Church of St Peter and St Paul

Summary

The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul was built in 1732-1739 following a fire that destroyed much of the town, including tits medieval predecessor. The design of the Georgian church has been attributed to John and William Bastard or possibly John James. The interior was certainly fitted out by the Bastard brothers and the tower also designed by them. There have been various refurbishments since it was built, but the church remains a significant example of C18 ecclesiastical architecture in the classical style as interpreted by provincial builder-architects and it forms a key centrepiece to this planned Georgian town.

Reasons for Designation

The Church of St Peter and St Paul in Blandford Forum, built between 1732 and 1739 is listed at Grade I for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a significant example of Georgian ecclesiastical architecture by a provincial architect-builder, and one of Dorset’s best and most complete examples of the mid-C18 British neoclassical style;
* a distinctive composition that has a great deal of flair and panache and demonstrates a skilful use of materials and detailing;
* the interior decoration, distinctive font, box pews, mayoral chair and reredos are of particular note, and the organ of 1794 is recognised as significant in its own right.

Historic interest:

* it is one of the few churches outside of London to be newly built during the mid-C18 and it forms a prominent showpiece in this planned Georgian town;
* the intramural monuments are of interest for understanding local social history, recording the dignitaries, families and beneficiaries of the church and town, including the Bastard family.

Group value:

* with the Grade-II listed fire monument (water pump), the 1769 John and William Bastard monument and the churchyard walls and gateways (Grade II).

History

A church has been present on the current site at the eastern end of Market Place in Blandford Forum since the early C12. It was destroyed, however, along with most of the other buildings in the town, by a devastating fire in June 1731. Within a few years Blandford’s reconstruction was well underway, part-funded by Parliament and King George II, with much of the planning and rebuilding carried out under the direction of John (around 1688-1770) and William Bastard (around 1689-1766), noted provincial architects, builders and joiners.

The new parish church was constructed between 1732 and 1739 and represented a showpiece of the rebuilt town. It cannot be established with any certainty the architect responsible, some sources (Church Heritage Record and Dorset Historic Churches Trust) attribute the design to the Bastard Brothers, while others (Hill, Newman and Pevsner) consider it was John James (1673-1746), with Nathaniel Ireson (1686-1769) and/or Francis Cartwright, both leading provincial master builders, as the executant. The Bastard brothers were certainly involved, being responsible at the very least for the design of the tower and the fitting out the church interior. A spire was originally planned, however, due to a lack of funds, it was substituted for a cupola. The church occupies an elevated position within a roughly rectangular walled churchyard that is offset slightly from the axis of Market Place. The churchyard’s boundary walls and gateways are listed at Grade II.

The church has undergone various refurbishments and alterations since it was built. The present pews appear to have been introduced in the late C18, but were adapted in the 1880s, and some have since been removed. In 1794 the organ gallery was added at the west end of the nave; it was extended over the western ends of the aisles in 1819. Integral galleries were introduced along the north and south aisles in 1836-1837, but were largely removed in the mid-C20. In the 1860s the chancel was decorated, and the cupola was repaired. Works undertaken in 1879-1883 included some internal reordering and the construction of a north vestry. More significantly, in 1895-1896 the east end of the church was extended by two bays for a chancel. This involved moving and re-positioning the apse further to the east. An organ chamber was also added on the north side of the chancel and the organ re-located here; it has since been returned to the west gallery. The late-C19 works were carried out under the direction of architect Charles Hunt of Blandford. The church has undergone further repairs and refurbishment in the C20 and C21.

Details

Parish church. Rebuilt in 1732-1739 following a fire. Designed possibly by John and William Bastard or John James; the original design incorporating a spire. Various alterations, refurbishment and repairs since the mid-C18.

MATERIALS: the church is constructed of Greensand ashlar and cut and squared stone, lined internally with brick, and has dressings of Portland and Ham Hill stone. The pitched and domed roofs are covered in tile and lead, and the cupola roof is also lead covered.

PLAN: the building has a cruciform plan, with a west tower, an aisled nave, north and south porches that extend slightly beyond the aisles, and a chancel with an apsidal sanctuary; its present form dates from the late C19 when the east end was extended by two bays to form the chancel. There is a large vestry on the north side which serves as a Julian chapel, and on the north side of the chancel is a late-C19 organ chamber which is currently (2024) the vestry. There is a west gallery of 1794, and short side galleries in the porches that were added in the 1960s, made from the fabric of the mid-C19 aisle galleries.

EXTERIOR: the church is in the Classical style, with Ionic detailing. There is a chamfered plinth, rusticated quoins, cornices and balustraded parapets. The west front has a projecting, pedimented central bay that is flanked by the lower side aisles, with the tower rising behind it. The west doorway has a round-headed opening with Doric pilasters and a horizontal entablature; the doors are of oak with fielded panels. The square-headed window above has side volutes at the foot of the pilasters, and scrolled brackets support a moulded cornice and a segmental broken pediment, interrupted for a clock face. The aisles have a round-headed window with moulded architrave, impost block, keystone and leaded lights, and a blank Hamstone panel above. The tower is square on plan, with rusticated quoins. There is a small, segmental-arched doorway on the north side of the second stage. Each side of the belfry stage has a single round-headed window with flanking pilasters and moulded imposts that support a semi-circular arched head with a keystone, and a moulded, broken pediment above. There is a heavy modillion cornice, and the parapet is balustraded with urn finials at the corners. The wooden cupola is square at the base, with large scrolls set diagonally at the corners, rising to an octagonal bell tower with round-headed openings on four sides, and surmounted by a lead cupola with a gilded weather vane finial.

The south elevation has three round-headed windows to either side of a wide, pedimented central bay which breaks forwards and is topped by an urn finial. The central bay has a massive semi-circular arched doorway with plain jambs, a moulded impost, a plain projecting keystone, and oak doors with fielded panels. It is flanked by pilasters with moulded caps supporting a moulded entablature. An apron forms the base of the west window with a flat-arch, eared architrave and a keystone. There is a Doric entablature with a triglyph frieze and the tympanum has a sundial. The flanking round-headed windows have moulded architraves, impost blocks, keystones and leaded lights. There is a blank Hamstone panel above each window, though the panel in the east elevation of the south aisle is enriched with a fleurs-de-lys carving. The chancel has similar windows, but those to the apse are shorter than elsewhere. The east elevation of the nave rises above the chancel roof and has an oculus in a broken pediment with side volutes at the base. The north elevation is built of roughly dressed green sandstone rubble, and the plinth includes some of the Dorset heathstone from which the previous church was constructed. There is the same arrangement of windows as those to the south elevation of the church, with three round-headed windows and blank panels, although these are of knapped flint. The wide, central bay is plainer, with simpler architrave to the doorway and the window. The doorway has a triple keystone and a pair of fielded oak doors, and the window has leaded lights. Above the cornice is an oculus and a broken pediment, flanked by blank panels. A flat-roofed, single-storey addition of 1879, originally the vestry, has door and window openings with segmental-headed architrave and keystones.

INTERIOR: the west door opens into a square vestibule in the base of the tower. Three semi-circular arch headed openings with pairs of deal, panelled doors and fanlights open onto the nave and formerly the aisles. The side doors have L-shaped hinges, and the panels of the nave doors have been replaced with glass panes and its fanlight has been boarded. The west end of each aisle has a stone staircase to the west gallery and has been partitioned off to create a small room. A stone spiral staircase within the tower leads to the upper floors which have exposed timber ceiling beams and joists. On the third stage is the clock mechanism which is housed in a wooden case supported by decorative metal brackets, and small doorways give access to the interiors of the nave and aisle roofs.

The nave and aisles are separated by colonnades comprising Portland stone columns with Ionic capitals raised on high plinths; pilasters, also with Ionic capitals and on pedestals, at the west and east ends, and entablatures enriched with mouldings of various designs, including egg and dart, bead and reel, floral motifs, and a heavy modillion cornice. The central bay is wider than the other bays and forms a transeptal axis projecting out beyond the aisles in the form of porches. The porches are partitioned off from the aisles at ground-floor level and a doorway provides access to the north and south entrance doors and the open well stairs to the galleries. The staircase is of stone, with timber stick balusters and moulded handrails. On the upper storey of each porch is a small gallery which have re-used mid-C19 panelled fronts taken from the mid-C19 aisle galleries that were removed in the 1960s. The west gallery was added in 1794 and extended across the aisles in 1819. It is carried on fluted Ionic oak columns and pilasters at the north and south aisle walls, standing on tall pedestals with moulded bases. At the centre of its oak convex, panelled front is a painted board of the Royal Arms of George III. The gallery has raked, pine bench seats. The organ (Historic Organ Certificate, Grade I) of 1794 by G P England is in the gallery. It was moved to the chancel in 1896 but brought back to its position in the gallery in 1971; it blocks a window to the second stage of the tower. This opening has moulded imposts supported by spiral and decorative volute brackets, and the semi-circular arch has a keystone enriched with cherubs' heads with wings. The nave has a vaulted plaster ceiling with decorative groins and ribs enriched with oak-leaf wreath carving and egg-and-dart mouldings to the ribs. There are rosette bosses at the intersections; that to the fourth bay is larger than the others. The nave roof has king posts with angled struts and two rows of trenched purlins.

The aisle walls have an C18 panelled dado of oak and varnished deal, with newer sections across the former open porches. The ceilings have groined, flat-section vaulting. The plaster ribs, like those in the nave, are enriched with egg and dart and oak leaf ornament, and there are circular panels with a rosette at the centre of each. The large panel to the central bay has two rosettes. The font in the south aisle dates from around 1739 and has an octagonal bowl, a four-sided baluster enriched with gadrooning, leaf ornament and pendant swags, and a moulded base, all of Portland stone. The domed timber cover has a pine-cone finial. The altar in the north aisle dates from 1925 and has octagonal coffering, egg-and-dart moulding, cherub heads and flower carvings. The oak war memorial, also of 1925, commemorates the Fallen from the First World War.

Piers support the wide chancel arch, formerly the front of the apse, and the intrados is enriched with square coffers featuring rosettes. The arch between the chancel and the apse is similarly decorated, as are the window reveals to the east end, which also have gilded plaster architrave mouldings, wave spiral ornament, and a Greek-key decoration to the impost moulding. The windows contain stained glass. The balusters from an C18 communion rail have been reset in the front desks of the choir stalls. The chancel has a decorative tiled floor, and its barrel-vaulted ceiling is decorated with square coffering featuring central acanthus bosses and paterae. Two shallow steps lead up to the apse which has an C18 oak dado with fielded panels, enriched borders and a cornice. The High Altar dates from 1916. The mid-C18 oak reredos was reset and heightened in the late C19 when the apse was re-positioned. It is in the form of a part-gilded, Corinthian tabernacle with an enriched entablature, a pediment containing a pair of winged cherub heads, and a pedestal surmounted by a gilt pelican with outstretched wings and flanked by urns. The mosaic panel which depicts Christ as the Salvator Mundi (Saviour of the World) is early C20. The domed ceiling is coffered and ornately decorated with blue octagonal and circular panels with gilded paterae of cherub heads, flowers or leaves. There is a semi-circular band of spiral ornament and a sunburst at the apex of the dome; the keystone of the archivolt is decorated with a trinity of cherub heads.

Most of the church fittings are Georgian, though some predate the 1731 fire. The oak pulpit is C17 and is believed to have been brought here around 1880 from Christopher Wren’s Church of St Antolin, London which was demolished in 1875. The columns and plinth were added to it in the late C19. The C18 oak, panelled box pews, which have panelled ends and hinged doors, were reduced in height in the late C19. They have been cleared from some areas, including the west half of the north aisle. On the south side of nave, the pews are interrupted by an ornate mayoral chair made for the Bailiffs of Blandford by John and William Bastard and dated 1748. It has a hood in the form of an open semi-circular pediment and is richly carved, with rococo-style openwork carving around a cartouche that has a painted shield of the town arms. ‘Anno Dom. / 1748’ is carved on the reverse. There is a collection of C18 to C20 wall monuments, including one to John Bastard (died 1809) and his wife (died 1811), and a monument to George Vince (died 1902), the only member of the ship’s company who lost his life during Scott's first Antarctic Expedition (Discovery). The stained glass is late C19 and early C20. The C19 heating units survive and are stamped with J Balls Bryanstone. There is a ring of eight bells, and a bell of 1727 which was rehung in the cupola.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

434801

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Inventory of Dorset III Central, (1970), 40-46
Pevsner, N, Newman, J, The Buildings of England: Dorset, (1972), 127-128

Websites
Dorset Council Partnership, 2018, Conservation Area Appraisal, accessed 7 May 2025 from https://blandfordplus.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Blandford-CA-Appraisal-draft-for-comment-June-2018.pdf
St Peter and St Paul, Blandford Forum. Dorset Historic Churches Trust, accessed 7 May 2025 from https://www.dhct.org.uk/m/church?ref=231c0c8a9d321d5e1d30b8b434a21c32
Blandford Forum: St Peter & St Paul, Church Heritage Record 634204, The Church of England, accessed 1 May 2025 from Blandford Forum: St Peter & St Paul - CHR Church

Other
Dr Joseph Elders, 2015, The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul, Blandford Forum, Dorset (Diocese of Salisbury). Conservation Management Plan

End of official list entry

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