Ruins of house south-west of Lyscombe Chapel

Summary

The ruins of a 16th century house which was built most probably for the priest of Lyscombe Chapel (Grade II*). It later became to two dwellings but was ruinous by the second half of the 20th century. It is closely associated with the adjacent chapel and illustrates the provision of accommodation for a member of the clergy in an isolated community during the Tudor period.

Reasons for Designation

The ruins of the priest’s house at Lyscombe, which was built in the C16, extended in the C17, and later converted to two dwellings, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* it illustrates the provision of accommodation for a member of the clergy in this small, isolated community during the Tudor period.

Architectural interest:

* although a ruined structure, it incorporates traditional building features and materials and retains evidence of extension and alteration relevant to its re-use as two dwellings.

Group value:

* with the Grade II* listed Lyscombe Chapel.

History

Lyscombe, an isolated hamlet on chalk downland between the villages of Piddletrenthide and Cheselbourne, was part of the original endowment of the Benedictine Abbey of Milton, founded in circa 934 by King Athelstan. A chapel at Lyscombe is first recorded in an abbey document from 1311 (An Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Dorset, 1970).

The chapel, which was built in the C12, stands in a valley on the east side of Lyscombe Brook, a tributary of the River Piddle. It is situated approximately midway between Milton Abbey to the east and Cerne Abbey to the west and may have been an out-chapel. The south and north walls of the nave were extensively rebuilt in the C15 and C16 respectively. When Milton Abbey was dissolved in 1539 the estate, including Lyscombe, passed to John Tregonwell (knighted in 1553), a solicitor to Henry VIII.

In the C16 a house was built next to the chapel, most probably for the priest. It was extended to the west in the C17, doubling the footprint. It appears that the chapel was converted to domestic use around the same time, and an upper floor added (not extant). A photograph (An Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Dorset, 1970) taken probably in the mid-C20 shows the probable priest’s house with a thatched roof, gable-end chimneystacks, and one and a half storeys. It was repaired and partly-refenestrated at the end of the C18 or the early C19. The addition of a second staircase suggests it was subdivided into two dwellings possibly at some point.

The land at Lyscombe was sold in 1880, and by 1900 a new access road had been built, along with a farmhouse and a group of farm buildings that incorporate the remains of a late medieval barn. By the mid-C20 both the chapel and the C16 house were derelict. The house subsequently became a roofless ruin, and in 2004-2005 its walls were repaired and consolidated. At the same time, the chapel was restored and re-roofed. The buildings are accessible to the public.

Details

The ruins of a house, built in the C16, probably for a priest, and extended in the C17. Derelict since at least the 1950s, and repaired and consolidated in 2004-2005. 

MATERIALS: constructed of rough and knapped flint and squared rubble coursing with repairs of brick and tile. There are Hamstone and later brick dressings. Roofless, with the partial survival of a flint stack to the east gable end and one of brick to the west.

PLAN: it is rectangular on plan and comprises the ruins of a C16 two-bay house and its C17 western addition, also of two bays.

EXTERIOR: much of the walling to the upper floor does not remain, except for the gable-end stacks, and the ruined walls survive only at ground level. Most of the windows and doorways in the original, east half of the building were altered and rebuilt in brick late in the late C18 or early C19. The north elevation retains evidence for doorways into both halves of the building and a much-repaired single-light window towards the western end. There are the remains of a large projecting chimneybreast to the east elevation. The west gable wall which was repaired in the late C18 or C19 has a chamfered plinth, the fragmentary remains of two first-floor windows of this date with brick jambs. There are brick quoins at the north-west corner of the building. In the apex of the gable is a recess with a concrete lintel that appears to have previously contained two reset C15 or early C16 fragments (An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, 1970) which are not extant. The south elevation has two openings, including in the C17 western half, a three-light, stone-mullioned window with chamfered reveals.

INTERIOR: in the original eastern part, the ground-floor room had, until the mid-C20, a panelled timber ceiling with deeply chamfered intersecting beams. It has a concrete floor and at the east end of the room is an open fireplace with chamfered stone jambs with run-out stops and a modern concrete bressumer. To the left of the fireplace the lower part of a stone spiral staircase survives. The western part of the house has a floor of stone slabs and brick paviours. There is an open fireplace and bread oven and at first-floor level is a further fireplace which retains a cast-iron grate, both appear to date from the late C18 or early C19.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

106237

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Websites
Cheselbourne, An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 3, Central, 1970, British History Online, accessed 27 August 2025 from https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/dorset/vol3/pp73-79
Architecton, Lyscombe Chapel & Priest’s House, Lyscombe Farm, Piddletrenthide, Dorset, accessed 27 August 2025 from https://architecton.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/823-Lyscombe-Chapel.pdf

Other
Architecton, Lyscombe Chapel & Priest's House, Piddletrenthide, Dorset. Statement for Scheduled Ancient Monument & Listed Building Consent, 2004

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.