Church of St Francis

Summary

Parish Church. Cl2 core, much rebuilt in C17 when the south porch was added. Restored in 1879.

Reasons for Designation

The Church of St Francis which has C12 origins, was substantially rebuilt in the C17 and restored in c.1879 is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: the successive phases are clearly readable in the fabric of the church: there is a good survival of medieval and C17 fabric and this is complemented by the late-C19 restoration;
* Interior: the C12 font and piscina are important surviving medieval features, while the Jacobean pulpit with its rich carvings and the C19 Early English style corbels are noteworthy fittings from later periods in the church's history;
* Group value: with a number of C17 and C18 listed chest tombs in the churchyard.

History

Frome Vauchurch is a small hamlet to the south-east of Maiden Newton. Its church has its origins in at least C12, but underwent considerable rebuilding in the C17; the porch may also have been added at this time or slightly earlier in the C16. It is understood that repairs were carried out in circa 1879 when the nave was reseated with benches and the roof was replaced.

The Inventory of Dorset published in 1972 (see Sources) describes the church as undedicated; it was dedicated to St Francis in 1988. A vestry was added to the north side of the chancel in the early C21.

Details

Parish Church. Cl2 core, much rebuilt in C17 when the south porch was added. Restored in 1879.

MATERIALS: it is constructed of local rubble and dressed stone and flint; rendered to all but the north wall of the nave and the south porch. The south wall was rendered in 1996. There are buttresses to all but the east end. The roofs are clad with clay tiles and have stone gable-copings with cyma and ovolo kneelers.

PLAN: orientated south-west to north-east and consists of a chancel, nave, south porch and a vestry; the latter added in the early C21 and not of interest.

EXTERIOR: the south porch is built of banded flint and stone with stone copings to the gable. The segmental-headed entrance has hollow chamfers and a label with head-stops above. To the left of the porch is a round-headed single light, probably C12, and to the right is an elliptical-headed light and a window of two segmental-headed lights, both C17. The west end has a central buttress and two single lancets with labels over. The bell-cote is C17 and is surmounted by a cross. The north wall of the nave has two buttresses and a former Cl2 doorway that has a solid tympanum with a moulded label with dog-tooth ornament and square stone jambs. The lower part of the opening has been blocked, while the upper part is now a fixed window with lozenge-leaded lights. There is also a C17 window of two round-headed lights. The north chancel wall has a probable C12 single-light window, while the south elevation contains a similar window which has been widened in the C17 and a C13 lancet. The east window is C19 and has three lancets with pointed heads.

INTERIOR: the walls are rendered with exposed ashlar detailing. The chancel arch is C12 and has plain responds and chamfered imposts with chip-carved diapering. The responds have been cut back at some time and the pointed arch is probably a replacement for the original Norman arch. To the left (north) of the chancel arch is an opening to the pulpit which is C17 and is arranged with two and a half sides of a hexagon; it has been cut to fit and placed on a stone base. It is oak and has enriched angles and carved panels. In the south wall of the chancel the piscina has a C19 recess into which is set a C12 scalloped capital with a square drain. The altar is of stone with three panels, and there are C19 encaustic tiles in the sanctuary. The seating dates from the Victorian restoration, and the bench and stall ends are topped with fleur-de-lys. The stone font is C12 and has a square bowl with chamfered angles and lower edge, a cylindrical stem, and a moulded base with spur-ornaments.

The roofs have arch-braced collars which are carried on carved stone corbels with stiff leaf decoration in the Early English style, and the purlins in the two-bay chancel roof have diagonal bracing in the C15 style.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

399685

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Inventory of Dorset I West, (1952), 118
Pevsner, N, Newman, J, The Buildings of England: Dorset, (1972), 214

Websites
Parish of Frome Vauchurch, accessed from http://www.opcdorset.org/FromeVauchurchFiles/FromeVauPhotos.htm
Frome Vauchurch, St Francis, accessed from http://www.dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/frome_vauchurch.htm

Other
Architectural History Practice, 'Rediscovering our Parish Churches' English Heritage and the Diocese of Salisbury Partnership Project. Frome Vauchurch, St Francis, 2008,

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