Listed Building record MDO16643 - Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Church Hill, Swanage

A nineteenth and twentieth-century parish church with a medieval tower. The three lower stages of the tower are of the fourteenth century, whilst the top stage dates from about 1620. The rest of the Church was rebuilt by T H Wyatt in 1859-60 and enlarged in 1906-8 by Clifton and Robinson with Purbeck Stone walls and roofs. A number of eighteenth century wall monuments survive from the earlier Church. The churchyard is below the level of the adjoining ground to the south, it has a Purbeck Stone retaining wall with iron railings and gates.

(SZ 02727878. Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin to the North of the High Street, Swanage, has walls of roughly coursed rubble with ashlar dressings. Fragments of early 13th century stonework are preserved in the church but the only medieval structure remaining is the west tower of the 14th century heightened circa 1620 when the rest of the church was partly rebuilt. The church was completely rebuilt in 1859-60, with the exception of the tower, and greatly enlarged in 1907. <3>

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1929 (Map). SWX1540.

Church (NAT)

<2> DOE (HRR), 1951, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Swanage Rural District 1951, 1 (Scheduling record). SWX3304.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 291-2 (Monograph). SDO150.

<4> Tatler, S, 2005, St Mary’s Church, Swanage. Archaeological Watching Brief, July 2005 (Unpublished document). SDO11361.

<5> Bellamy, P S, 2005, Swanage, Parish Church of St. Mary; Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SDO11362.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 457482 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 16 2025 2:27PM