Listed Building record MDO4672 - Parish Church of the Holy Rood, Shillingstone

The Church of the Holy Rood, dating back to the 12th century, though much altered and restored subsequently. The nave and chancel date to the early 12th century, though the chancel arch is 14th century. The west tower is of the late 15th century and the porch is 16th century. The church was restored in 1858. The north aisle and the chapel were added in 1888 and the building was altered again in 1902. May be original minster church.

THE PARISH CHURCH OF THE HOLY ROOD stands near the N. end of the village on a hill overlooking the Sour valley. The walls are of flint, rubble, banded flint and rubble, and ashlar; the roofs are covered with modern tiles. The Chancel and the Nave date from early in the 12th century; the chancel arch is of the 14th century; the West Tower was built late in the 15th century and the South Porch is of the 16th century. The church was restored in 1858. The North aisle and North Chapel were added in 1888 and further alterations were made in 1902.
The church is of interest for its surviving 12th-century walls and windows, from which it appears that the original building consisted of a small rectangular nave and a slightly narrower chancel. <2>

Church of the Holy Rood. Grade I. <3-4>

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1904, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1903, lxxii-lxxiii (Serial). SDO16.

The members and their friends assembled at Shillingstone Station soon after midday and drove thence to the church, passing on the way the ancient base of the village cross, which has recently been repaired and renewed by the addition of a canopied head of fifteenth century character, in keeping with the old work, and the site of a lofty maypole that was removed only a few years ago and that was devoted, as its inscription of 1850 declared, to a pious function : Pinus in coelos indicet alta viam. At the church the Club were courteously received by the Rev. R. G. Bartelot, the missioner in charge ; but, instead of the ancient church which the Club had expected to see, the building, which was opened after restoration in IMay last, now presents the appearance internally of a newly-built modern church.
In the course of the restoration some ancient work unfortunately suffered. A 13th century piscina and an aumbry, the latter from the description of it somewhat rude in construction, were destroyed, and two brackets of 13th or 14th century date were sawn oif. It was reported that two ancient square-headed windows of the Early English period were also destroyed and new ones substituted for them ; the architect, in reply to enquiries on the subject, stated that the windows " were obviously modern and extremely ugly." The ancient windows doubtless existed in 1866, when the last edition of Hutchins' " Dorset " was published, for it is there stated that painted glass was about to be inserted in them ; in all probability it was found that the stonework of the old windows was too rotten to bear cutting for the new glass, and that they were then replaced by the windows which have been lately removed. These were of no historic, architectural, or archaeological value, and have been replaced by windows which are good in design and workmanship.
A rumour was current that the tomb of the founder of the church had also been removed ; the architect states that no tomb was removed. The tomb of the founder had certainly disappeared from the church before 1866, and at that time there seems to have been no tradition of the date when this barbarous act was perpetrated.
In the vestry Mr. Bartelot pointed out an incised stone slab with a head flanked on the one side by a figure of the sun and on the other the moon. "These figures," the Hon. Sec. said, “are especially interesting as an instance of the application of emblems originally pagan to Christian purposes. Thus the Solar God, under the auspices of Christianity, signifies the Sun of Righteousness and the moon the Virgin Mary, instead of Juno or Diana. In modern Roman Catholic pictures the Virgin is sometimes represented standing on the moon."
The introduction of the sun symbol into Christianity may have been due to Constantine, who, before his conversion to Christianity, as a follower of Mithras, was a worshipper of the sun.

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey map 1:10,560, 1962 (Map). SDO18658.

(ST 82481146) Holy Rood Church (NAT)

<2> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 2, 238-240 (Monograph). SDO136.

‘(1) The Parish Church of The Holy Rood stands near the N. end of the village on a hill overlooking the Stour valley. The walls are of flint, rubble, banded flint and rubble, and ashlar; the roofs are covered with modern tiles. The Chancel and the Nave date from early in the 12th century; the chancel arch is of the 14th century; the West Tower was built late in the 15th century and the South Porch is of the 16th century. The church was restored in 1858. The North Aisle and North Chapel were added in 1888 and further alterations were made in 1902 (Faculty petitions, 1888, 1902, in Salisbury Diocesan Archives).

The church is of interest for its surviving 12th-century walls and windows, from which it appears that the original building consisted of a small rectangular nave and a slightly narrower chancel.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (21 ft. by 15 ft.) has walls of flint interspersed with blocks of Greensand. At the base is a chamfered stone plinth and one course of squared rubble. At the centre of the E. wall is a small buttress of one stage with a weathered top; above it is a three-light E. window, inserted in 1902. The N.E. corner has been entirely rebuilt and has modern quoins but the S.E. corner retains original quoins of heavy Greensand blocks. The N. wall is pierced by a modern archway to the N. chapel; high up, immediately E. of the archway, is a round-headed loop with deep internal splays and a semicircular rear arch; although of 12th-century form, the loop is entirely composed of modern masonry. The S. wall, constructed of rubble and flint, appears to be of 12th-century origin but the two two-light windows with two-centred heads are of 1902. Between the windows, traces of a former S. doorway are seen externally in the masonry, notably in the plinth; inside, a low recess may also indicate the former opening. The 14th-century chancel arch is depressed two-centred and of two chamfered orders; on the E. side the outer chamfer continues on the S. respond and ends in a run-out stop; on the W. side the orders are of ovolo section and die at the springing into plain responds.

The Nave (43 ft. by 21 ft.) has a N. arcade of three two-centred arches built in 1888; reset in the spandrels of the arches are three 12th-century loops. Near the E. end is a small 15th-century window with a trefoil ogee head and continuous jambs; it is presumably an opening from a former rood-loft vice, reset, but the 'staircase with long lancet windows' described by Hutchins in this connection (III, 447) has now gone. The most easterly of the reset 12th-century loops is blocked; the other two are open and have narrow round-headed lights with ashlar jambs, and deeply splayed reveals running back to round-headed rear arches. The S. wall is of flint and rubble, the flints being laid obliquely to produce a faint effect of herring-bone coursing. At the E. end is a 19th-century two-stage buttress; adjacent is a large 15th-century square-headed casement-moulded window of three cinquefoil-headed lights. Further W., near the E. side of the porch, is a round-headed 12th-century light, as before described, with restored stonework externally but retaining the original splayed rear arch, jambs and sill. The S. doorway is of the 16th century and has a chamfered two-centred head and continuous jambs; above, in the S. face of the wall, are the reset voussoirs of a semicircular arch, probably the original door-head; below it is a segmental fragment of stone, roughly carved with lozenges, perhaps from the original tympanum; also reset below the semicircular arch voussoirs is a stone mask carved in low relief, mediaeval but of uncertain date. The rear-arch is of the 12th century; it is round-headed, with plain ashlar voussoirs and continuous responds. To the W. of the porch, the S. wall contains a square-headed three-light 15th-century window, as on the E. The 19th-century N. aisle has, reset in the N. wall, a similar three-light window, without casement mouldings; it also is of the 15th century.

The West Tower (11 ft. square) is of Greensand ashlar and has two main stages, with a moulded plinth, weathered and hollow-chamfered string-courses, and an embattled parapet with a moulded coping. The moulded bases of four corner pinnacles rise above the coping but the pinnacles have gone; corner standards below the coping continue down to the parapet string-course and rest on grotesque gargoyles. Diagonal buttresses of five weathered stages stand at the N.W. and S.W. corners; a square-set buttress at the N.E. corner is partly incorporated in the W. wall of the N. aisle; at the S.E. corner is a rectangular vice turret. The W. side of the vice turret is partly splayed, the splay being supported near the base on a carved corbel (cf. Child Okeford (1)). The tower arch is two-centred and of two chamfered orders which die into plain responds at the springing; beside it, to the S., is the vice doorway, with a rough square head. The W. doorway has a moulded four-centred head and continuous jambs, under a square, moulded label with shield stops and sunk spandrels. Above, the W. window is of three trefoil-headed lights, each lobe sub-cusped, under vertical tracery in a two-centred head; the narrow, moulded label has no stops. In the upper stage, each face of the tower has a belfry window of two trefoil-headed lights under a central quatrefoil in a two-centred head with a moulded label and square stops. Below the belfry windows, on the N. and S. sides, are square-headed loops; the W. side has a clock. The South Porch (9½ ft. by 7 ft.) has walls of banded flint and rubble, heightened in coursed rubble. The S. archway has a two-centred head of two chamfered orders, with continuous jambs and runout stops. In each side wall is a small square-headed loop.

Fittings—Bells: six; 5th inscribed 'Anno 1736, W. Knight, B.F., Thomas Melmouth, Thomas Ford, C.W.', 6th inscribed 'Thomas Melmouth, Thomas Ford, anno 1736, C.W., W.K., B.F.' others recast. Chest: In vestry, with fielded panels and beaded stiles and rails, 18th century. Churchyard Cross: 11 paces S. of chancel, stepped cross-base, probably 15th century; shaft and cross-head missing. Coffin and Coffin-lids: In W. tower, (1) tapering coffin lid of Purbeck marble with hollow-chamfered and grooved border, top surface with crude incised representation of man flanked by sun and moon, foot of slab and much of top surface missing; slab, 14th century, carving perhaps later; (2) Purbeck coffin with shaped recess for head, sides and foot broken, 14th century; (3) fragment of stone coffin-lid with hollow-chamfered margin and floriate cross, 14th century; (4) similar fragment with double hollow-chamfered margin and floriate cross, 14th century. Font: of Purbeck marble with square basin, hollow-chamfered below, with round-headed panels on vertical sides, resting on large central drum with four attached angle shafts and continuous moulded base; early 13th century. Graffiti: In porch, on wall-bench, outlines of hands and feet with initials and dates 1759, 1772.

Monuments: In N. chapel, on N. wall, (1) of Eliza Acton, 1817, marble wall-tablet with Latin inscription, surmounted by relief of kneeling woman, by Chantrey of London. In N. aisle, on N. wall, (2) of Richard West, D.D., rector, 1690, slate wall-tablet in moulded stone surround with apron with skulls, drapery and book, scrolled cheek-pieces, entablature, and finial in form of lamps flanking shield-of-arms of West impaling Bettesworth, crest, a griffin's head. In churchyard, 4 paces S.E. of porch, (3) of Mary Biles, 1727, headstone with scrolled top. Plate: includes silver cup and cover-paten by Lawrence Stratford, paten inscribed '1574'; also silver paten with date-mark of 1715; also pewter dish inscribed 'Thos. Barter, Jno. Ford church-wardens 1814'. Pulpit: of oak, octagonal with four sides in three heights; lowest height reeded, main height, much restored, with enriched bolection-moulded panels, top height with arabesque carving surmounted by enriched cornice; 17th-century woodwork on modern stone plinth. Sundial: On S. face of vice turret, stone plate with scroll decoration and incised numerals under moulded string; late 17th century. Weather-vanes: On each pinnacle-base of tower, with iron standard and pennant. Miscellanea: In tower, fragment of stone, shaped and chamfered, perhaps a shaft-base; also fragment of Purbeck marble altar slab with consecration cross, mediaeval.’

<3> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 391 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<4> DOE (HHR), 1985, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: North Dorset District, 27 (Scheduling record). SDO17732.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 206301 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 26 2025 11:33AM