This is available for any group signing up to have their name included in our book of names.

This year (2025) is the 1100 anniversary of the coronation of King Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the great and arguably the first King of all England who was crowned right here in Kingston Upon Thames.  Our aim is to have all the Embroideries complete and available to view by this special anniversary, hosting a service to commemorate them.

To watch a special short film about the project, please click below.

Update on Lifting Young Voices Project

Following successful grant applications for vital initial funding from Cathedral Music Trust (CMT) and long-term funding from the Diocese of Southwark, our Lifting Young Voices (LYV) Project will now have the financial security to fully develop.

Freddie Ingles’ and Emma Smellie’s appointments as Choral Trainer Lay Clerks has  enabled the Lifting Young Voices programme to expand into additional local primary schools and we are in the process of recruiting a further Choral Trainer Lay Clerks to reach a projected 8 schools by the end of 2025. 

Our new Assistant Director of Music is scheduled to join All Saints Kingston in the new year to assist David Condry, our Director of Music in the running of our choirs, with our Junior Choir now participating in monthly all-age services allowing us to reintroduce Choral Matins as a monthly sung service with the main choir. 

If you are interested in our Lifting Young Voices Project going into YOUR school, or would like to join one of our choirs, please click here for a booklet giving details or use the main menu to select choir and scroll down to the Lifting Young voices area of the page.

Join our Team – Assistant Director of Music

Are you a talented organist looking to expand your role, or know someone who is?
The role is a 4 years fixed term part time contract of 18 hours per week plus preparation time, based at All Saints Kingston.  £16,000 p/a paid monthly.

This appointment will support the musical life of All Saints Kingston and is designed for a talented organist who will accompany the choir in most choral services on the 1988 Frobenius Organ and play a key role in our musical outreach through our Lifting Young Voices programme, with opportunities to give weekly organ recitals, assist in the rehearsal and direction of the choir and help with planning music and the promotion of the choir within the community.

Please click the button below for the full job description and for an informal conversation about the role, please contact our Director of Music, David Condry: [email protected]

To apply, please email a CV and covering letter to: Kate Shrimpton, [email protected]. Closing date: 22nd June 2025. Auditions and interviews Friday 4th July 2025.

Saxon Fayre 2024

During the Summer, All Saints Kingston was part of the Saxon Fayre that took place in the marketplace and in the grounds and building of All Saints itself.

It was a huge success and we were particularly pleased to showcase our links with the Seven Saxon Kings of England who were crowned right here in Kingston.  Next year is the 1100 anniversary of the crowning of King Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great and arguably the first King of all England, after uniting the kingdoms (something which Alfred the Great had dreamed of but not actually managed to do within his own lifetime).

Next year, Kingston council will host a six month series of events to celebrate this important anniversary and we will be unveiling our full series of life sized contemporary embroideries of each of the seven kings.  Please click here to learn more about our “Seven Saxon King Embroidery Project” including how you can add a name in our embroidered “book of names” as a legacy of your own.  Please click here to lean more about Kingston 2025.

Choir Trip to York Minster

You may have missed our choir singing at services a few weeks ago, but our loss was York Minsters gain as they acted as “guest choir” whilst their normal choir took a holiday break.

The choir sang at 4 services, two of which were recorded and can be viewed here and here

Sung Eucharist Choir particular moments:

5.40, 41.20, 51.50

Choral Evensong choir particular moments:

3.42 (Psalm 141), 9.50, 18.20, 28.50 (Seek him)

Don’t miss the amazing organ pieces at the send of each service from Alan Erdelyi who performed until recently at All Saints.

Bat Survey

Our Eco group recently invited the bat conservation trust to conduct a Bat survey in our grounds and we just received this lovely certificate.  Interestingly, we are one of only eleven churches across the UK to participate in a churches bat survey in 2024.

We hope that they were attracted to the insects from the meadow we introduced this year or the bug hotel and other measures we’ve introduced in our attempts to be a more eco friendly church.  If you’re interested in joining our eco group, please contact [email protected]

2023-24 booklet

This gives an oversight on All Saints over the past year, our activities and projects and what we need to do to continue moving forward to ‘fund the vision’ and complete these as well as essential building maintenance.

It is with your continued support and generosity we have managed to achieve so much over the past year and longer. This is not just much needed financial support through regular planned giving and other means, but through volunteering your time. We thank you wholeheartedly for this and hope that you can continue to give generously.

Please consider helping us by making a new or increased pledge, please use the form HERE.

And, if you would like to become a volunteer at All Saints please contact our Comms Manager, Kate Shrimpton here: [email protected]

 Printed Copies are also available in the church.

Diocese of Southwark statement on the Makin report

A review of the Church’s handling of allegations of serious abuse carried out over a period of 40 years by the late John Smyth has been published. The independent learning lessons review was led by Keith Makin.

Please click here to read further.