Listed Building record MDO3998 - Parish Church of St Eustace, Ibberton

Parish church, main building from the 15th century, north aisle 16th century, some 17th century work and major restoration in 1903. Restoration by CE Ponting. Banded rubble and flint with ashlar quoins and dressings, tower of squared, dressed rubble and ashlar. Tiled roof with stone copings and gable ends.

Parish Church of St. Eustace, Ibberton has walls of banded rubble and flint, with ashlar dressings, except for the tower which is of squared rubble, and ashlar. The main fabric of the church is mid-15th century and consisted originally of a chancel and nave.

The north chapel and west tower were early additions, and the nave arcade and north aisle were built in the early 16th century. The building was in decay at the end of the 19th century and extensive restorations were conducted around 1903. <2-3>

A short history of Ibberton Parish Church, St. Eustace (Monograph). SDO18161.

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1914, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, xl (Serial). SDO23.

A drive through Okeford Fitzpaine brought the Club to Ibberton, where they were met by the RECTOR, the Rev. L. S. PLOWMAN. The church, dedicated to St. Eustachius, stands high on the slope of the downs, and is reached by a flight of 47 steps. The Rector, in the course of his remarks, said that the fifteenth century fabric was in a sorry state before its restoration in 1900, being partially roofless and used for marriages only. The windows contained several pieces of stained glass of Tudor days, among which were medallions displaying the royal Arms of Elizabeth with the dragon of Wales as one of the supporters, the Arms of Milton Abbey, and other armorial fragments attributed to painterstainers of the sixteenth century. There is also to be seen a chained volume of Homilies, dated 1673. Below the church rises a spring known as Stachy's Well, a local corruption of the name of the patron saint ; the waters of this spring now supply the town of Sturminster.

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

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1962 (Map). SWX1540.

(ST 78940756) St Eustace's Church

<2> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 2, 123-4 (Monograph). SDO136.

<3> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 236 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 201790 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 11 2025 12:20PM