Listed Building record MDO17500 - Roman Catholic Chapel of St Mary, East Lulworth

The first Catholic church to be built in England since the reformation. The Chapel was built for Thomas Weld in 1786-7 to the designs of John Tasker, achitectural builder. It is Classical in design and Decoration with The walls being covered in ashlar and the roofs in lead. Its design is of a central dome, surrounded by 4 transcepts, and fronted N and S by Tuscan porches. Superficial alterations were made to the windows and the interior decoration during the mid-Victorian period under the supervision of J.A. Hansom but all evidence of this was later removed in the restoration and redecoration by H.S. Goodhart-Rendel in 1953. The partition enclosing the vestibule is a replacement of a later date.

Church of St. Mary, East Lulworth, c1790, the first Catholic church erected since the Reformation. <1>

The Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary, East Lulworth, built 1786-7 for Thomas Weld, is a quatrefoil-shaped building of unusual classical composition with a rectangular southern arm. The central area is domed and the north and south entrances both have Tuscan porches surmounted by artificial stone urns. Restored in 1953. <3-4>

St Mary's R.C. Church remains as described, in good preservation (see illustration card). <5>

<1> DOE (HRR), 1952, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Wareham and Purbeck Rural District 1952, 26 (Scheduling record). SWX2549.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 1, 145 (Monograph). SDO148.

<4> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 195-6 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<5> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F1 JGB 06-JUL-81 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 455506 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:52PM