All Saints Church, Jaipur - a brief history

In 1875 the Ruler of Jaipur State Lieutenant General His Highness Maharaja Dhiraj Sir Sawai Madho Singh Bahadur GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, GBE, LLD donated a large piece of land for the construction of a church for the benefit of the Christian population of the city. He further donated Rupees 3,000/- towards the church building fund. The foundation stone of the church was laid during the Episcopate of Bishop Milman, Metropolitan of India.

The All Saints Church building is in the early English style with certain additions to make it suitable for the Indian climatic conditions. The building was opened for Divine Service and consecrated on 4^th of August 1878 by the Most Reverend Dr. E.R. Johnson, Bishop of Calcutta and named the “All Saints Church”. All Saints was an Anglican church designed and completed under the supervision of Colonel Sir Swinton Jacob KCIE, CVO who served as the Superintending Engineer of Jaipur State from 1867 to 1902. The cost of construction at that time was Rupees 21,000/- A Chaplin used to visit from Bandikui, a town which had a sizeable Christian population due to the presence of the British Indian Railways. Records relating to this period are still available. The Albert Hall museum in Jaipur has also been constructed under supervision of Sir Swinton Jacob.

The Nave (central area for worshippers) is 55 X 16 feet. The Chancel (space near the Alter) is 14 X 12 feet and the Apse (area where the clergy is seated) is 19 ½ X 8 feet. The vestry (where articles associated with worship are stored) is 12 X 8 feet and the organ room of similar dimensions which also has the bell chamber is on the opposite side. They are separated from the Chancel by open arches with brass rods and curtains. Entrance to the vestry and the organ room are through small marble arches with foliated mouldings. Green marble pillars offset these arches.

The pillars of the main building are of polished red marble with cut stone caps and bases. Foliated bands of polished white marble were subsequently added, thanks to the generosity of Sir Tatton Skyes a visitor to the church in 1908.  The Alter, the Font, the Lectern and the Pulpit are made of local marble.  The Apse windows are in stained glass, the subject being “the good shepherd” and the side windows are to the memory of Gen W.H. Beynon.

The church is owned and managed by the Diocese of Rajasthan, Church of North India which is one of the three non-catholic mainline denominations. The building is kept in good condition and open to visitors throughout the year. Regular Holy Communion worship in English language lasting one and a half hours takes place every Sunday morning at 8:30 am during summers and 9:00 am during winters. All are welcome to participate.