Listed Building record MDO17115 - Parish Church of St John The Baptist, Bere Regis

A parish church incorporating the remains of a cruciform church thought to have been built around the middle of the eleventh century with twelfth-century alterations; an aisle was added to the south around the middle of the twelfth century. Later alterations include the lengthening of the nave and addition of aisles to north and south in the thirteenth century, and again in the fourteenth century, and the addition of a porch and re-building of the chancel in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. The building was restored around 1875 by the architect G E Street. The walls of the church are built of various materials including Portland and Purbeck stone ashlar, limestone rubble, flint and brick. The roof is covered in stone slates.

The church originated in the 11th century as a cruciform church. This was enlarged circa 1160 by demolishing the south wall and rebuilding it, the enlargement being repeated in the 13th century with the north wall. The nave was extended to the west in the late 13th century. The north and south aisles were extended to the east in the 14th century by demolishing the transepts. In the later 15th century, the west tower was built, the chancel rebuilt and enlarged. There is good evidence that Bere Regis was a late Saxon minster. Listed.

Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, Bere Regis with walls of various material including stone ashlar, rubble and flint. Enough evidence survives to show that the present building incorporates the remains of a cruciform church dating from circa 1050. The architectural development after this period is shown in the accompanying plans. <3>

"In 1086 Dorchester and Bere Regis were held by Bristwold, a royal chaplain. Bere was a weathly church holding one hide of land; the entry can only imply a minster" according to Ralegh Radford <4>. The actual Domesday (1086) entry shown in VCH <2> states that "Bristuard the priest has the church of Dorecestre and the church of Bere and 1 hide and 20 acres of land and the tithes belonging to them… worth #4 a year".

Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, 1887, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1887, 49-54 (Serial). SDO21436.

By the Rev. J. P. LANGFORD (Vicar) (Read at Bere Regis, August 19th, 1885)
I do not intend to lay before the Field Club to-day any discoveries of my own or any original theory upon the history and antiquities of Bere. In drawing up this sketch of Bere and its church I have but used the material which others have collected,and invite discussion from those far more qualified than I am to give an opinion on some controverted topics. Let us begin with the name Bere Regis. Here, at once, we are on disputed ground. Is there any connection between Bere and yonder brewery ? Was the writer of the article in the Saturday Review, July 24, 1880, serious when he tells the story that King John was so delighted with the beverage that was set before him that he decreed that the town should ever bear the name of Beer, with the addition of Regis, in token of his Royal approbation ? A total abstainer may be allowed to prefer a watery derivation equally improbable that connects it with "Beer," the Hebrew for well, and ascribes to Phoenician merchants those west country Beres, Beer, near Seaton, Bere Ferris, Beer Hackett, Bere Crocombe. Far more probable is Mr. Taylor's supposition that the word is of Scandinavian origin, signifying a cluster of buildings or a farmstead, and akin to the old form "byr," the same as the Icelandic " boer," a farm, which still survives in the " cow byres" of Scotland and the northern counties of England, and I suppose connected with " borough," " bury," and Danish " by."
The last edition of Hutchins' Dorset derives it from a word denoting low, scrubby wood, such as once covered the whole district, and of which we have a remnant in that lovely bit of wood and the old boundary oak by which your secretary proposes to take you to his own parish of Bloxworth. I only wish that one venerable member of this Field Club (Rev. W. Barnes) were present to-day to support this view, which I believe is his. Eegis : " Under what king V Bere is said to touch national history at three periods Saxon, Norman, Tudor and in the touch we approach to Royalty. True, our Royal connections are not very reputable, but still it is not every parish that can boast a Royal connection. The earliest recorded instance of Royal presence is when Elfrida, the murderess of Edward the Martyr, fled from Corfe Gate, the scene of the murder, to this Royal residence, where she could remain in retirement and avoid suspicion. Here we may place the scene of that beating of the young King, her ten year old boy, Ethelred, with big wax candles, there being no stick at hand, when the poor boy wept for the death of his brother who had given him the throne. Wherefore, writes the chronicler, " Ethelred ever hated wax candles, and would have none burnt before him all the days of his life."
Our next Royal resident is less mythical but scarcely less repulsive ; no less than 15 visits are recorded of King John. After having landed at Studland on the abandonment of the proposed invasion of Normandy in 1205, he came on to Bere, where, in a letter dated May 25th, in a very unusual fit of piety, he ordered his bailiff to cause a fair crucifix to be set up " in our chapel at Bere." The kitchen which he had erected for his service at Bere in 1207 is perhaps more consistent with his character, and still more the exaction of the thirteenth on all movables, from laymen and clergymen alike, which was to be paid (20,000) into our chamber at Bere. Now, I should be very glad to have the opinion of archaeologists on this point what is the date of the earliest work of the south aisle and arcade 1 Is it contemporary with King John ? And does the architecture (excellent specimen as it is of the transition from Norman to Early English, with early pointed arches on heavy Norman pillars, with Norman dog-tooth moulding) coincide in date with the reign of John ? If so, may we not suppose that that superstitious monarch may have tried to salve his conscience by devoting some part of the 20,000, his original exaction, to the service of God in the building of this church ? In connection with the early part of the church let me call your attention to the carving of the Norman columns. At one corner of a capital you will find a head crowned and bearded. Is it King John 1 A Royal head in such a position seems to hint a Royal benefactor. But the head is in curious company. Next to it is a scene from old sports, bear baiting ; on the other side grotesque heads ; a man holds his mouth open with both hands, another hides his eyes with his hands. I tried to identify the King's head by comparison with coins, but was told at the British Museum that the Royal heads on early coins were not representations of individuals, but that the head on the c'>ins of John was identical with that of earlier kings, so the only way in which I had hoped to recognise the Royal head has failed.
With King John Royal residency ceases, and the manor passed in 1269 to the Abbess of Tarent ; with it " a fair, a market, a free warren, and the whole forest of Bere." Here at Bere were many of the abbesses buried. Possibly those crosses built into the walls of the porch are of that date (late 13th century), and I am told that the walls of the south aisle are built upon the old grave stones of the abbesses of Tarent. The last abbess, Margaret Russell, desired by her will (1567) to be buried in Bere Church. Most of the church, as we see it now, must have been erected during its connection with the Abbey of Tarent in the 14th and 15th centuries. The architectural features, though they offer a good study of the gradual change of style from Early English to Decorated and Perpendicular, are not sufficiently striking to call for special notice in this short sketch. But the glory of the church is the nave roof, which tradition assigns to Cardinal Moreton, who was born, his history says, " not ffar from a certaine towne called Beere," and was attainted after his flight from the Battle of Towton as "John Moreton, late parson of Blokesworth, in the shire of Dorset." He probably placed this roof in his old parish church when Archbishop of Canterbury, for the shield in the centre of the roof bears the arms of Moreton quartered with those of the see of Canterbury; the apostle opposite to the shield wears a Cardinal's hat, and may, perhaps, represent the Cardinal ; and a further connection is proved by his will, in which he leaves money for a priest to say mass in Bere Church for his soul and those of his family. Here, then, is the third touch of history. It will be remembered that Cardinal Moreton caused a cessation of the Wars of the Roses by promoting the marriage of Henry VII. And Elizabeth of York ; you may look, not in vain, for the Tudor Rose, the result of that union.
The roof, which had fallen into bad repair, was carefully restored ten years ago, the carved work made good where decayed, the quaint old hammer-beam figures repaired, and the various beams and carvings coloured, according to the old precedent still remaining upon the wood. The huge head in the centre, which even a reverent affection for the church cannot commend, is supposed to be that of John the Baptist, though little like our idea of the ascetic preacher in the wilderness.
Tradition, which Hutchins follows, named the twelve figures after the Twelve Apostles, but the tradition has been rudely shaken by the late Mr. Street, backed by the Rev. S. Baring Gould, who is the greatest authority on these matters living ; for they point out that one figure certainly is in deacon's dress, and therefore could be none other than S. Stephen, S. Lawrence, and St. Vincent.
But time presses, and I must hasten to call your attention to such smaller details as might be overlooked. Among the monuments, the nameless, brassless tombs of the Turbervilles in the south aisle, whose arms still brighten the windows above, whose bones lie in the vault below. Near them are two very good ogee foliated arches, covering nameless altar tombs ; of one, which appears to have been cut away for a doorway, this legend has been told me. Some former Lord of the Manor, I suppose a Turberville, quarrelled with the then parson, and vowed he would never enter the old church doors. Happily, as in many such foolish quarrels, time removed the discord, but the squire cut a new door into the church, to the keeping of his word and the disfigurement of the aisle. Notice the Skenie monument in the chancel bearing the arms of Castile and Aragon ; the Skernes
were an old Spanish family, still represented in this country by the Skrines of Warleigh and Claverton, near Bath. Read the quaint old rhyme and contrast it with the fulsome praise and pedantic Latin of the Loupe brass by the north door, if you can translate it, for I think it defies translation, and then glance at that briefest of all epitaphs in the vestry, dear for old associations to Balliol men, " Verbum non amplius Fisher." Glance down at the wood work, new and old, the old seat ends dated 1547 opposite the porch door, and the old Jacobean panels in the vestry ; the beautiful new work is by Harry Hems, copied from some of the best designs in West Country churches. Even the tiling is worth your notice ; one large tile used in the porch and chancel, bearing the three Plantagenet leopards, is copied from old tiles found in Bindon Abbey ; smaller tiles with shields of two patterns were copied from old tiles found in this church, and I think you will admire the simplicity and character of our " native" pattern.
And last, let the windows, filled with beautiful modern glass by Hardman, the magnificent gift of Mrs. Lloyd Egginton, who had restored chancel and south aisle at her own cost, preach to you the Life of Christ and man's redemption ; or if in this excitement of a gathering of friends there is little time or calm for such subjects, come here by yourselves some quiet day and listen to their silent story ; they will speak to you in tones of greater beauty and more moving power than even the preacher's living word. And I think that you will not regret to spend a quiet half hour in God's House amid memorials of those who in past and present centuries have lived up to the words, "Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house and the place where Thine honour dwelleth." I had best conclude with a quotation from a sketch by Canon Venables, to whom I am indebted for much that I have said to-day
" It would be a happy thing if every restoration of a church had been as conscientious and as well considered as that of Bere. No antient feature has been sacrificed, no new work needlessly introduced. It may be called a model restoration, reflecting the greatest credit on the architect who drew the plans, the late much lamented Mr. George E. Street, R.A., on the builder, and still more on the late vicar, the Rev. Francis Warre, now vicar of Melksham, by whose energy and refined taste the undertaking was set on foot and brought to a successful issue, and to whose liberality the completeness and beauty of the work is in no small degree due."

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1890, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1899, xl1 (Serial). SDO13.

Bere Regis Church (6 miles), where an address was given by Rev. W. Farrer, the Vicar, who pointed out the parts referred to as he proceeded. He observed that the font was the oldest object in the church. It bore the date 1130. The arches and the carved heads on the capitals were of about the same date, or later, and also the dog-tooth moulding. With regard to the carved heads, he dispelled any idea which the visitors might have that they were merely freaks of fantastic fancy on the part of the workmen, with as little meaning as beauty. The mouth which was being opened by two hands reached down from above plainly signified the giving of utterance ; the eye with the eyelid drawn back the giving of spiritual vision. A scene of bear-baiting was represented on another capital. The wooden roof, with its carved and painted figures, was put up in the reign of Henry VII. by Cardinal Morton, who was born at Bere. The figures, Mr. Farrer continued, were said to represent the Twelve Apostles. If that was correct the one next to the chancel on one side holding a bag would be Judas Iscariot. But would Judas be placed in such a position? He preferred to think that the figure might be meant to represent an almoner. The original church was very small. It may have been cruciform, or a short church with a tower. He pointed out the Turberville aisle, in which members of that family, for many generations lords of the manor, were buried. Here are two altar tombs, and a beautiful painted window with the arms of the successive holders of the manor exquisitely tinctured. Mr. Farrer then drew attention to one of the chief rarities of the church the stone altar. At the time of the Reformation, when all stone altars were ordered to be taken down, this one was buried under the floor. It was restored in 1875 by Mr. Hibbs, churchwarden. There was an interesting monument to a former Vicar named Fisher, whose humility and earnestness found expression in the brevity of the inscription, " Verbum –non amplius Fisher," as if he only wished to be remembered as a fisher of men. Finally Mr. Farrer invited anyone to inspect the old Churchwardens' book, which dated from 1682, and contained many quaint entries, e.g., that the village of "Benjamin" was paid in 1728 for cleaning and oiling the Apostles the carved and painted wooden effigies in the roof above.

Le Pard, Gordon, 1998, Medieval sundials in Dorset. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 119, 73 (Article in serial). SDO21411.

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

(SY 84749475) St John the Baptist's Church (NAT)

<2> Pugh, R B (ed), 1968, The Victoria history of the county of Dorset 3 1968 - Domesday Survey, 40, 45, 84 (Monograph). SWX2915.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 1, 13-18 (Monograph). SDO148.

<4> Ralegh Radford, C A, 1973, Pre-conquest Minster Churches. The Archaeological Journal 130, 137 (Article in serial). SWX3046.

<5> Pitfield, F P, 1983, Bere Regis Church, Dorset (Monograph). SDO18216.

<6> Aston, Michael, and Lewis, Carenza (eds), 1994, The medieval landscape of Wessex, 53 (Monograph). SWX1296.

<7> Bere Regis Church (Monograph). SDO18230.

<8> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BB68/05267 (Index). SDO14738.

A view of carved beams in the nave roof of St John's Church, Bere Regis

<9> Historic England, Historic England Archive, OP24469 (Index). SDO14738.

A view of carved beams in the nave roof of St John's Church, Bere Regis

<10> Historic England, Historic England Archive, OP24470 (Index). SDO14738.

A view of carved beams in the nave roof of St John's Church, Bere Regis. This print was accessioned by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments in England on 5th July 1968.

<11> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456342 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2025 5:19PM