Listed Building record MDO14695 - Parish church of St Hypolite, Ryme Intrinseca

A church with chancel and nave dating from the thirteenth century. The East wall was rebuilt in the early seventeenth century, and it is thought that the chancel may also have been shortened at this time, while the west tower and north porch were added around the middle of the seventeenth century. There was a general restoration in the nineteenth century.

Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale, 1974 (Map). SWX1197.

(ST 58181082) St Hypolite's Church [NAT]

National Record of the Historic Environment, 883056 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 193-4 Illus. (Monograph). SDO97.

‘(1) Parish Church of St. Hypolite stands in the village. The walls are of local rubble with freestone dressings and the roofs are covered with tiles and stone slates. The Chancel and Nave date probably from the 13th century. Early in the 17th century the E. wall was rebuilt and the chancel perhaps shortened; the E. part of the N. and the W. part of the S. wall of the nave were rebuilt; the West Tower was added shortly after and the North Porch about the middle of the century. The church was restored in the 19th century.
Architectural Description—The Chancel (16 ft. by 15½ ft.) has a 17th-century E. window of three four-centred and graduated lights with a moulded label stepped up over the middle light. The side walls have each a 13th-century lancet-window. There is no chancel-arch.
The Nave (32 ft. by 16 ft.) has, in the N. wall, two lower windows, the eastern of the 17th century and similar to the E. window of the chancel and the western is similar but of two lights; high up, at the E. end of the wall, is a 17th-century window of one trefoiled light lighting the pulpit; the E. part of the wall was rebuilt, thinner than the rest, early in the 17th century; the early 15th-century N. doorway has moulded jambs and two-centred head. In the S. wall are three windows, the easternmost of the 13th century and of two lancet-lights; the middle window is modern and replaces a doorway of which the lower parts of the jambs can be seen externally; the westernmost window is similar to the corresponding window in the N. wall.
The West Tower (about 8 ft. square) is of early 17th-century date and of three stages with an embattled parapet and pinnacles at the angles; the N.E. stair-turret is also embattled and has a pyramidal roof. The tower-arch is two-centred and of one continuous chamfered order; it has been cut back for a doorway, now blocked, to a former gallery. The W. doorway has chamfered jambs and four-centred head; the W. window is similar to the western windows of the nave. In the S. wall is a modern window. The second stage has, in the E. wall, a window of two round-headed lights. The bell-chamber has, in each wall, a window of two four-centred lights in a square head with a label; the lights have stone fillings with pierced quatrefoils enclosing paterae.
The North Porch has a mid 17th-century outer archway with moulded jambs and round head.
Fittings—Bells: three; 2nd, probably by William Purdue of Closworth, 1576, figures reversed; 3rd by T. Roskelly, 1753. Chairs: In chancel—two, one with turned front legs, shaped arms, carved and panelled back and scrolled cresting; second, with turned front legs, shaped arms and carved back with enriched arched panel; early to mid 17th-century. Chest: In second stage of tower—small and plain with strap-hinges and one hasp-strap, late 17th-century. Door: In turret-staircase of tower—of battens with strap-hinges, 17th-century. Font: octagonal bowl with concave underside and necking, octagonal stem and concave base, late 15th-century. Cover of oak, pyramidal and with repainted inscription "The gift of Ann Purde who died Jan. 1st 1637". Monuments and Floor-slab. Monuments: In chancel—on N. wall, (1) to John Elford, rector, 1664, moulded and enriched panel; on S. wall, (2) to Brinley Skinner, 1764, marble wall-monument with achievement-of-arms in a cartouche; (3) to Robert Pallock, 1757, John, his son, [Page 194] 1789, and Robert Pallock, 1844, white marble walltablet with crest. In nave—on N. wall, (4) to Katherine, wife of James Langdon, 1815, white and coloured marble wall-monument. In churchyard—N.W. of porch, (5) to George Williams, 1686, and Dorothy, his wife, 1697, and others later, table-tomb. Floor-slab: In tower—to [George Day], 1635–6. Plate: includes a cup of 1571 with band of engraved ornament on bowl. Royal Arms: In nave—on N. wall, painted on canvas in frame with segmental head. Above the shield are the initials G.R., the painter's name and the date: John Williams, Yeovil, 1793. Seating: In chancel—two coffin-stools with turned legs and carved top-rails, 17th-century. Table: In tower—with turned front legs, enriched square back legs, enriched top rails, 17th-century, repaired. Miscellanea: In churchyard—S. of tower, bases of two gable-crosses, 16th-century. Weather-vane (Plate 54): dated 1799.’

Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 357-8 (Monograph). SWX1290.

Department of the Environment, 1986, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Dorset (Parishes of Beer Hacket, Chetnole, Leigh, Leweston, Lillington, Longburton, Ryme Intrinseca and Yetminster), 44 (Scheduling record). SDO16446.

Wilkins, N G, 2003, The Parich Church of Saint Hippolytus, Ryme Intrinseca, Dorset (Monograph). SDO18202.

Record last edited

Dec 23 2025 9:58AM