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Church of St. Mary, Blandford St. Mary, Grade: II*. NGR: ST 89168 05271. Lead author: PS

​The village is situated on the south bank of the River Stour opposite the larger town of Blandford Forum. The church (1, 2) is situated in Lower Blandford St Mary which is cut off from the main part of the village by the Blandford Bypass (A354).
Picture
1. View of the church from the south-east
Picture
2. The Church from the south

The church has stonework which date to the 14th, 15th and 19th century with some early 20th century alterations. The roofs of the north and south aisles are grey slate, those on the chancel and nave roofs are red clay tiles. 
The main building stones used are knapped Flint, Heathstone and Upper Greensand Shaftesbury Sandstone. Corallian Todber Freestone has been used for windows and doorways. Portland Stone has also been used in some doorways. 
The tower
The 14th century tower is constructed of coursed Heathstone and Flint with occasional blocks of Shaftesbury Sandstone (3). The plinth courses are predominantly Shaftesbury Sandstone. Some tile and Corallian limestone can also be seen in the walls (4). The string line is Shaftesbury Sandstone. Photograph 4 shows a good view of the lime mortar. Amongst the mortar are numerous black specks. This is coal dust used as a 'pozzolan‘. Pozzolans were incorporated into the lime mortar so that it set more rapidly. Other pozzolans found in old mortar are brick dust and volcanic ash. ​
Picture
3. The tower from the south
Picture
4. Part of the tower wall

​The tower is not buttressed on the west side but has substantial quoin stones consisting of very large blocks of Shaftesbury Sandstone and heathstone (5, 6).
Picture
5. Quoin stone in the N.E. corner of the tower
Picture
6. South-west corner of the tower

Picture
7. The north side of the tower and the parapet
Picture
8. The doorway in the tower
Picture
9. Loupe of the Portland Stone used in the tower doorway

​The west window (10), in the second stage, is probably of 14th-century origin but has been restored and now consists of different types of stone. The centre and top are Corallian limestone and the sides are mainly Heathstone with one block of Corallian limestone on the south side and one block of Shaftesbury Sandstone on the north side.  
On the north side where the tower meets the north aisle the walls are a mixture of rubble stone. The half buttress in the angle of the tower and north aisle wall is made up of random blocks of all 4 building stones (11). Steps go down to the crypt at this point.
Picture
10. The west window
Picture
11.The half buttress in the east wall of the north aisle

The aisles and north transept
The south aisle was built in 1837 and the north aisle rebuilt in 1862. The walls are a chequer pattern of knapped Flint and Shaftesbury Sandstone blocks. The windows in both the north and south aisles and north transept are Corallian limestone. The north aisle windows are plain (12).The south aisle windows have labels and stops of Shaftesbury Sandstone and are topped by voussoirs of Heathstone, Shaftesbury Sandstone and Corallian limestone (13). 
Picture
12. Window in the north aisle
Picture
13. Window in the south aisle

The chancel and vestry
The south wall of the 15th century chancel (14) is also predominantly a chequer pattern. It has one original Shaftesbury Sandstone window, a blocked doorway of Shaftesbury Sandstone and a modern window of Corallian limestone.  
In contrast to the south wall, the stonework in the east wall of the chancel (15, 16) is arranged in a linear pattern of mainly Shaftesbury Sandstone in single lines with 4 or 5 rows of flints between. The lowest levels are all blocks of Shaftesbury Sandstone (15). The window is Corallian limestone. 
A new vestry was built on the north side of the chancel in 1908. It incorporated the 15th century Shaftesbury Sandstone window from the north wall of the chancel into the north wall of the vestry. 
Picture
14. The chancel south wall
Picture
15.The chancel east wall

​The south porch
The main entrance to the church is the south porch (16) built at the same time as the south aisle (1837). The arch and label are Shaftesbury Sandstone but the uprights either side are Portland limestone (17). 
Picture
16. The south porch
Picture
17. Junction of the porch arch with the uprights

The voussoir is Shaftesbury Sandstone and Heathstone with a block of Corallian limestone either side of the lamp (18). The inner doorway is Corallian limestone (19). 
Picture
18. Voussoir above porch
Picture
19. The inner doorway

The interior
​The north (1862) and south aisles (1919), although built at different times, are structurally the same in design (20). The south arcade (21) replaced two iron pillars. Both arcades are Corallian Todber Freestone.
Picture
20. View of the interior from the west end
Picture
21. The south arcade

​The font (22) is Bath Stone (23).
Picture
22. The font
Picture
23. Loupe of Bath Stone

References
1) Listed Buildings in Blandford St. Mary, North Dorset, Dorset (britishlistedbuildings.co.uk)
 2) Blandford St. Mary | British History Online (british-history.ac.uk)
 3) Hill M., Newman J., Pevsner N. (2018), The Buildings of England, Dorset, Yale U. Press, p.134
Picture

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  • Home
    • About Us
    • Glossary
    • References and Sources
    • Work in Progress
  • Building stones
    • How we study building stones
    • Palaeogene >
      • Heathstone
      • Sarsens
    • Cretaceous >
      • Chalk
      • Flint
      • Upper Greensand
      • Chert
      • Wealden
      • Purbeck >
        • Upper Purbeck (Purbeck Marble)
        • Upper Purbeck (Broken Shell Lst. aka Burr)
        • Middle Purbeck (Upper Building Stones)
        • Lower Purbeck (Cypris Freestones)
    • Jurassic >
      • Lower Purbeck >
        • Cypris Freestones
      • Portland Stone - Dorset
      • Chert
      • Kimmeridge Bay Dolomitic Limestone
      • Corallian
      • Cornbrash
      • Forest Marble
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      • Inferior Oolite
      • Bridport Sands
      • Junction Bed
      • Blue Lias
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    • Non-Dorset Stone >
      • Tertiary >
        • Bembridge Limestones - Isle Of Wight
      • Cretaceous >
        • Beer Stone - SE Devon
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        • Bath Stone - Somerset & Wilts
        • Blue Lias of Somerset
        • Doulting Stone - Somerset
        • Ham Hill Stone - Somerset
        • Portland Limestone – Wilts (Chilmark)
        • Normandy >
          • Pierre de Caen (Caen Stone)
        • Pas de Calais
      • Triassic: White Lias of SE Devon
      • Carboniferous >
        • Carboniferous Limestones: Polished Black
      • Devonian
    • Building Stone Trails >
      • Devon Trails
      • Somerset Trails
    • Stone Index >
      • Stone Index A-B >
        • Abbotsbury Ironstone
        • Bath Stone
        • Beer Stone
        • Bembridge Stone
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        • Blue Lias Stone
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        • Broken Shell Limestone
        • Burr
        • Burton Limestone
      • Stone Index C-E >
        • Caen Stone
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        • Chert
        • Chilmark Lower Building Stone
        • Chilmark Main Building Stone
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        • Chilmark Upper Buiding Stone
        • Clavellata Beds
        • Cliff Stone
        • Clunch
        • Corallian
        • Cornbrash
        • Cypris Freestone
      • Stone Index F-O >
        • Featherbed Limestone
        • Featherstone
        • Forest Marble
        • Flint
        • Fuller's Earth Rock
        • Grey Chalk
        • Ham Hill Stone
        • Heathstone
        • Inferior Oolite
        • Ironstone
        • Lower Chalk
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        • Melbury Sandstone
        • Middle Chalk
        • Middle Lias
        • New Vein
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      • Stone Index P-T >
        • Portland Cherty Beds
        • Portland Cherty Series
        • Portland Stone
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        • Purbeck Stone
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        • Rag
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        • Trigonia Beds
      • Stone Index U-Z >
        • Upper Chalk
        • Wardour Lower Building Stone
        • Wardour Main Building Stone
        • Weald Clay
        • White Chalk
        • White Lias
        • Yeovil Stone
  • Churches
    • A-Z of Churches
    • East Dorset >
      • Almer
      • Bournemouth >
        • Talbot Village
      • Canford Magna Chapel
      • Corfe Mullen
      • Christchurch Priory
      • Cranborne
      • Edmondsham
      • Gussage All Saints
      • Gussage St. Andrew
      • Hampreston
      • Kinson
      • Knowlton
      • Morden
      • Pamphill
      • Poole St.James
      • Poole, the Spire Church
      • Shapwick
      • Sturminster Marshall
      • Tarrant Crawford
      • Tarrant Keyneston
      • West Parley
      • Wimborne St.Giles
      • Wimborne Minster Exterior Tour
      • Wimborne Minster Interior
      • Wimborne Minster: Purbeck Marble and Decorative Stone
    • Central Dorset >
      • Bloxworth
      • Bradford Peverell
      • Cerne Abbas
      • Hilton
      • Lytchett Matravers
      • Stratton
      • The Piddle Valley >
        • Affpuddle
        • Alton Pancras
        • Bere Regis
        • Piddlehinton
        • Piddletrenthide
        • Puddletown
        • Tolpuddle
      • Winterborne Tomson
    • North Dorset >
      • Batcombe
      • Belchalwell
      • Blandford Parish Church
      • Blandford St. Leonard's Chapel
      • Blandford St. Mary
      • Blandford Cemetery Chapels
      • Bradford Abbas
      • Chetnole
      • Child Okeford
      • Compton Abbas
      • Farnham
      • Folke
      • Gillingham
      • Hammoon
      • Hazelbury Bryan
      • Holnest
      • Ibberton
      • Iwerne Minster
      • Langton Long
      • Leigh
      • Mappowder
      • Margaret Marsh
      • Marnhull
      • Melbury Abbas
      • Melbury Bubb
      • Pimperne
      • Okeford Fitzpaine
      • Purse Caundle
      • Ryme Intrinseca
      • Shillingstone
      • Sixpenny Handley
      • Stockwood
      • Stourpaine
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      • Wool
      • Worth Matravers
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      • Eype
      • Loders
      • Monkton Wyld
      • Netherbury
      • North Poorton
      • Powerstock
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      • Shipton Gorge
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      • Whitchurch Canonicorum
  • Quarries , Pits and Limekilns
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    • Upwey
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  • Secular buildings
    • Athelhampton House
    • Blandford Town Hall
    • Cerne Abbas (village and Abbey)
    • Durweston Bridge
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    • Kimmeridge Bay
    • Moignes Court
    • Non-Dorset Buildings
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