Listed Building record MDO11176 - Church of St Peter and St Paul, Blandford Forum

Parish church, re-built after fire, 1732 – 1739. Designed by John and William Bastard, built of greenish local stone with Portland stone dressings.

THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL stands at the E. end of the Market Place, on the site of the mediaeval church which perished in the fire of 1731. The new church was designed and built by John and William Bastard; trustees for the rebuilding were nominated in 1733 and the new church was opened in 1739, although work went on for several years after that date. The church has walls of Greensand ashlar with dressings of Portland and Ham Hill stone; the roofs are tiled and of lead. The original design comprised Apse, Nave, North and South Aisles, and a West Tower. The last was originally intended to have a spire but a wooden bell turret was substituted, much to the Bastards' disgust. An organ gallery was installed at the W. end of the nave in 1794, and extended into the western part of the aisles in 1819; in 1837 both aisles were fully galleried. In 1895 the apse was taken down and the Chancel was inserted between the nave and the rebuilt apse; at the same time the organ was transferred to a chamber on the N. side of the chancel.

Blandford Forum parish church is a notable example of Georgian church architecture in the classical style, as interpreted by provincial builder-architects. <2,3>

Church of St peter and St Paul. Description and history of its predecessor to 1731. The Church is probably on the same site as its predecessor. <4>

Mentioned. <5>

Church of St. Peter & St. Paul, Blandford Forum (Monograph). SDO18236.

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1900, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch two, 1971 (Map). SDO11594.

(ST 88550631) St. Peter and St. Paul's Church

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 1, 19 (Monograph). SDO146.

<3> DOE (HHR), 1973, DOE (HHR) Blandford Forum RD Dorset September 1973, 1 (Scheduling record). SDO17703.

<4> 1987, Notes and queries for Somerset and Dorset 32, 309, 619-623 (Article in serial). SDO17706.

<5> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BF110930 (Index). SDO14738.

England's Landscapes

<5> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 96-7 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<6> Historic England, Historic England Archive, 2K/07517 (Index). SDO14738.

TOWN HALL AND CHURCH

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 205500 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 15 2025 11:49AM