Listed Building record MDO15582 - Church of St Stephen, St Stephen's Road, Bournemouth

St Stephen's Church was designed by J L Pearson, 1881-97. The west tower was added by F L Pearson in 1907-08. It was built as a memorial to the Rev Alexander Morden Bennett, late vicar of St Peter's. It is considered to be the finest church in Bournemouth.

Nave 1881-3, chancel 1896-7, a masterpiece by J L Pearson as memorial to first Vicar of St Peter's, A M Bennett, tower added under F L Pearson 1907-8. Early English style, Purbeck stone and Bath stone dressings, elaborately composed on hillside. High unbuttressed clerestory to nave and transepts of 2-light plate tracery windows, with steep tiled roof, low broad lean-to aisles with leaded roofs. West front has big relieving arch (dogtooth carving) between polygonal stone-spired turrets, wheel window in gable, recessed triplet of 2-light windows with gabled buttresses between and gabled door in blind arcade below. North-west tower, pyramid-roofed (spire intended), has very tall pairs of 2-light belfry windows with arcaded spandrels and bracketed cornice. South porch. Apse with lancets to Lady Chapel east of north transept. Apse to chancel has stepped lancet triplets, each under segmental relieving arch between buttresses with set-offs, eaves cornice of alternating brackets, splayed hipped roof with iron cross on leaded finials. Polygonal leaded fleche on roof ridge at crossing has lancet openings over an openwork gallery. In angle of transepts and chancel, square towers supporting circular belfry stage with traceried louvred lancets and conical spirelet. South-east vestry, 2 storeys, gabled Early English domestic style, with some 4-light traceried windows, others flat-headed under trefoiled relieving arches. Interior has 2-bay vaulted narthex under gallery in west bay, then 5-bay main arcade with quatrefoil piers and double-chamfered arches, eastern bay canted inwards towards crossing. Passageway with pierced balustrade below clerestory windows. Wall shafts to ground carry main quadripartite vault of stone. Double aisles, with low arches on quatrefoil piers, also entirely rib-vaulted. High vaulted crossing. North transept has rose window over lancets, Lady Chapel to east has dogtooth-carved ribbed vault, dogtooth-carved inner arches to lancets, Cosmati-type pavement and openwork brass altar rail. South transept largely occupied by organ gallery with canted front on 3 arches, over vaulted chapel with 7-ribbed vault. Both transepts have small eastern lobby, vaulted, between chapel and choir aisle. Eastern apse also rib-vaulted with shafted pillars (with shaft-rings) connected as internal buttresses by steeply pointed arches across continuous ambulatory passage behind choir and sanctuary. Buttress arches and apse windows both have pierced balustrade similar to nave and transept well passages. Big polyptych painted wood reredos of Crucifixion and saints, altar rails, wrought-iron parclose screens and choir stalls all given 1899. Altar frontal has painted Adoration of Magi. Sedilia and piacina have low segmental arches. Rood screen of wrought f,ron. Pulpit of white marble (sculptured panels on brown and green colonnettes. Font circular, white marble on pink colonnettes, timber spired cover. Stained glass throughout by Clayton and Bell. <2>

Church of St. Stephen, Grade A. Built 1881-98 by J.L. Pearson, with a tower of 1907-8. "The finest church in Bournemouth" <3>. <2-3>

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale, 1971 (Map). SWX1197.

(SZ 08529151) St Stephen's Church (C of E) (NAT)

<2> DOE (HHR), 27 Feb 76, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Borough of Bournemouth 1976, 66 (Scheduling record). SWX3488.

<3> Pevsner, N, and Lloyd, D, 1973, The Buildings of England: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (1973), 125 (Monograph). SWX3500.

<4> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 125 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<5> Historic England, Historic England Archive, OP10433 (Index). SDO14738.

St. Stephen's church was built by J.L.Pearson between 1881-1897. This image shows alter in the apse of the chancel.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 458181 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 29 2024 4:31PM