Listed Building record MDO27220 - Parish Church, Whitcombe

Parish Church. C12 nave, with some later refacing and C18 rebuilding of south wall, east of porch. C15 chancel rebuilt, with reset cast window. South porch built. C16, west tower. Squared Portland rubble stone with dressings of Portland ashlar and some Ham Hill stone. Clay tile roofs with stone slates at eaves.

The parish church of Whitcombe has a 12th century nave possibly incorporating some pre-Conquest masonry at the west end. The chancel and south porch are 15th century, and the tower was added or rebuilt in the 16th century.

The church retains fragments of two pre-conquest cross shafts with interlace decoration of different types, found in 1912 built into the chancel wall. The church is said to be situated "in the midst of an ancient earthwork" (4). (2-5)

The cross fragments stand in front of a built-in doorway in the north wall of the chancel.

The "ancient earthwork" appears as a wide ditch running north-south to the south-west of the church, and another ditch running east-west to the north of the church. Both are of doubtful antiquity, but may be related to remains of earlier settlement. (6)

Parish church (of unknown dedication) Grade I. (7)

The church stands within the centre of the earthworks of the Mediaeval settlement. Now redundant, it continues to hold occassional services,and is not recommended for scheduling. Five ground photos with archive report. (8)

A fragment of 10th-11th century cross-shaft is set above the blocked North doorway of the nave, and a second fragment of 10th-11th century cross-socket or shaft is set adjacent to the first fragment. Full description. (9)

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1912, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, xvi-xvii, xxii photo (Serial). SDO22.

<2> Swatridge, G C, Various, Field Investigators Comments GCS, F1 GCS 19-AUG-54 (Unpublished document). SWX1169.

<3> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

(SY 71668830) Church (NAT)

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 2, 375-6 (Monograph). SDO149.

'(1) The Parish Church (Plate 3), dedication unknown, is built of squared Portland rubble with dressings of Portland ashlar and some Ham Hill stone, and the roofs are covered with tiles and stone slates. The Nave was built in the 12th century possibly incorporating some pre-Conquest masonry at the W. end but was partly refaced in the late 15th century, the date of the Chancel and South Porch; the West Tower was added or rebuilt in the 16th century. The S. side of the nave was partly reconstructed in the 18th century.

The church retains fragments of two pre-Conquest cross-shafts and traces of wall-paintings. … '

<5> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 457-8 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<6> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1981, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1979, 143 (Serial). SDO79.

‘WHITCOMBE (SY 716883). A. Hunt reports that during November, 1979, an external drain was dug around the base of the tower of the parish church. The drainage trench, about 35 cm deep and 80 cm wide, was examined, to the north of the tower only, by A. M. Hunt and I. Brooks. It revealed tow off-sets, both of mortared Portland rubble. No other features were visible. A plan, section and notes are deposited at the Diocese of Salisbury Record Office and at the Dorset County Museum.’

<7> Cramp, R, 2006, Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture: Vol VII. South-West England, 124-5 (Monograph). SDO17427.

<8> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BF051596 (Index). SDO14738.

WHITCOMBE CHURCH, WHITCOMBE

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 454102 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 16 2025 1:30PM