Listed Building record MDO5854 - Chapel of St Margaret and St Anthony, St Margaret's Hill, Pamphill

Originally the chapel of leper hospital, the building has ironstone walls, and a modern tiled roof, with a timber bell-turret at west end. At the west end is a cottage which may have been the original priest's house.

The chapel was re-opened in 1885 for divine service in connection with the almshouses. <3>

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1890 (Map). SWX1540.

(SU 00410036) St Margaret's Chapel (NAT)

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1921, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1920, xxxii (Serial). SDO17723.

<3> Work, R L B, 1954, Field Investigators Comments RLBW, F1 RLBW 16-MAR-54 (Unpublished document). SWX3791.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1975, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume V (East), 44-45 (Monograph). SDO129.

'(1) THE CHAPEL OF ST. MARGARET AND ST. ANTHONY (00410036), on the E. boundary of the parish, has walls of squared Heathstone rubble with ashlar dressings; the tiled roof has stone-slate verges. The chapel dates from early in the 13th century and originally served a leper hospital (Hutchins III, 247), now represented by a group of almshouses (41–44). The chapel has recently been restored and some mediaeval features noted previously have been obliterated; they include 13th-century wall-paintings of minor importance (Tristram, Eng. Mediaeval Wall Painting, II (13th cent.), 204).

Architectural Description—The E. wall of the undivided Chancel and Nave has a round-headed 19th-century window; the gable is of brickwork. The N.E. corner retains the lower part of an original pilaster buttress. In the eastern part of the N. wall is a restored square-headed 15th-century window of two cinquefoil-headed lights; the embrasure is spanned by an oak beam. The adjacent 13th-century doorway has a two-centred head of two chamfered orders and continuous jambs with shaped stops; the rear-arch is segmental. Further W. is a later N. doorway, perhaps of the 16th century, with a chamfered two-centred head, continuous jambs and broach stops; the rear-arch is two-centred. A window similar to that of the 15th century described above has recently been formed in the wall between the two doorways. The S. wall has, near the E. end, a window dating from the second half of the 13th century; it is of Purbeck stone and has two trefoil-headed lights and wide internal splays spanned by a chamfered oak lintel. Further W., an original lancet light with a chamfered Heathstone surround and wide internal splays with an oak lintel has recently been replaced by a modern two-light window as on the N. Near the W. end of the S. wall a former doorway, partly blocked, is used as a window; it has a chamfered two-centred head and continuous jambs of Heathstone ashlar and is possibly of the 13th century. The quoin of the S.W. corner marks the position of the former W. wall, now gone and replaced by a timber-frame partition between the chapel and the adjacent cottage (41).
The Roof, probably of the 16th century, has 20 arch-braced collared rafters springing from chamfered wall-plates.

Fittings—Chest: Of oak, with moulded uprights and fielded panels, 18th century. Communion Table: Of oak, with stout turned legs and fluted top rails, 17th century. Glass: Reset in E. window, roundel with rose, 15th century. Paintings: (now hidden)—In chancel, on N. and S. walls, lozenge pattern (Plate 24) in red with leaf centres, 13th century; in nave, on N. wall, traces of figure subject; on S. wall, faint traces of three figures, an illegible inscription in black-letter, and some 'ashlar' ruling; probably 14th and 15th century.'

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 213210 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1572742 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 30 2023 8:06AM