Monument record MDO4752 - Foundations of earlier church beneath St Mary's parish church, Stalbridge

The foundations of a building on the same alignment as the present church were observed by A M Hunt during re-flooring of the vestry in 1978. These were interpreted as the remains of an earlier church dating from before the 14th century.

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1980, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1978, 117 (Serial). SDO78.

‘STALBRIDGE (ST 73351820). A. M. Hunt reports that at St. Mary’s Parish Church, during reflooring operations in the vestry to the south of the chancel, stone foundations of an earlier structure, on the same alignment, were exposed. St. Mary’s Church was substantially rebuilt in the late nineteenth century; in its previous form it was substantially complete in the 14th century. The foundations revealed beneath the vestry could hardly form part of the 14th-century church, since the plan, foundations and parts of the fabric of this church survived the 19th-century rebuilding. It is likely, therefore, that the excavated foundations belong to a pre-14th-century church, of which no other evidence is available at present.’

Record last edited

Aug 23 2024 1:22PM