Details
WEYMOUTH
SY6779SW ABBOTSBURY ROAD
873-1/19/3 (North side)
14/06/74 Church of St Paul
II
Anglican parish church. Dated 1894 (foundation stone). By GH
Fellowes-Prynne, at a cost of »5,267; chapel extension dated
1903. Squared and snecked rock-faced masonry with limestone
dressings, on a continuous plinth, bright red tile roofs.
PLAN: nave with W baptistery, aisles under swept-down main
roof, S porch, double-gabled S transept, apsidal S chapel,
chancel, organ gallery and vestries; the main ridge has a
twin-gabled bellcote.
EXTERIOR: the detail is Decorated or Perpendicular, but with
Art Nouveau overtones, particularly in the tracery and
cusping. The coped W gable with terminal cross and kneelers
has a 4-light window above the apsidal baptistery, with hipped
roof behind a high coped parapet, and 7 cusped lancets. There
are square buttresses to the nave and diagonals to the aisles,
with 3-light W windows. The aisles have 1 and 2-light windows
to square heads; the S side has a gabled porch with paired
plank gates to grillage upper panels, and small quatrefoil
side lights, to the left a single light, and to the right
2+2+1-lights.
The transept has coped gables above 4-light windows, and a
plank door on the W side; to the right is the lower apsidal
chapel with 5 cusped lancets; there is a flush foundation
stone panel dated 29 April 1903, at the E end. At the junction
between nave and chancel is the bellcote, and a raised coped
gable with heavy haunched gablets, on S and N sides.
The chancel has 3 lights set high, and the lofty E gable, with
coping and terminal cross, over a 5-light window with label
and stops; below the glazed section is stone panelling with 5
plain shields. Diagonal corner buttresses, and a central squat
buttress with commemorative stone, on which the inscription
includes: 'Laid May 9th 1984 by Alice Countess Hoyes/ Rev
Sydney Lambert, Priest/ HG Fellowes-Prynne, Architect/ Cephas
Foad, Builder .....'.
To the right are 2 later flat-roofed extensions, and the high
gabled organ loft and vestry. The N aisle has 7 bays, with
square buttresses.
INTERIOR: plain plastered and painted walls. The 4-bay nave
has broad pointed moulded arches on octagonal piers with high
bases and crenellated caps, with a small extra pointed opening
each side at the W end. The trussed rafter roof with
embellished plate has light arch-bracing to the bays, on
attached shafts and corbels. The aisles have lean-to roofs,
hipped at the W end, and windows in deep embrasures to flat
segmental rere-arches. The inner porch doors are plain plank,
under a segmental head. Floors are in plain clay tiles, with
wood block in the seating areas.
At the nave W end is a broad flat 4-centred arch on splayed
and stopped jambs opening to the baptistery with joist ceiling
and mosaic floor; the single lancets are in deep embrasures.
At the E end of the N aisle is a 'flying' half arch to the
organ chamber, and a similar arch gives to the S transept,
which has a deep valley beam, continued across to one of the
nave piers with a traceried section. The chapel has a rafter
roof with flat central section and short canted sides. The
chancel, on 4+2 steps, has a low stone screen with
wrought-iron gates and cresting, and 'Minton' tiled floors.
The roof structure is as in the nave. There are 3 lights set
high each side of the sanctuary, which is on a further 3
steps, with a fine carved and gilded reredos flanked by
panelling. To the S are 3 narrow arches, on paired round
columns, to the chapel, and to the N is a wide segmental arch
over the organ.
FITTINGS: carved wood pulpit on a stone base, brass eagle
lectern, simple turned baluster altar rail, limestone
octagonal font on quatri-lobed base; the bowl has sunk panels
with figures or leaves in Art Nouveau style.
STAINED GLASS: the E window is a 'King of Kings', and the W
depicts the Ascension. The S chapel and baptistery have a
series of saints, and the S aisle windows contain coloured
glass, but not the transept of N aisle, where the glazing has
Art Nouveau leading.
An idiosyncratic but convincing design, well maintained, built
for an area being rapidly expanded at the turn of the century.
(Buildings of England: Newman J & Pevsner N: Dorset: London:
1972-: 452).
Listing NGR: SY6720379239
