Church of St Mary

Details

ST 8614 IWERNE MINSTER CHURCH ROAD (North Side)

10/132 Church of St Mary 16-8-60 GV I

Parish church, north aisle and nave of mid C12 origin, south aisle arcade late C12, north transept C13 (though possibly remodelling C12 work), tower, south aisle, south porch and chancel C14, some C15 refenestration, north vestry and restoration 1870, further restoration and south chapel 1880. A building of considerable archaeological complexity. 1870 work by T H Wyatt, 1880 work by Pearson. Ashlar, banded flint and ashlar, chequer work flint and sqared rubble with ashlar dressings. Tiled and stone-slated roofs with stone copings. Plan: nave; chancel; north and south aisles; west tower; south chapel; north transept; south porch; north vestry. West tower of 2 stages surmounted by one of the few medieval spires in Dorset. It has square set buttresses and an embattled parapet supported by a corbel table. Moulded, pointed west door with lancet above and similar lancets to north and south walls. Belfrey stage has pointed, 2-light, perpendicular tracery windows. North aisle has pointed C14 windows of one and 2 lights flanking a central square-headed, 5-light C15 window. The north transept has 2 C12 round-headed lights, possibly reset. Vestry has round headed loops. East chancel window of 5 lights under pointed head with C19 curvilinear tracery. North and south chancel windows are C14 of 2-lights under pointed heads, those to the south being restored. South chapel has pointed C19 3-light east window with shafted jambs and head with quatrefoil in roundel. The south windows are C19, pointed, of 2 lights with returned labels. Diagonal chapel buttress contains niche with C19 sculpture of St George. Chapel doorway has pointed, trefoiled head and shafted jambs. Over is a crochetted, pitched label continuous with the string course. Left is a 3-light C19 window with pointed head and curvilinear tracery. South aisle has has 3-light, square headed C15 window. Parapetted porch with segmental- pointed arch and moulded pointed inner doorway. Nave has clearstorey of single light windows and C14 2-light east window.

Internal features: mid C12 north arcade of 3 bays with round arches of 2 plain orders on round piers with scalloped capitals; late C12 3 bay south arcade with pointed arches, much altered; C12 round north aisle to transept arch; segmented pointed chancel arch of 2 chamfered orders; pointed tower arch of 3 chamfered orders; north transept has shafted rear arch with stiff-leaf capital; C15 octagonal font with quatrefoil panels; C17 pulpit with panelled sides restored; 4 bay C19 crown-post nave roof; C19 waggon roof to chancel; C19 collar-truss roof to north transept; flat, ribbed boarded roofs to aisles; south chapel has lierne vault springing from carved corbels; C17 wall monument to Robert Fry and family; other fittings largely C19. (RCHM, Dorset, vol.IV, p.36-8, no. 1. Newman, J. and Pevsner, N. The Buildings of England: Dorset, 1972, p.138-9).

Listing NGR: ST8683314465

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

103222

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Royal Commission on Historic Monuments; Inventory of Dorset Vol 4, (1972), 36-38
Pevsner, N, Newman, J, The Buildings of England: Dorset, (1972), 1380139

End of official list entry

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