Listed Building record MDO10212 - Church of the Holy Rood, Buckland Newton

A parish church consisting of nave, aisles, south porch and west tower. Part of the chancel dates to the 13th century, while the nave, aisles, porch and tower are of the 15th century. The church underwent general restoration in 1839, 1841, 1849 and 1869. A Romanesque relief above the south porch has been dated to the 1130s or 1140s. It may have originated as a minster at some tIme after 941. It had two dependent chapels.

Church of the Holy Rood. Parish Church. Part of church C13th; nave North and South aisle, South porch and West tower C15th. C19th general restoration and partial rebuilding of the church. Grade I. <1, 2, 4>
Description and discussion of the Romanesque relief of `Christ in Majesty' above the South Porch which is stylistically dated to the 1130s or 1140s. <5>

Text in NRHE record (no associated source given): In 1910, an Early Mediaeval panel depicting a figure carved in mica-schist was found in the vicarage garden. This has been set in the South aisle and over the internal South doorway of the church. The figure is crude and depicts a man with upraised arms. The right hand is open, the left holds a double cord. On either side of the left arm is an arrow or spear. The face is grotesque, and the dress is a long garment. Finally, there appear to be both sexual organs present.

The figure need not be Anglo-Saxon, but may represent the descent of St Paul over the wall of Damascus. The arrow may suggest the figure is a warrior, but it appears to pierce the left arm, and could be interpretted as a martyr. It could even be a travesty of the Crucifixion. RCHAM suggests it to be 8th century with Northern European characteristics. On the whole it may best be interpretted as a sheelagh-na-gig or a crude rendering of a religious image. The date is uncertain but appears to be 8th-11th century. (6)

Emden, A B, 1977, Medieval Decorated Tiles in Dorset (Monograph). SDO13180.

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 1, 50 (Monograph). SDO146.

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

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1980s, Ordnance Survey 1:2500 map, epoch six (Map). SDO13933.

Church of the Holy Road. (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> Alford, S, 1984, Romanesque Architectural Sculpture in Dorset: A Selective Catalogue and Commentary. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SWX3464.

<5> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1985, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1984, 17, 21 (Serial). SDO84.

<6> Bellamy, P, 1999, The Church of the Holy Rood, Buckland Newton, Dorset: architectural observations of the North Aisle and West Tower (Unpublished document). SDO16974.

<7> Bellamy, P, 2003, Church of the Holy Rood, Buckland Newton, Dorset. Archaeological Watching Brief, July 2003 (Unpublished document). SDO12259.

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 887257 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 16 2025 4:30PM