Listed Building record MDO21119 - Parish Church of St Mary, Abbey Street, Cerne Abbas

Parish Church, fourteenth century chancel, with east wall rebuilt in the seventeenth century, fifteenth and early sixteenth century aisle walls and west tower.

Parish Church. 14th century chancel, with east wall rebuilt 17th century, 15th century and early 16th century aisle walls south porch partly rebuilt, west tower within the body of the church, early 16th century. Clearstorey added early 16th century. Wall above stone screen removed, and existing arch built in 1870, when church restored under T H Wyatt. <3>

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1902, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1901, xxxix-xl (Serial). SDO15.

Driving back to Cerne, the party entered the fine old Abbey Church, where they were received by the Vicar (the Rev. H. D. Gundry).
The greater part of the church, the Vicar stated from the pulpit, is Perpendicular and debased Perpendicular. The tower is of three lofty stages, with octagonal buttresses. Mr. Gundry quoted the remark of Hutchins that "The entire west front of the church, from the wealth of ornament, has an unusually handsome appearance." The openwork screen, of Hamhill stone, is of the time of Henry VIII. A noticeable feature, is the Carolean wooden pulpit, richly carved, with canopy or sounding board, and date 1640. At the preacher's back is carved the rose, shamrock, and thistle, with the thistle in the place of prominence. The chancel is much earlier than the rest of the church. This is apparent from the masonry and also from the fact that two windows of the Early English style of architecture one in the north and the other in the south wall, though now closed, can be plainly seen from the outside. The large east window is a puzzle to all who see it ; it is so out of proportion to the rest of the building. The arms in stained glass in the windows are those of Winchester College and of families living in the neighbourhood. Near the west door is a good specimen of a stone coffin found in the churchyard 60 or 70 years ago. Among the monuments is one to a man named Randall, who died in 1785, and who had a kind of mint at Cerne and coined tokens. The registers date back to 1653. The church accounts are very well kept, and some have interesting entries. Marlborough's victories are duly recorded. They naturally would have had a greater interest from his being connected with the neighbourhood. At last they gave up trying to spell the names of the battles, and said "Another victory has been won." And so they rang the bells and drank their beer. The churchwardens at the end of one year found that they were in debt, and they said with some surprise "So we hae disbursed more than we hae received." Nowadays churchwardens never expressed surprise at their account having a balance on the wrong side. Indeed, they were surprised if it was to the contrary. The Vicar next called attention to a book containing a supposed likeness of Cardinal Morton, who, born at Bere Regis, where he put the carved oak roof upon the church, was educated at Cerne, He was a man of many parts. He was Master of the Rolls, Archbishop, Chancellor, and Cardinal, and, besides being a clergyman and a lawyer, he was also a bit of a soldier, and was present at the battle of Barnet. It was from there that he hurried down to Weymouth and brought Queen Margaret of Anjou to Cerne for a short time. In these days, when income tax was Is. 4d. in the, it was hard to work up enthusiasm about Cardinal Morton, since he appears to have been the originator of that tax.
The Rev. W. Miles Barnes called attention to a quaint oak screen between the nave and the tower. He thought the screen was Jacobean, but it was not easy to fix the date definitely, as most of the ornament which had formerly decorated the top of it, and might have enabled him to do so, had disappeared.
The various features of interest in the church were then pointed out, and the members, having examined these and admired the heraldry displayed in the tinctured shields which decorated the east window, went outside.
At the east end of the church Mr. H. Moule remarked that the breadth and tracery of the window seemed to him to be out of proportion to its length. He said there was a tradition that this window had been removed from the old Abbey, and, as evidence of a reduction from its original length, he called attention to the cill, which appeared to him to be the transom of a larger window, for there were clear indications beneath it of the continuation of the mullions.
The Rev. W. M. Barnes concurred. He thought the evidence Mr. Moule had pointed out was conclusive on the point that the window was not originally made for the position it now occupied, but that it was the upper portion of a larger window.

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1908, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1908, 1-7 (Serial). SDO19.

By the Rev. C. W. H. DICKER.
3rd Dec., 1907.
Cerne, anciently Cernel, enjoys a legendary reputation dating from a traditional visit of S. Augustine to Wessex in A.D. 603. Its authentic history, however, begins with the building and endowment of a monastery here by Ailmer in the reign of King Edgar (957-975), from which period the religious community then founded seems to have had an existence of continuous prosperity until its suppression in 1536. Frequently recorded grants of land and other gifts and privileges bestowed upon "the Church of S. Peter at Cerne " prove its claim to be reckoned as one of the great abbeys of England.
The Book of Cerne in the Cambridge University Library has long been known to antiquaries, and contains a number of Charters which throws valuable light upon English monasticism. From the Domesday Survey we learn that in Edward the Confessor's time the village was large and flourishing. Whether the settlement originally sprung up around the monastery, or the monks found a village and church there in the 10th century, we have no means of deciding. All that we can say is that from the 13th century onward a separate parish church of S. Mary has supplied the villagers of Cerne with a spiritual home ; and this we are able to read from the fragments of history told us in the old walls of brown stone described in the following pages.
Early English Work. It would seem probable that at Cerne, as was commonly the case in England, there was for the first 300 or 400 years one Church, used in common by both monks and people. As time went on many cases are recorded in which a certain part of the building became a monastic quire, and another part was reserved for the use of the parishioners as in the case of the neighbouring Church at Sherborne. But sometimes it was considered desirable to build a separate Church, to which the monks (or the secular congregation, as the case might be) should migrate and permanently attach themselves.Such an occasion evidently arose at Cerne, most likely in the 13th Century a period marked by many new departures in conventual building ; the era of the erection of the great Church of New Sarum. A lofty chancel 19ft. wide, and still possessing a pair of large lancet windows of well-marked E. E. character at S. Mary's, belongs to this period.
Thenceforward, for some 200 years, no traces survive of any further building upon the parish church. Abbots who were lords of manors had plenty to do with their money in meeting the demands made upon them for military service, according to the terms of their feudal tenure. During Richard 1's time, and again in 1277, 1282, and 1297, Cerne was called upon to provide soldiers and munitions of war. This leaves a peaceful interval in the "Inglorious Reign" of Henry III. when sundry wants, perhaps long felt, might begin to find material fulfilment in the shape of new buildings. We may safely then suggest the years 1250 1277 as including the date of the new departure at Cerne, and the founding of its parish church. From this time it may be assumed that the two branches of service were entirely separated, the Monastic Offices and Liturgy being performed in the Abbey Church, of which no trace now survives ; and the people's devotions maintained at S. Mary's. The Abbot would still be responsible, as Rector of the parish, for the appointment of vicars and (possibly) the care of the building.
Perpendicular Work. As it now stands, S. Mary's looks like a 15th Century Church. It is 90ft. long ; tower, nave, aisles, window tracery, stone screen internally, no trace appears of any earlier structure. On further examination, however, it becomes evident that the fabric is of a composite character, and belongs (in addition to the E. E. work already described) to at least four different classes or periods :
1. Original work in the aisles.
2. The tower, completed somewhat later.
3. Work imported from other buildings.
4. The rebuilt nave, part of north aisle, and south porch.
In various parts of England, the latter portion of the 15th Century was signalised by the great development of the woolgrowing industry. The old common-field system of farming was generally falling into decay, and up-to-date landowners strained their powers to the utmost to turning the ancient "acres" Into pasture, in many cases to great financial advantage. There was, to use a modern expression, a "boom " in wool, and some of the monasteries, as well as many private lords of manors, became by this means exceedingly wealthy. It is probable that this fact had a considerable bearing upon the development of the fashion for building and endowing chantries, which became universal at the termination of the Wars of the Roses. In the neighbourhood in which we are writing it is not easy to name any Church which failed to gain an aisle or a chapel at this period. Sometimes the old nave was left standing, as at Charminster and Bere Regis ; often it was replaced by a new structure. In Dorset, the Norman chancels disappeared; a few Early English ones, as here and at Buckland Newton, were allowed to remain. Everywhere, Perpendicular aisles were built.
The north aisle at Cerne retains its original west front, level with that of the tower and some 40 feet of old work at its eastern end, the intervening work being perhaps mainly of the 17th century. It is flanked on the north side by a doorway of a somewhat earlier type than the doorway in the same position on the south, which has traceried panel-work in jambs and soffit. The south aisle has also its original front and much of the old masonry, together with a porch, which seems to have been rebuilt with ancient materials in 1626, according to an inscribed tablet over the doorway. These aisles have no buttresses beyond the polygonal ones at their western ends, which are decorated with grotesque gargoyles heads whose mouths are being held open by small figures perched upon their shoulders.
The tower may have been begun at the same time as the aisles, but on the whole its aspect suggests a somewhat later date. Its octagonal turret-buttresses and broad band of quatrefoil ornament recall the Magdalen Tower, built between 1492 and 1505. It has an effectively-designed doorway opening upon the street, with semi -circular steps, and a fine niche at the first storey containing a statue of the Virgin and Sacred Child. Curious pinnacles are bracketed out in front of the belfry windows.
The arches supporting the tower on the inside are decorated with panelling, the tracery in which differs from that of the neighbouring church of Pydeltrenthide in having the "ogee" character.
The Nave. It is not without some trepidation that I venture to express my firm conviction that in the nave of Cerne Church we have a most interesting example of 17th century Gothic. All the guide-books quote it as typical "Perpendicular" building ; even such an authority as Bloxam takes it so without question.
And yet a careful examination of the work shows (1) an unskilfulness in design and execution that separates it by a wide gulf from all genuine work of the Perpendicular period in the church and district ; (2) a number of points of contact with work unquestionably of Charles I.'s time.
As regards the former, it is observable that the builders of this nave arcade can never have learnt to set up a true arch on any large scale. They certainly did not share that magnificent adroitness which characterised the builders of the 15th century work in this neighbourhood ; the work is evidently that of inexperienced hands. Every one of these arches is unsymmetrical to a marked degree ; in alignment, vertically, and workmanship generally there is a faultiness which (however ready we may be to forgive it) contrasts strongly with the work of the Tudor masons. The same hands, again, are traceable in the Debased windows of the clerestory, and two in the north aisle, which may safely be assigned to the Stuart period.
In 1611 the manor, vill, and lands of Cerne were granted to Henry, Prince of Wales, from whom they passed to Sir Francis Bacon. In 1617, however, they were once more a Royal possession in the hands of Charles, Prince of Wales, who held them until the fourth year of his reign as King. The date 1626 inscribed upon the south doorway indicates a revival of church building fostered, perhaps, in this case by Royal favour and munificence.
As to the design of the nave arcade it may have been an attempt to reproduce previous Perpendicular work perhaps destroyed by fire, seeing that no other buildings of Tudor date survive on that side of the street, whilst on the opposite side apparently contemporary houses are still standing. Or it may have replaced an older nave, in a style suggested by that at Pydeltrenthide or other neighbouring churches. In one particular the detail of the piers differs from these the hollow moulding taken out at the angles is carried up directly into the arch, without any break at the capitals. (This is also found at Piddletown and other places in the county in conjunction with foliated capitals.) The capitals here are roughly rounded.
A handsome screen of Ham Hill stone forms a striking feature of the interior breaking the bay westward of the chancel. Its style and workmanship have obviously no affinity to those of the nave it is thoroughgoing, accurate, Perpendicular work. Previously to the year 1870, a blank wall or partition rested on this screen, reaching to the ceiling. Old parishioners tell us that this wall, which bore painted upon it the Royal Anns and the Ten Commandments, consisted mainly of lath and plaster, and that the present cresting was placed upon it when the wall was taken down. There are in this neighbourhood two similar screens one at Batcombe, which has a crest of much the same pattern, and one at Bradford Abbas, which is finished at the top with a moulding.
It is difficult to form any opinion as to how this screen got here. It may have been in the original nave, previous to its reconstruction by the builders of 1626 ; or it may have been brought from some other building perhaps the old Abbey. This idea is suggested by the fact that the great east window appears to have been the upper part of a larger window, its present sill being apparently a transom, through which the principal mullions pass and become visible on the lower side. Inside, the splay and soffit are panelled, and on one of the panels is carved the date 1639. Does this mark a stage in the demolition of the Abbey Church and the removal hither of half its east window ? At that time the manor had recently been purchased by Sir Thomas Freke, to whose family it belonged until it came into the hands of the Pitts. What is more likely than that Sir Thomas followed the example of his illustrious predecessor, and lavished some of his wealth upon the church of his new home? Two later gifts deserve mention, for which Cerne may be also indebted to him a finely-carved pulpit, with a sounding-board, upon the back-piece of which is a good thistle and rose design having the date 1640 ; and a handsome brass candelabra of the pattern seen in some of our cathedrals.
The church has an old (disused) Font-bowl resembling that of Pydeltrenthide probably of the 13th Century. There is a good piscina of Perpendicular date in the chancel, also two fine oak chairs of Tudor workmanship.
Inserted in the south wall west of the Caroline porch is a quaint stone face, said to have been the orifice of a chimney, the smoke of which would issue from mouth, eyes, and ears.
The belfry contains five bells, the tenor being cracked and bearing an iron plate riveted on it. Nos. i, 2, and 3 were cast in 1762 by Thomas Bilbie. No. 4 is dated 1747, and the tenor has the inscription " Come when I call to serve God all."
The story of our old churches is the story of the English people. In their walls and arches can be found the best materials of history, for with all its missing chapters, its puzzles, and its pitfalls the true story of man is the record of work he has done in earnest and which he did at his best. " Si monumcntum requiris, circumspice."

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1913, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1913, xl-xli (Serial). SDO18633.

The party then drove on to Cerne Abbas, and alighted at the Abbey Barn. Here they were received by the Vicar (the Rev. H. D. Gundry) who acted as the Club's cicerone in Cerne. He recalled the late Mr. Henry Moule's enthusiasm for that barn, and his computation that not fewer than 125,000 flints, each shaped by hand, were used in its construction. He also asked the visitors to realise the great loss suffered in the destruction of the original timbering of the roof, although the late General Pitt Rivers was happily able to preserve the timber in the two porches, and did good service in having the barn solidly re-roofed in stone tile.
From the barn Mr. Gundry led the way to the parish church. Of the lofty tower, in rich dark-brown stone, he spoke with admiration, and then deplored the decadence of the poor debased Gothic in the nave arcades and windows. The great Perpendicular east window with its ancient glass, must have come from a much larger building, probably the Abbey Church itself, since there was not room to insert the whole of the window, and the lower part had to be sacrificed. From the church the party walked to St. Augustine's Well, about which the Vicar repeated the familiar legends. The HON. SECRETARY (the Rev. HERBERT PENTIN) said he believed, with Mr. Gundry, that the Augustinian traditions relating to Cerne were mere fables. That fount was not called St. Austin's or St. Augustine's Well by William of Malmesbury, but "Silver Well."
Dr. COLLEY MARCH mentioned that the partial covering of that well with stones indicated that probably its borders were used for "incubation." The sick person came and lay there for a night or nights until some vision appeared and gave directions for his cure. Mr. GUNDRY next led the way to the ruins of the Abbey. He pointed to the reputed site of the Abbey Church alongside the present cemetery ; any digging along the wall brought to light the encaustic tiles with which the church was paved.
The party then inspected the guest house or refectory, a building mainly of the second half of the 15th century, with certain windows and a doorway added at a later date. In this building occurs the oriel window, which delighted the architects who visited the place a few years ago. Mr. H. Le Jeune had called attention to the serious list which the building was showing, threatening the collapse of the wall containing the oriel. This wall is now stoutly shored up with timbers.
Canon MANSEL-PLEYDELL assured the party that Mr. A. L. F. Pitt-Rivers, the owner of the property, was as anxious as any member of the Club could be that the structure and window should be preserved, and would do everything possible for its preservation.

1962, Wall-painting in the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Cerne Abbas, Dorset. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 84, 109-110 (Article in serial). SDO20722.

Emden, A B, 1977, Medieval Decorated Tiles in Dorset (Monograph). SDO13180.

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 74-77 (Monograph). SDO97.

‘(1) PARISH CHURCH OF ST. MARY (Plates 100, 122) stands in the village. The walls are of stone and flint rubble with some ashlar and freestone dressings; the roofs are lead-covered. The Chancel was built probably c. 1300. About the middle of the 15th century the N. and S. arcades of the Nave were built and the North and South Aisles and South Porch added, the S. side being perhaps slightly the earlier; later in the same century the chancel-screen was erected. The West Tower was added c.1500 when the W. ends of the aisles and the W. bay of the arcades were rebuilt; the clearstorey was added c. 1530 and the W. part of the N. wall of the N. aisle was rebuilt at the same time. In 1639 the E. end of the chancel was pulled down and the present E. wall was built, W. of the earlier E. end. The porch was restored and partly rebuilt in 1696. A wall above the screen was removed and the existing arch built in 1870, when the church was restored and part of the S. wall of the S. aisle refaced. The architect for the restorations and additions was T. H. Wyatt.
The W. tower is a good example of its period and among the fittings the screen, paintings and pulpit are noteworthy.
Architectural Description—The Chancel (22¾ ft. by 19¾ ft.) has a 17th-century E. wall with a reset 15th-century window of six cinque-foiled lights with vertical tracery in a segmental-pointed head and moulded reveals; the splays and rear-arch have trefoil-headed panels; in the lowest panel on the N. is the date 1639; the internal sill is enriched with paterae. In the N. wall is a window of c. 1300 of one trefoiled light with a moulded label and weathered head-stops. In the S. wall is a similar window, now blocked; further W. are the E. splay and rear-arch of a doorway perhaps of the same date and partly destroyed by the arcade. The 15th-century N. and S. arcades are continuous in the chancel and nave and are of five bays, with moulded two-centred arches and moulded piers each with four attached shafts having moulded capitals and bases; the responds have attached half-piers; the E. bay on each side is wider than the rest and the screen was inserted at a slightly later date; the W. bay was rebuilt when the tower was added. The chancel-arch is modern.
The Nave (45¼ ft. by 20¼ ft.) includes the four W. bays of the arcades. The 16th-century clearstorey has, on each side, three windows each of three four-centred lights in a square head; on the soffit of the two western windows on the S. side are the initials T.A., perhaps for Thomas Corton, last Abbot of Cerne.
The North Aisle (10¾ ft. wide) has a 15th-century E. window of three cinque-foiled lights with vertical tracery in a two-centred head with moulded reveals and label with head-stops. In the N. wall are five windows, the three to the E. being uniform with that in the E. wall; the other two are similar in date and detail to the windows of the clearstorey; the western part of the wall, enclosing these two windows, is of the same date and is faced with alternate courses of ashlar and flint. The late 15th or early 16th-century W. wall has a window of three cinque-foiled ogee lights with tracery in a two-centred head with moulded reveals and a label with head-stops; the N.W. angle has a semi-octagonal buttress and the raking embattled parapet has carved corbels or gargoyles supporting pinnacles to each merlon, but the top of the anglepinnacle has been removed. Adjoining the angle is a late 15th-century doorway with moulded jambs and two-centred arch with foliage-spandrels.
The South Aisle (10¼ ft. wide) has an E. window similar to that in the N. aisle but with a modern label. In the S. wall are four windows, the three to the E. being similar to the E. window of the aisle, but two with varying tracery; the westernmost window is modern; between the two easternmost windows is a 15th-century doorway with chamfered jambs and two-centred head; it is now blocked; the 15th-century S. doorway has double-chamfered jambs and two-centred head; against the W. part of the wall there was, till recently, a house and the facing has been renewed; adjoining the S.W. angle is a length of early 16th-century wall and a doorway, in connection with this destroyed building; the doorway has moulded jambs and four-centred arch in a square head with traceried spandrels; the reveals and soffit have trefoil-headed panels. The W. wall is similar to the corresponding wall of the N. aisle and has a similar window; the pinnacles of the parapet are missing.
The West Tower (11 ft. by 12 ft.) is of late 15th or early 16th-century date and of three stages (Plate 100) with octagonal projections at the angles, a moulded plinth and an embattled parapet with quatre-foiled panels, pinnacles at the angles and the stumps of pinnacles in the middle of each side, standing on carved figures; the N.W. stair-turret rises above the parapet and has a central and eight subsidiary pinnacles. The E. tower-arch is moulded and two-centred and springs from shafted responds; the reveals and soffit have two bays of panelling with cinque-foiled ogee heads. The N. and S. walls have similar but smaller arches. The W. door way has moulded jambs and two-centred arch in a square head with traceried spandrels; flanking the doorway are panelled standards, set diagonally; the W. window is of four cinque-foiled ogee and transomed lights with tracery in a two-centred head, with moulded reveals and label with head and beast-stops; in the external reveals are two brackets and canopies for images, now missing; the brackets are carved with half-angels holding shields, one bearing a device of interlaced cheverons. The second stage has in the N. wall a window of two trefoiled lights, with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head with a label and head-stops. In the W. wall is a tall niche, with a moulded bracket, resting on a half-angel holding a scroll, side-standards, and a three-sided crocketed and spired canopy terminating in an angel holding a shield; in the niche is a carved figure of the Virgin and Child (Plate 10). Above this stage is a double string-course with a band of quatrefoils enclosing paterae or shields; three of these bear (a) a cross charged with five cinquefoils, (b) three cloud-bursts or wounds or escallops and (c) vair for Beauchamp of Hatch (?). The bell-chamber has, in each wall, a window of three trefoiled ogee lights with tracery in a four-centred head with moulded reveals and label with head-stops; below the transoms are cinque-foiled ogee heads; the lights are filled with pierced stone slabs of varying design with monograms S S and W. (O ?), Stafford knots and scrolls; tied back to the sills are free-standing standards, set diagonally and resting on corbels carved with grotesque beasts and a man with bagpipes and a monkey on his shoulder also playing an instrument.
The South Porch has a 15th-century outer archway with moulded jambs and four-centred head. A panel in the embattled parapet bears the inscription "C.W. Willi. Tulledge, Tho. Dussell, 1696"
The Roof of the chancel is of the 17th century and of three bays with cambered tie-beams. The 16th-century roof of the nave is of seven bays with tie-beams supporting short king and queen-posts.
Fittings—Bells: five; 1st, 2nd and 3rd by Thomas Bilbie, 1762; 4th by William Knight, 1747; 5th by R. Purdue, 1631, cracked. Brasses: In chancel—on screen, (1) to Joseph, son of George and Edeth Sommers, 1702–3, inscription only. In nave—(2) to John Notley, jun., 1626, inscription only; (3) to John Notley, 1612–3, inscription only. Loose in vestry— (4) to Richard Bartlett, 1715–6, and Ann, his wife, 1742–3, inscription only. Candelabrum (Plate 11): In nave—stem with two globes, urn and flame finial and two tiers of branches, third quarter of the 18th century. Chest: In chancel—of hutch-type, panelled front with moulded and enriched rails and styles, 17th-century, two later; locks. In vestry—of iron inscribed with the date 1817 and names of church-wardens. Churchyard Cross: In churchyard on abbey-site, remains of octagonal stone shaft set in octagonal base with hollow-chamfered plinth, probably 15th-century. Coffin and Lid: In S. aisle—stone coffin with shaped head; lid with ornamental incised cross and stepped calvary, 13th-century. Communion Rails: with moulded rails and turned balusters, late 17th or early 18th-century. Communion Table: In S. aisle—with turned and enriched legs, carved top-rails, initials and date B.K. 1638 W.S. cut on front edge of top. Font: octagonal bowl with chamfered under edge, probably mediæval, stem and base modern. Glass: In chancel—in E. window, numerous late 14th-century shields-of-arms, some fragments made up into shields with modern glass; (a) Browning impaling Newburgh, (b) or a cheveron between three leopards’ heads gules (one missing), (c) fragments, (d) Wickham, (e) fragments, (f) Berkeley, (g) gules fretty argent on a quarter sable, a fret or, (h) damaged coat Bulkley quartering Zouch, the whole impaling Browning quartering Matravers, (i) Parnham (?), (j) fragment, (k) England, (l) fragment, (m) Browning, (n) much damaged, probably Bingham impaling Baskett, (o) Turges, (p) Fitzhugh, also 15th-century fragments including a rose and a man's head. In N. aisle—in W. window, two fleurs-de-lis and a shield-of-arms of the See of Exeter, early 16th-century. In W. window of S. aisle— sun and fleurs-de-lis, 15th-century. Monuments: In chancel—on S. wall, (1) to Thomas Cockeram, 1862, his wife Anne, 1847, and two sons, white marble walltablet in Gothic framing. In N. aisle—on N. wall, (2) to Dr. William Cockeram, 1679–80, framed oak panel with broken pediment and painted achievement-of-arms; (3) to Mary (Tulledge) wife of Robert Farr, 1720, his daughter Elizabeth, 1722, Robert Farr the elder, 1741, and his great-grandson Charles Farr the younger, 1754, vari-coloured marble wall-tablet with apron, pediment and urn. In S. aisle—on S. wall, (4) to Philip Watson, alderman of Dublin, 1661, Samuel Ebenezer, 1667, Priscilla, 1667, and James, 1670, children of Samuel Watson, vicar, framed oak panel with painted achievement-of-arms; (5) to Elizabeth Foord, 1766, Robert Foord senior, 1768, and Robert Foord, 1771, white marble and stone wall-tablet with apron, pediment and urn; (6) to Susanna Turner, 1750, and George Turner, 1750, wall-monument of stone and slate with apron, cherub's head, shaped pediment and urn; (7) to Samuel Randall, 1785, his wife Elizabeth, 1769, and others later, black and white marble wall-monument with side pilasters, apron, cornice, urn and a cartouche with painted arms much faded, a coronet and crest; (8) to Thomas Boys, 1774, and others, white marble wall-tablet with cornice and urn. In churchyard on site of abbey—(9) to Edward White, 1671, headstone; (10) to Gorg White, late 17th-century, table-tomb; (11) to Richard Ovesell, 1709 (?), head-stone; (12) to Walter Dussel, 1619, table-tomb; (13) to Elizabeth Cockeram, 1665 (?), headstone; S. of cross, (14) to John Summers, 1679 (?), headstone; (15) to Judith (Sherrey), wife of William Forse, 1670, headstone; (16) to Sarah, daughter of William Sherrey, 1662, and to William Sherrey, 1680, headstone; (17) to Anne, daughter of Richard Dowding, 1694, and to Richard Dowding, 1694, double headstone; (18) to Sarah (Rotwell), wife of George Coombs (?), early 18th-century, headstone; further E., (19) to Robert Thomas, 1685, headstone; (20) to John Hodges, 1710, and John, 1698, and James, 1712, his grandsons, table-tomb; (21) to Robert White, 1753, table-tomb with emblems of mortality; (22) to Mary, daughter of Thomas Combs, 1713, and later inscriptions, table-tomb; (23) to Philip Romen, 1668, and Phil, daughter of Nath. Ryall, 1744, table-tomb. Paintings: In chancel —on N. wall and E. splay of window—four scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist (Plate 26), (a) St. John rebuking Herod and Herodias, (b) the Execution with Salome receiving the head on a charger, (c) the Baptism of Christ, with attendant figures including an angel holding a robe, (d) an entombment probably of St. John, with figures in background, two defaced subjects above, late 14th-century, some heads retouched. In nave—on N. wall, fragments of black-letter inscriptions with the date 1679. In N. aisle—on N. wall, painted panels with texts from Romans XIII, 1, and Ephesians V, 22, 23, 17th-century. In S. aisle—over S. doorway, similar texts, 17th-century. In N. aisle—on first pier of N. arcade, oak panel with painted bust of Christ, with the inscription "This similitude of our Saviour Christ Jesus was founde in Amarald and sent from ye great Turk to Pope Innocent the 8 to redeem the brother which was taken prisoner by the Romans", probably 17th-century, a late example of a group of English paintings deriving from 16th-century Italian medals with a bust of Christ on the obverse and a similar inscription in Latin on the reverse. In chancel—on N. wall, incised marigold pattern in a circle painted red, mediæval, perhaps a consecration cross. Panelling: At back of pulpit— some mutilated linen-fold panels, early 16th-century. Piscina: In chancel—recess with trefoiled ogee head enriched with small roses, label and finial cut back, square drain, 14th-century probably not in situ. Plate: includes a cup and paten of 1767 and a pewter plate probably of early 18th-century date. Pulpit (Plate 101): of oak, octagonal with enriched rails and cornice, two tiers of enriched arcaded panels; sounding-board, octagonal with enriched pendant arch on each face and cornice; soffit with radiating panels and central pendant; supporting standard at back with enriched pilasters at sides and two enriched panels, the lower with an arch and the upper with the date 1640 on a shield. Screen: Between chancel and nave—of stone with a central doorway and six lights on each side, doorway with hollow-chamfered jambs and four-centred head, and above it four cinque-foiled lights, similar heads to side lights, 15th-century, cornice modern. Seating: In nave—two coffin-stools with turned legs, 17th-century. Stoup: In tower— S. of W. doorway, recess in wall with front of bowl cut away, mediæval. Miscellanea: In S. aisle— fragments of pinnacles. On S. aisle—W. of porch, large grotesque face with open mouth, 15th-century reset gargoyle. In second stage of tower—15th-century fragment with quatre-foiled panelling; fragments of 13th-century columns; piece of lead with the names of the churchwardens and the date 1682. In church enclosure—at S.W. angle, stone wall with plinth bearing the initials and date I.H. and F. (or E.) H. 1576.
The Churchyard, at the N. end of the village, is entered by a 17th-century gateway with moulded jambs, round arch and panelled imposts; flanking it are shell-headed niches and the wall is capped by three plain pinnacles.’

<2> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BF034115 (Index). SDO14738.

ST MARY'S CHURCH, CERNE ABBAS

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 514423 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jul 28 2025 3:25PM