Monument record MWX823 - St Andrew's Chapel, Brownsea Island, Studland

The monks (of Cerne Abbey) built a chapel on the Island of Brownsea, which was served by a resident priest whose special duty was to minister to the spiritual needs of shipping folk and wayfarers. The chapel was dedicated to St. Andrew, and was still standing when Leland visited Poole in Henry VIII's reign. <1>

No information to site this chapel was obtained during field investigation. <2>

Area of St Andrews Hill and St Andrews Terrace (centred SZ 02558827) closely perambulated but no visible standing remains were found, this area is thickly tree-covered with deep undergrowth. <3>

A chapel and hermitage dedicated to St Andrew was built on Brownsea Island by the Abbot of Cerne in the reign of Henry II (1134-89). <4>

Hutchins quotes Leland as stating that `Sum say that there has been a piracy in it' (Browmen Leland), and further that there were no buildings on the island except the chapel. A Medieval cemetery has been discovered at SZ 0286 8761 which was probably associated with the chapel. <5>

Ewen records that three tons of brazil nuts were stored in the chapel in 1581/2 because they were spoils of purrey? [piracy?], which implies it was still extant. <6>

<1> Smith, H P, 1948, History of the Borough and County of the Town of Poole. Origins and Early Development (vol. 1), p156 (Monograph). SWX3200.

<2> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 21-AUG-52 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<3> Colquhoun, F D, Field Investigators Comments FDC, F2 FDC 12-DEC-52 (Unpublished document). SWX2609.

<4> Mills, A D, 1977, English Place-Name Society : the survey of English place-names [county volumes] Dorset, p49 (Monograph). SWX2586.

<5> Jarvis, K S, 1981, Shorter Contributions on Archaeological Topics: A Medieval Cemetery on Brownsea Island, p134-6 (Article in serial). SWX3342.

<6> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1950, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1949, 88-109 (Serial). SDO49.

<7> Papworth, M D J, Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1983, Isle of Purbeck Survey (Index). SDO147.

'BROWNSEA ISLAND: 12th century chapel and hermitage. Exact location unknown.'

<8> Papworth, M, 1992, Brownsea Island, Dorset. Wessex region (Unpublished document). SWX1390.

In the medieval period Brownsea Island belonged to Cerne Abbey and it is probable that the chapel dates from this period. The early 17th century map (DCRO photocopy 404) shows a building about 100m west of Brownsea Castle and this is probably the chapel. Leland (Hutchins 1861, p648) records in 1534 that “There is yet a chapel for an hermit. It longith to Cerne abbey”. Another document records that three tons of brazil nuts were stored in the chapel of Bronksey in 1581/2. These goods were hidden because they were the spoils of piracy and had been purchased illegally (Jarvis 1987 p139). The church built by Colonel Waugh in 1853 is said to have been built close to the old chapel and particular care is said to have been taken to preserve the small portion of the chapel wall which still remained at that time. (Legg 1986 p24). The location of the chapel is no longer known but it probably lies west of Brownsea Castle and north-east of the farm buildings. Buildings are shown at this site on the 1770 (photocopy 1/1), 1853 (D263/T1) and 1859 (photocopy 167) maps but they had been demolished by O.S. 1901. The parch mark (112757) is at the site of these buildings. The present farm buildings were built in the 1850s on the site of a cemetary (112081) and this was probably close to the chapel. Hutchins (1861, 6458) suggests that the chapel was dedicated to St Andrew because the name is preserved in Brownsea place names such as St Andrews Bay and St Andrews Terrace. Visited 25/2/1992

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 457505 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 5 2024 10:20AM