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

Parish Church with walls of rubble stone with stone dressings, and stone slate and tile roofs. The chancel arch and west tower are of 12th-century date. The south chapel was added in the 17th century and the north aisle was built in 1891, while the chancel and nave were largely rebuilt at various times in the 19th century.

Parish Church of St Mary. C12th core (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>

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1910, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club 31, lv (Serial). SDO21.

PUNCKNOWLE.
From the Manor House the church was visited, and attention was called to the extensive remains of Norman work. The Rev. R. H. GASH, the Rector, told the story of the pair of ancient fonts, the one resting on the other.
Bexington, on the seaward side of Puncknowle, used to be an independent parish ; but during the 16th Century it suffered so much from a French invasion that the people abstained from rebuilding their burned church, and united with Puncknowle. Of that union there were two symbols in this church : the one was the Bexington font, the other the Bexington aisle. The church, like that of Swyre, is rich in associations of the Napper or Napier family. The Rector pointed to the memorial to Sir Robert Napper, whose humility expressed itself in the characteristic inscription : "Reader, when thou hast done all thou canst, thou art but an unprofitable servant ; therefore this marble affords no roome for fulsome flattery or Vaine Praise. Sr. R. N. (Johannis Hamiltonis Scoto, Britannus fecit.)" Upon the church wall hang the tilting helmet, gauntlets, and spurs of Sir William Napier.
Leaving the church, the Club inspected the base and shaft of the old churchyard cross.

<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

Aug 26 2025 11:31AM