Monument record MDO2635 - Parish church of St Nicholas, Sydling St Nicholas

Parish Church. Early 15th century west tower, mid 15th century rebuilding of nave and chancel on and near 13th century foundations. South aisle added circa 1500. North porch, circa 1500. Rubble-stone and flint walls, with local stone and Ham stone dressings, Slate and lead roofs. 12th century font.

Parish Church of St. Nicholas built of local rubble and flint has a west tower dating from the mid-15th century and a nave and north porch dating from the late 15th century. About 1500, the south arcade was built and the south aisle added. The chancel was rebuilt or remodelled in the mid-18th century and the whole church was restored in the 19th century. <2>

During renewal of the nave floor, excavation was undertaken in 1982. the north and south nave walls were revealed, and are probably of C 13/C 14 date. A bell-founding pit was discovered at the western end of this earlier nave. Full report. <4>

Noted as being a high status church in ecclesiastical ownership. Possibly a minster. <7>

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1903 (Map). SWX1540.

(SY 63019927) St. Nicholas's Church [NAT]

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 230 (Monograph). SDO97.

‘(1) PARISH CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS stands to the S.W. of the village. The walls are of local rubble and flint and the dressings are of local and Ham Hill stone; the roofs are covered with slates and lead. The West Tower was built about the middle of the 15the century and, soon after, the Nave and North Porch were rebuilt. About 1500 the S. arcade was built and the South Aisle added. About the middle of the 18th century the Chancel was rebuilt by Sir William Smith. The church was restored in the 19th century.
Architectural Description—The Chancel (21¾ ft. by 17 ft.) was rebuilt about 1750 perhaps on earlier foundations. The 15th-century chancel-arch appears to incorporate many 13th-century voussoirs recut; it is moulded and two-centred and springs from moulded and shafted responds with moulded capitals and bases; to the S. is a square-headed squint.
The Nave (53¼ ft. by 22¼ ft.) has an embattled parapet to the N. wall, continued round the porch; the buttresses are finished with the shafts of pinnacles which were either not erected or have been destroyed; in the wall are four late 15th-century windows, each of three pointed lights with vertical tracery in a two-centred head with moulded reveals and label; the late 15th-century N. doorway has moulded jambs and four-centred head. The S. arcade is of c. 1500 and of four bays with two-centred moulded arches springing from moulded and shafted piers with moulded capitals and bases, the responds have attached half-piers; the arcade leans heavily to the S.; E. of the arcade is a doorway to the former rood-loft; it has chamfered jambs and triangular head.
The South Aisle (10¼ ft. wide) is of c. 1500 but has two heavy buttresses added probably in the 17th century and incorporating reused quatre-foiled panels, and to the 18th century belongs the slightly embattled brick parapet and the pinnacles; there has evidently been a subsidence in the S. aisle and the S.E. angle appears to be still in movement. In the E. wall is a window similar to those in the nave. In the S. wall are four similar windows; the S. doorway has moulded jambs and four-centred arch with a label.
The West Tower (13¾ ft. square) is of mid 15th-century date and of three stages with a moulded plinth and an embattled parapet with gargoyles, 18th-century pinnacles and panelled pedestals at the top of the buttresses. The tower-arch is two-centred and moulded and springs from moulded and shafted responds with moulded and foliated capitals and moulded bases. The W. doorway has moulded jambs and two-centred head over which the top member of the plinth is carried as a label; the arch has carved paterae; the W. window is of three cinque-foiled lights with vertical tracery in a two-centred head with moulded reveals and label. The second stage has, in the W. wall, a small square-headed light. The bell-chamber has in the E., N. and W. walls a window of two trefoiled lights with tracery in a two-centred head with a label; the window in the S. wall has been blocked.
The North Porch is of late 15th-century date and has an outer archway with moulded jambs, two-centred arch and label with returned stops. The embattled parapet has the panelled bases for pinnacles and large gargoyles at the angles; on the middle merlon is a 17th-century carved mitre brought from elsewhere. In the N.E. angle is a fireplace with a segmental-pointed head.
The Roof of the nave is of c. 1500 and of trussed-rafter type, ceiled on the soffit and divided into panels by moulded ribs with foliage-bosses at the intersections. The late 15th-century roof of the porch is of two bays with moulded principal, ridge and purlins and foliage bosses at the intersections with the ridge. The ground-stage of the tower has 15th-century moulded ceiling-beams with foliage-stops.
Fittings—Bells: five; 3rd by William Warre, 1611; 4th same founder, 1613; 5th by W. Purdue, 16th-century, with a series of letters in pairs. Bracket: In S. aisle—on S. wall, moulded shelf, c. 1500. Chair: with twisted front legs and side-posts to back, carved front rail and cresting, cane seat and back, late 17th-century. Chests: In nave—(a) plain, of hutch-type, with strap-hinges and three locks, probably mediæval; (b) with panelled front, enriched framing and panelled ends, mid 17th-century. In S. aisle—(c) with shaped feet, panelled front and sides, late 17th-century. Clock: In second stage of tower—works, weights, etc., in iron frame, with initials and date, T. & C.E. 1593, repaired 1925. Door: In turret-staircase to tower—with ribs forming vertical panels and strap-hinges, 15th or 16th-century. Fonts: crudely cut circular bowl with moulded band of vertical reeding and moulded lower edge, polygonal stem and chamfered base, possibly 12th-century. Loose in nave—plain octagonal bowl, late mediæval. Glass: In S. aisle—in third window, 18th-century shield-of-arms and fragments. In tower—in W. window, panel with woman and child, two male heads, two fragments with a cherub and a man, two shields-of-arms, etc., 16th to 18th-century. Hatchments: In nave—N. of chancel-arch, shield-of-arms of Smith and Curtis quarterly with a quartered scutcheon of Marriott (?), Pearson and Bosworth, 19th-century; S. of chancel-arch, shield of quartered arms of Smith, Curtis, Marriott (?), Pearson and Bosworth, impaling Pinney quartering Pretor, 19th-century. In S. aisle— on S. wall, one badly torn. Monuments and Floor-slab. Monuments: In chancel—on E. wall, (1) to Elizabeth Smith, 1812, white marble wall-monument by T. King of Bath with draped female figure holding a lamp in the right hand and a broken cross in the left and, above, a dove carrying an inscribed scroll. On N. wall (Plate 115), (2) to nine children of Sir John and Lady Smith who died in infancy and to George Roxburgh Smith, their grandson, 1805, black and white marble wall-monument with an elliptical shaped inscription-tablet surmounted by an urn on pyramidal stand; the monument is by Lancashire and Son of Bath; (3) to Elizabeth, widow of Robert Curtis, 1793, black and white marble wall-monument by Lancashire and Son with elliptical-shaped inscription-tablet surmounted by a draped urn on a square pedestal on which is a lozenge-of-arms; (4) to Sir William Smith, 1752, his wife, 1745, and daughter, Susannah, 1742, grey and white marble wall-monument with skull and crossbones, pediment and urn and, above, a cartouche containing a painted shield-of-arms much faded; (5) to Henry Smith, 1768, wall-tablet of white marble carved with gathered drapery hanging from a canopy supported by two cherubs, with three cherubs' heads below and a cartouche containing arms above; (6) to Rev. Henry Curtis Smith, rector of Tarrant Rawston, 1834, white marble wall-tablet by Reeves and Son of Bath; (7) to Mary, widow of Henry Smith, 1797, and her children, white marble wall-tablet of elliptical shape with cornice and urn and a lozenge-of-arms below. On S. wall, (8) to Elizabeth, Lady Smith, daughter of Robert Curtis, 1796, and Sir John Smith, 1807, wall-monument (Plate 134) of black and white marble in two stages each containing a figure subject in high relief, the lower of a man wearing a toga with arm outstretched reclining against an inscribed scroll, the upper of a kneeling woman leaning on a pedestal in an attitude of mourning, all supported on the top member of a second inscription tablet, above is a medallion with arms and also a shield-of-arms; (9) to Dame Elizabeth Ann, wife of Sir John Wildbore Smith, 1847, and later inscription to the husband, white and veined marble wall-monument by Marshall, Sculptor etc., of Blandford, consisting of an open book resting on a Bible and leaning against a pyramidal slab with a cross, on the apron below is an achievement-of-arms within a frame of palm leaves. In nave—on E. wall, (10) to Rev. George Feaver, 1837, his wife Anna Maria, 1822, and three sons, white marble and slate wall-monument by Reynolds of Yeovil; on N. wall, (11) to Timothy Stoodly, vicar, 1724, stone wall-monument with Latin inscription in frame of scrolls, flowers and cherubs' heads and with an urn at the top. In S. aisle—on N. wall, (12) to Henry Devenish, 1801, his widow Martha, 1849, and son William, 1853, white marble sarcophagusshaped wall-monument by Raggett; on S. wall, (13) to Catherine Martine, 1704–5, and Hubert and Barbara Husey, her parents, stone scrolled tablet (Plate 20) with cherub-heads, urn and cartouche. In churchyard —N. of chancel, (14) late 15th-century table-tomb with quatre-foiled panels enclosing paterae on sides and W. end, later slab at E. end with inscription to Richard Hardy, 1720; (15) to Robert Hardey, 1709, and Christabel [his wife], 1707, table-tomb; (16) to Joane, daughter of Robert Hardey, 1712, table-tomb; E. of S. aisle, (17) to Francis Keddle or Kiddle, 1667, and Edith his wife, 1655, table-tomb; S. of tower, (18) to Francis Devenish, 1706, and Sarah his wife, 1709, table-tomb; (19) to Matthew Devenish, 1712, table-tomb; (20) to Sarah, wife of John Rogers, early 18th-century, headstone; (21) to Robert Rogers, 1709, Ann his wife, 1708, and others later, table-tomb. Floor-slab: In S. aisle—to Joseph Bartlett, 1702. Niche: In N. porch—above N. doorway, plain square-headed recess; above outer archway, recess with moulded jambs, square head and brattishing, 15th-century. Panelling: In nave—incorporated in pews, mid 17th-century panels with enrichments and carved frieze. Plate: includes an Elizabethan cup with band of engraving round the bowl (Plate 28). Royal Arms: In nave—over chancel arch, painted on canvas in moulded frame, with initials G.R., for George III or IV. Scratchings: On S. arcade of nave—various masons' marks. Screen: Under tower-arch, with fielded panels to lower part, balusters above and dentilled cornice, 18th-century. Seating: In nave —benches made up of mid 17th-century panelling painted over. In S. aisle—seven 18th-century box-pews with moulded panels.’

<3> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 413-414 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<4> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1983, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1982, 127-136 (Serial). SDO82.

<5> Tatler, S and Bellamy, P, 2006, St Nicholas Church, Sydling St Nicholas, Dorset. Archaeological Evaluation (Unpublished document). SDO14583.

<6> Montague, R, Tatler, S and Bellamy, P, 2008, New French Drain, St Nicholas Church, Sydling St Nicholas, Dorset. Archaeological Observations and Recording (Unpublished document). SDO15194.

<7> Hall, T A, 2000, Minster Churches in the Dorset Landscape, 100 (Monograph). SDO10264.

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 453218 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 16 2025 2:25PM