Listed Building record MDO27947 - St Mary's church, Tarrant Crawford

The chancel was built in the 12th century, the 13th century alterations include the addition of the nave and some refenestration. Further refenestration was carried out in the 15th century and the porch was added. The west tower and the nave roof date to the early 16th century. Built of flint and rubble, in part blended with ashlar dressings and part rendered, with tiled and stone slate roofs. The church is notable for its early 14th century wall paintings of the life of St Margaret of Antioch. It is possible that Tarrant Crawford was a minster in the late Saxon period. There is a reset fragment of Saxon window frame in the north nave wall.

The church of Saint Mary at Tarrant Crawford has a 12th century chancel with windows enlarged in the 13th century. The nave is 13th century, the north porch is later 15th century, and the west tower appears to be 16th century. The absence of windows in much of the south wall of the nave suggests that a building formerly adjoined it on this side, perhaps part of the former nunnery. <1-2>

The church is noteable for its C14th wall-paintings. These are of around 1350. PDNHAS cited by NRHE with page no 416 BUT no volume or year given.

The church was probably a minster in the late Saxon period. <3>

Within the North porch and adjacent to it, east of the doorway, on the South side of the North nave wall, is a fragment of Saxon window frame. It is a curved fragment with three deeply incised lines. <5>

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1897, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, xxxv-xxxvii (Serial). SDO11.

Tarrant Crawford Church and Abbey Barn, which they inspected under the guidance of the Rector, the Rev. E. Highton, who read a paper on the church and barn, from which the following are extracts. A view of the interior of the barn is given opposite :
" A religious house of the Cistercian order was founded here sometime in the 12th century by Ralph de Kahaines, and it is clear that a Norman church was also built about the same time, for the remains of Norman work are still to be seen in various parts of the church. There is the Norman bowl to the piscina. This piscina was found behind the plaster two or three years ago. It had been filled up with loose stones, and plastered over. The stone forming the west side of the piscina is a piece of a Norman string-course. On the opposite side of the chancel an aumbry has also come to light in the recent repairs. One side of this is also a piece of apparently the same string-course. The aumbry was filled up by a piece of cut stone which now stands on the step of the south door of the chancel. It will be noticed that the bowl of the font is also probably of the same date. In the early part of the 13th century the abbey was enlarged and the endowments increased by Bishop Richard Poore, who was born in this parish. It seems likely that the increase of wealth brought a larger population into the parish, and the church was enlarged, evidently at one period ; for the small two-light windows were introduced in the nave as well as in the renovated chancel, and are evidently all of one date. The head of the south door of the chancel is, on the inside, semi-circular ; on the outside, pointed in the centre. This may be accounted for by the fact, which came to light in the recent repairs, that there is a break between the outer and inner face of the wall there. The inner face of the wall contained the original Norman arch ; the outer face was probably renewed and an arch of different character introduced. The small pieces of colour on the plaster were found underneath the coating of plaster which had been laid on the walls subsequently. The tower arch and the arch at the entrance of the porch are probably contemporary with the nave, and the stanchions and bars of the windows are of the same date as the windows themselves most of them late Early English and two, the westernmost window and the one over the pulpit, are of Perpendicular date. The upper stage of the tower contains three Perpendicular windows which are worthy of notice. Within the altar rails two coffin-slabs have been laid in the pavement. The coffins were found about 40 years ago near the barn lying side by side in a building, which had fallen into ruins possibly the chapel of the abbey about 150 yards from the church. In the tower is a large Purbeck marble sepulchral slab. There are signs of a shallow incised design in various parts of the stone, but not sufficiently clear to make out accurately what the design was. The face has flaked off in various parts from exposure to the weather, but there are distinct indications of a double cross. In the floor of the church there will be seen various coffin slabs of Purbeck stone, whole or in fragments, one or two with parts of a cross incised on them. They may have covered the bodies of members of the religious community who were buried here. There is a small brass to the memory of Jobn Karrant, probably a chaplain of the abbey, but the original position of it is now unknown. The inscription is
" Hie jacet dns Johes Karrant cujus anime p'p'iciet' de' Amen."
There is a curious history attached to this brass. It was for some years in the collection of antiquities belonging to the late Mr. Durden, of Blandford, and at his death it was sold, along with the rest of the collection, to the trustees of the British Museum. It was, however, kindly returned by them at the request of the incumbent of Tarrant Crawford.

Le Pard, Gordon, 1998, Medieval sundials in Dorset. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 119, 70 Fig 1.1, 81-82 (Article in serial). SDO21411.

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1918, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1916-17 (Serial). SDO26.

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1972, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume IV (North), 86-87 (Monograph). SDO99.

'(1) The Parish Church of St. Maryin the N. of the parish, has walls of flint and of rubble, in part rendered, with dressings of Greensand and of Heathstone ashlar ; the roof covering is of tile and stone-slate. The Chancel is of 12th-century origin, with windows enlarged in the 13th century (Plate 68). The Nave is of the 13th century and its walls retain 14th-century painted decorations, including scenes from the life of St. Margaret of Antioch (Plates 67-9). The absence of windows in much of the S. wall suggests that a building formerly adjoined the nave on this side, perhaps part of the former nunnery. The North Porch is of the second half of the 15th century. The west Tower appears to be of the 16th century, perhaps c 1508 (Hutchins III, 122), and the nave roof is of about the same period.'

<3> Aston, Michael, and Lewis, Carenza (eds), 1994, The medieval landscape of Wessex, 53 (Monograph). SWX1296.

<4> Cotton, J, 1995, An Archaeological Investigation prior to Remedial Drainage Works at the Church of St Mary, Tarrant Crawford, Dorset (Unpublished document). SDO14262.

<5> Guide to the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tarrant Crawford (Monograph). SDO20148.

<6> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BF096575 (Index). SDO14738.

ST MARYS CHURCH, TARRANT CRAWFORD

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 209643 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 18 2025 2:06PM