Listed Building record MDO10187 - Church of St Peter and St Paul, Bishops Caundle

Original 14th-century work survives in the east wall of the nave, including the lower courses of the chancel-arch responds, and also in the east wall of the South Aisle and the eastern part of its south wall. The rest of the Nave, the West Tower and the western part of the south aisle are largely of the second half of the 15th century; the north wall of the nave, part of the south wall of thesouth aisle and the whole North Porch were rebuilt in 1864. The Chancel was largely rebuilt in 1864 but the faculty petition (Salisbury Diocesan Archives) shows that the original foundations and probably the lower courses of the N. and E. walls were reused

Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul. Part of the chancel arch, nave wall and South aisle are C14th. General restoration 1863-4. <1> <2> <4>

Bishop Caundles Parish Church (Monograph). SDO18234.

Le Pard, Gordon, 1998, Medieval sundials in Dorset. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 119, 73 (Article in serial). SDO21411.

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 1, 14-15 (Monograph). SDO146.

‘(1) The Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul stands near the middle of the parish. The walls are of coursed rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings; the nave roof is tiled, with stone-slate verges; the chancel and S. aisle roofs are wholly stone-slated. The Chancel was largely rebuilt in 1864 but the faculty petition (Salisbury Diocesan Archives) shows that the original foundations and probably the lower courses of the N. and E. walls were reused; the windows are in the 14th-century style but renewed. Original 14th-century work survives in the E. wall of the nave, including the lower courses of the chancel-arch responds, and also in the E. wall of the South Aisle and the eastern part of its S. wall. The rest of the Nave, the West Tower and the western part of the S. aisle are largely of the second half of the 15th century; the N. wall of the nave, part of the S. wall of the S. aisle and the whole North Porch were rebuilt in 1864.
Architectural Description—The Chancel (21 ft. by 13½ ft.) has a pointed E. window of three lights with cinquefoil cusping beneath moulded external and internal labels. Similar windows of two lights open in the N. and S. walls, and the S. wall has a small two-centred doorway. The chancel-arch is two-centred and of two chamfered orders springing from chamfered imposts; the lower parts of the chamfered responds appear to be original. At the N.E. corner of the Nave (40 ft. by 19 ft.) is a square-set 14th-century buttress of one weathered stage. The N. side of the nave has, to the E., a 15th-century three-light window with cinquefoil cusping and vertical tracery in the two-centred head. The rest of the N. wall, the N. doorway and the N. porch are of 1864; the window to the W. of the doorway is a 19th-century replica of that to the E. On the S. side of the nave is a three-bay segmental-pointed arcade of the late 15th century. The arches, of two chamfered orders, rise from moulded capitals on chamfered shafts which repeat the orders of the arches; the bases have polygonal ogee mouldings on recessed octagonal plinths. A narrow opening, with details to match the arcade has been formed in the E. respond. The South Aisle (37 ft. by 10½ ft.) has, in the gabled E. wall, a two-centred 14th-century window of two lights with trefoil cusping below an ogival quatrefoil. Adjacent, to the N., is a projection containing the remains of the 15th-century rood-loft vice; it has a two-centred doorway within which the three lowest steps are preserved. The diagonal buttress at the S.E. corner of the aisle is of the 14th century, and 14th-century masonry with a chamfered plinth occurs below window-sill level in the E. half of the S. wall. The western part of the S. wall and all three S. windows are of 1864. The diagonal S.W. buttress and the W. wall of the S. aisle are of the 15th century but the W. window is a 19th-century insertion.
The West Tower (11 ft. square) has three principal stages defined by hollow-chamfered string-courses (Plate 9); at the base is an ogee-moulded plinth and at the top is an embattled parapet with crocketed finials at each corner and in the middle of each side; the finials are supported by shafts which rise from grotesque gargoyles in the top string-course. Each of the four corners has a diagonal buttress, diminishing in weathered stages in correspondence with the tower stages; a fifth buttress, square-set and of two stages, provides the S. abutment of the tower arch. The vice turret, to the N., is square in the two lower stages and octagonal in the top stage. Plinth and stringcourses are continuous around the turret and the buttresses. The tower arch is two-centred; it is outlined to E. and W. by ogee mouldings, continuous on the responds, and has responds and soffit decorated with hollow-chamfered trefoil-headed panels. In the N. wall the vice has a small two-centred doorway. The W. doorway has a two-centred moulded head and continuous jambs; above is a two-centred W. window of three cinquefoil-headed lights with restored vertical tracery. The head of the W. window rises into the second stage, the string-course forming a hood-mould. A small two-centred two-light window in the N. wall of the second stage has incised cusping on the jambs. The third stage has, in each face, a mullioned and transomed belfry window of two cinquefoil-headed lights under a quatrefoil in a two-centred head. Below the transoms the lights are blocked; above they have perforated stone slabs.
Fittings—Bells: five; 2nd, 1758, 4th, 1627, others modern. Benefactors' Table: In tower, on N. wall, dated 1833. Font: Octagonal Ham Hill stone bowl and pedestal; side of bowl with quatrefoil panels enclosing blank shields and foliate bosses, splayed base of bowl with trefoil-headed arcading, pedestal with similar arcading; 15th century. Monuments: In nave, on N. wall, (1) of the D'Aubeny and Herbert families (Plate 39); oval panel of white marble with drapery, mounted on splayed black slate background between white side-scrolls with inverted cornucopiae; below, gadrooned white marble bracket; above, white marble cornice over which shaped slate panel forms background for white marble draped urn, standing on sarcophagus with shields-of-arms of the two families between sprays of foliage; by King of Bath, 1815. In S. aisle, (2) of William Claver, 1769, marble tablet with moulded cornice and base; (3) of Mary Fry, 1830, similar to (2), by Mitchell of Sherborne. In churchyard, close to N. wall of chancel, (4) burial vault with rusticated quoins, protruding 2 ft. above ground and surmounted by stone table-tomb with fluted corner pilasters and moulded cornice, tomb formerly enclosed in iron railings; 18th-century, inscription obliterated. Plate: includes silver cup and flagon, both marked BB, with hall-marks and inscriptions of 1734; also silver tray on claw feet, with date-letter of 1713, used as paten. Royal Arms: In tower on N. wall, painted wooden panel with arms and cypher of Charles II and date 1661.’

<2> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 94-5 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale, 1979 (Map). SWX1197.

(ST 6962 1315) St Peter's and St Paul's Church (NAT)

<4> Department of the Environment, 1984, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: District of West Dorset (Parishes of Alton Pancras, Bishops Caundle, Buckland Newton, Caundle Marsh, Folke, Hermitage, Hilfield, Holnest, Holwell, Melcombe Horsey, Minterne Magna etc) (Scheduling record). SDO16359.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 887716 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

May 1 2025 11:05AM