Listed Building record MDO11038 - Parish Church of St Mary, Puncknowle

Parish Church. Cl2 core (chancel-arch and west tower rebuilt Cl7), C17 south chapel, 1891 north aisle added. Rubble-stone walls and stone dressings. Store slate and tile roofs.

Parish Church of St Mary. C12th cove (chancel arch and west tower), C17th South chapel, North aisle 1891. The chancel and nave were largely rebuilt at various times in the C19th. The South chapel was transferred to Puncknowle from St Giles at Bexington in 1660. The latter church had been burnt by the French in 1440. The Norman font has 'stars of rope' moulding and a very large bowl. <1> <3> <4>

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 189-90 (Monograph). SDO97.

'(1) Parish Church of St. Mary stands in the village. The walls are of local rubble with dressings of the same material; the roofs are covered with stone slates and tiles. The chancel-arch dates from the 12th century and the West Tower was built about the same period. The South Chapel was added, according to Hutchins, in 1660, and the tower seems to have been, at any rate partly, rebuilt in 1678. The Chancel and Nave were largely or entirely rebuilt at various dates in the 19th century. The North Aisle was added in 1891.'

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale, 1967 (Map). SWX1197.

(SY53508865) St Mary's Church [NAT]

<3> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset (Monograph). SWX1290.

<4> Department of the Environment, 1984, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: District of West Dorset (Parishes of Askerswell, Bothenhampton, Bradpole, Burton Bradstock, Chilcombe, Litton Cheney, Loders, Puncknowle, Shipton Gorge and Swyre) (Scheduling record). SDO16360.

<5> HGB., Parish Church of St. Mary, Puncknowle (Monograph). SDO18210.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 884320 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 16 2025 3:49PM