Listed Building record MDO4713 - Parish church of St John, Spetisbury

A parish church consisting of nave, chancel, west tower, north aisle and chapel and south porch. The north arcade dates from the late 12th or early 13th century and the tower from the late 15th or early 16th century. The main body of the church dates to 1858, though the chapel is of 1868. Restoration work was carried out in 1895.

The parish church of St. John the Baptist at Spetisbury was extensively restored in 1858 and 1868, but retains a Perpendicular west tower and a north arcade partly of the early 13th century.

Church of St John, North arcade late C12th or early C13th, West tower late C15th or early C16th, North Chapel 1868, remainder of the church 1858 with restoration of 1895. Work of 1858 by T H Wyatt. <1-2>

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

<1> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 2, 242-243 (Monograph). SDO136.

‘(1) THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. JOHN stands at the N.W. end of the village. It has walls of flint, interspersed with large blocks of roughly squared rubble, with ashlar dressings; the W. tower is of banded flint and rubble, the latter predominantly of Heathstone; the roofs are tiled. The church was extensively restored in 1858 and 1868 (faculty petitions in Salisbury Diocesan Archives) but the columns of the nave arcade are original and indicate the former existence of a Nave and North Aisle of the late 12th or early 13th century. An old drawing preserved in the church, showing the building as it was before 1858, depicts a round-headed window in the N. wall of the chancel. The West Tower is of the late 15th or early 16th century, with restorations of 1895. The Chancel and South Porch were rebuilt in 1858; the North Chapel is of 1868.
Notable features are a canopied mural table-tomb of 1599 and a richly carved 17th-century oak pulpit.
Architectural Description—The Chancel (27 ft. by 16½ ft.) has no notable features. The Nave (38½ ft. by 16½ ft.) has, on the N. side, an arcade of three bays with stilted and segmental-pointed arches of two chamfered orders that appear to be mainly of the 19th century; on the other hand the two columns and the two responds are original, although restored in 1858. The columns are cylindrical, with roll-mouldings at top and bottom; the capitals are moulded and the square bases are chamfered, with spurred angles. Each respond has a half-column with details similar to those of the columns. The S. wall of the nave is entirely of 1858. The North Aisle (49½ ft. by 14 ft.) is also largely of 1858, but reset in the N. wall is a restored 16th-century window of three two-centred lights in a square-headed casementmoulded surround; further W. is a similar 16th-century two-light window, without casement-mouldings; the N. doorway is of the 19th century. In the W. wall of the aisle is a three-light 16th-century window similar to that of the N. wall.
The West Tower has three stages with a chamfered and moulded plinth, weathered and hollow-chamfered string-courses between the stages, and an embattled parapet with a weathered coping. The parapet string-course has two gargoyles on each face; one gargoyle representing a horse's head and another representing a human head are reset 12th-century head-corbels, possibly from an original corbel-table. In the lower stage, the N.W. and S.W. corners of the tower have diagonal buttresses of three weathered stages; at the S.E. corner a diagonal buttress is partly incorporated with the nave wall. The tower vice, on the N., is enclosed by the N. aisle, but where it rises above the aisle roof it has a polygonal outline; it ends in a weathered stone head about half-way up the second stage. The vice was originally entered through a doorway with a two-centred head near the middle of the N. wall, now enclosed in the 19th-century N. aisle and converted into a cupboard; the present external doorway is probably of 1895. The tower arch is two-centred and of three chamfered orders; the two inner orders die into the responds and the outer order is continuous. The W. doorway, now blocked, has a chamfered two-centred head, continuous jambs and runout stops; above it is a square label, continuous with the moulding of the plinth. The W. window is of one light with a chamfered two-centred head and a hollow-chamfered label, at the apex of which is reset a small head-stop. In the middle stage the N. and S. walls of the tower have small square-headed loops. The top stage has, in each face, a pair of belfry windows with chamfered two-centred heads under a square label with square stops.
Fittings—Bells: five; treble recast 1912; 2nd inscribed 'John Stroud, William Meech, C.W., W.E., B.F. Ano Dom 1751'; 3rd and 4th recast 1896, 1895; tenor by John Danton, inscribed 'Ringe out the bells in God reioyce, 1626, ID'; bell-cage, of oak, dated 1826. Book: chained to E. respond of nave arcade, leather-bound volume of homilies, 17th century. Chairs: two, of oak; one with turned legs, geometric chip-carving on rail, scrolled arm-rests, carved back panel and shaped and carved top; another with turned legs, chip-carving on rail, scrolled armrests, carved back panel with initials I.H.B.H., and carved top rail. Coffin-stools: pair, with turned legs, 18th century. Door: In upper storey of tower, with two-centred head and wrought-iron strap-hinges, 16th century. Hour-glass stand: of wrought-iron with twisted top rail, five square uprights, and flat bottom rail to which are attached letter T and date 1700 cut from sheet iron; hour-glass recently stolen. Inscription: In tower, in upper storey, painted wooden panel with moulded surround dated 1818, inscribed:
I Doat on Ringers and on such
Who delight to ring and love there Church,
Beware of oaths and Quarrelings,
Take heed of Clans and Janglings:
There is no music play'd or sung
Like unto Bells that are well rung.
Let all keep silence and forbear
Of smoaking their tobacco here;
And if your Bell doth overthrow
It is your sixpence ere you go.
If any ring in hat or spur
Be sure they pay without demur.
Monuments and Floor-slabs. Monuments: In chancel, on S. wall, (1) of Henry Davenport Shakespear, 1838, white marble tablet with representation of tomb and palm-tree, with arms. In N. aisle, against N. wall, (2) of John Bowyer, 1599, canopied table-tomb of white limestone (Plate 31), tomb-chest with moulded plinth and chamfered top and with arabesques carved on sides and front; above chest, two free-standing Ionic columns and two half-columns against back wall, supporting heavy pedimented canopy with moulded architrave and cornice, richly carved frieze of acanthus scrolls, putti, rosettes, corner shields and centre panel inscribed 1599; pediment enriched with strap work; back panel with Latin inscription in black-letter, chest-top with English inscription and verse in Roman capitals. Adjacent to foregoing, (3) of Elizabeth Jekyll, 1797, and Ann Jekyll, 1785, white marble wall tablet with brackets, pilasters, entablature, pediment and shield-of-arms; (4) of Frances Smith, 1829, and others, marble wall tablet. In churchyard, close to centre of N. wall, (5) of David Mittchell, 1723, headstone with scrolled top; adjacent, (6) of John Popjoy, 1720, headstone with shaped top; close to S. wall, (7) of William Smith, 1726, (8) of Elizabeth Smith, 1734, headstones lying on ground; about 3 paces S. of porch, (9) of Dorothy (Tatersall) Rackett, 1833, and Rev. Thomas Rackett, 1840, large pyramidal monument by Marshall of Blandford. Floor-slabs: of Purbeck marble, extending across nave and aisle between S. and N. doorways, (1) of William Zouch, rector, 1679, (2) of Giles Spenney, 1710, (3) of Mary Spenney, 1720, (4) of John Spenney Junior, 1729, and John Spenney Senior, 1732, (5) of Ann Fill, 1720, and Mary Fill, 1761, (6) of Henry Stroude, 1754, John Stroud, 1754 and John Stroud Junior, 1766.
Plate: includes silver cup and cover-paten with hallmark of 1726 and inscription 'Spetisbury, Dorsetshire, 1727'; also silver paten with hallmark of 1669, maker's mark, an anchor between letters T.H., and dedicatory inscription of 1669; also large silver flagon by I.W., with hallmark of 1728 and dedicatory inscription of Dr. Charles Sloper, 1727. Pulpit: of oak, polygonal, with seven panelled sides in two heights above moulded plinth (Plate 46); lower panels with oval centre jewel surrounded by strapwork; upper panels with highly enriched arches on pilasters with beasts in shafts, and Ionic capitals, cherub-heads in spandrels, arches enclosing foliate scroll-work rising from urns; above, frieze of scroll-work with beasts heads, and moulded cornice; early 17th century on modern pedestal. Miscellanea: In vestry, pewter chamber-pot with scroll-shaped handle, 18th century. Embedded in brick pier of churchyard palings, S.E. of church, large stone fragment carved with scroll-work, perhaps part of 18th-century monumental cartouche.’

<2> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 394-5 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<3> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 scale map, 1978 (Map). SDO17396.

(ST 90980292) Church (NAT)

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 209669 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

May 1 2025 12:13PM