DORSET BUILDING STONE
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Church of St Michael, Gussage St Michael. Grade: 1, NGR: ST 98585 11332. Lead author:PS

​Gussage Saint Michael is one of three villages (the other two being Gussage St. Andrew and Gussage All Saints) on Cranborne Chase in East Dorset which have ‘Gussage’ in their title. The word appears to have a choice of two Saxon roots – either a combination of two Saxon words, ‘gyse’ and ‘sic’ or the word ‘gwysych’.  Both have roughly the same meaning which is a watercourse that dries up for part of the year and refers to the Gussage Brook that rises at Gussage St Andrew and flows through the other two villages and into the River Allen.
​The church (1) which stands in the centre of the village has a 12th century tower, 13th century nave and side aisles, a 15th century north porch, and 19th century chancel and vestry.


​The main building stones used in the church are knapped flint, Shaftsbury Sandstone (Upper Greensand), Portland Stone (Wardour Main Building stone) and Corallian limestone. The main roof, side aisles and porch are roofed by grey slates but the chancel roof has red tiles.
Picture
1. The church from the north west

​A render coating now covers the 12th century part of the tower and part of the 14th century 2nd stage. The 15th century top stage and embattled parapet are Shaftesbury Sandstone. The quoins, lancet windows and pilaster buttress (2) on the west side are also Shaftesbury Sandstone. 
Picture
2. The west tower, west side
Picture
3. The north porch

​The north porch (3, 4) is built with ashlar Shaftesbury Sandstone but the doorway is Wardour Main building stone (5)
Picture
4. The west side of the north porch
Picture
5. Loupe photo of stone in North Porch doorway

​The north (7) and south (6) side aisles of the nave are mainly knapped flint with a pattern of stone blocks which are Shaftesbury Sandstone. The windows are also Shaftesbury Sandstone. 
Picture
6. The south aisle
Picture
7. The north aisle and vestry walls

​The vestry (7, 8) on the north side of the chancel, whilst also having walls of knapped flint, the matching pattern of embedded stone is formed of Wardour Main building stone rather than Shaftesbury Sandstone. The window and doorway are Corallian limestone (9). 
Picture
8. The north wall of the vestry
Picture
9. Loupe of Corallian limestone in the doorway of the vestry

​The south (10) and east walls of the chancel (11) have no pattern of embedded stone and are all knapped flint. The windows and doorway in these walls are all Corallian limestone (12).
Picture
10. The chancel south wall
Picture
11. the east wall of the chancel
Picture
12. The Corallian limestone in a window on the south side of the chancel

The interior of the church was closed to visitors due to Corona virus restrictions at the time of the visit. Notes on the interior made previously by J. Thomas state: 
The round columns were of Greensand, though northern ones had been painted. The tower arch ‘restored’ with Greensand and some brown sandstone. The reredos of 1870 is alabaster in a high Victorian style.
​References
Hill M., Newman J., Pevsner N. (2018), The Buildings of England, Dorset, Yale U. Press, p.p. 309-310.
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/dorset/vol5/pp22-26
 https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/england/gussage-st-michael-east-dorset-dorset 
Picture
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  • Home
    • About Us
    • Glossary
    • References and Sources
    • Work in Progress
  • Building stones
    • How we study building stones
    • Tertiary (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
      • Fuller's Earth Rock
      • Inferior Oolite
      • Bridport Sands
      • Junction Bed
      • Blue Lias
    • Dorset Bricks
    • Non-Dorset Stone >
      • Tertiary >
        • Bembridge Limestones - Isle Of Wight
      • Cretaceous >
        • Beer Stone - SE Devon
      • Jurassic >
        • 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
    • Stone Index >
      • Stone Index A-B >
        • Abbotsbury Ironstone
        • Bath Stone
        • Beer Stone
        • Bembridge Stone
        • Binstead Stone
        • Blue Lias Stone
        • Bridport Sandstone
        • Broken Shell Limestone
        • Burr
        • Burton Limestone
      • Stone Index C-E >
        • Caen Stone
        • Carstone
        • Chert
        • Chilmark Lower Building Stone
        • Chilmark Main Building Stone
        • Chilmark Stone
        • 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
        • Lower Lias
        • Melbury Sandstone
        • Middle Chalk
        • Middle Lias
        • New Vein
        • Osmington Oolite
      • Stone Index P-T >
        • Portland Cherty Beds
        • Portland Cherty Series
        • Portland Stone
        • Purbeck Marble
        • Purbeck Stone
        • Quarr Stone
        • Rag
        • Sarsen Stone
        • Shaftesbury Sandstone
        • Sherborne Stone
        • Tisbury Stone
        • Todber Freestone
        • 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
    • East Dorset >
      • Almer
      • Blandford Forum >
        • Blandford Parish Church
        • Cemetery Chapels
        • St. Leonard's Chapel
      • Bournemouth >
        • Talbot Village
      • Canford Magna Chapel
      • Corfe Mullen
      • Christchurch Priory
      • Cranborne
      • Edmondsham
      • Gussage All Saints
      • Gussage St. Andrew
      • Gussage St.Michael
      • Hampreston
      • Kinson
      • Knowlton
      • 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
      • Lytchett Matravers
      • Morden
      • Stratton
      • The Piddle Valley >
        • Affpuddle
        • Alton Pancras
        • Bere Regis
        • Piddlehinton
        • Piddletrenthide
        • Puddletown
        • Tolpuddle
      • Winterborne Tomson
    • North Dorset >
      • Belchalwell
      • Chetnole
      • Child Okeford
      • Compton Abbas
      • Farnham
      • Folke
      • Hammoon
      • Hazelbury Bryan
      • Holnest
      • Ibberton
      • Iwerne Minster
      • Leigh
      • Mappowder
      • Marnhull
      • Melbury Abbas
      • Okeford Fitzpaine
      • Purse Caundle
      • Ryme Intrinseca
      • Shillingstone
      • Sixpenny Handley
      • Stockwood
      • Tarrant Gunville
      • Tarrant Hinton
      • Tarrant Monkton
      • Tarrant Rushton
      • Todber
      • Winterborne Stickland
      • Winterborne Zelston
      • Woolland
      • Yetminster
    • South Dorset >
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      • Church Knowle
      • Coombe Keynes
      • East Holme
      • Kingston
      • Martinstown
      • Portesham
      • Steeple
      • Studland
      • Swanage
      • Upwey
      • Wareham St. Martin-on-the Walls
      • Wareham St.Mary >
        • St. Martin's-on-the-walls
      • Winterborne Steepleton
      • Wool
      • Worth Matravers
    • West Dorset >
      • Beaminster
      • Bothenhampton
      • Bridport
      • Broadwindsor
      • Catherston Leweston
      • Eype
      • Loders
      • Monkton Wyld
      • Netherbury
      • St. Gabriel’s
      • Shipton Gorge
      • Symondsbury
      • Wootton Fitzpaine
      • Whitchurch Canonicorum
  • Quarries, Pits and Limekilns
    • Abbotsbury area
    • Beacon Limestone Quarries
    • Inferior Oolite
    • North Dorset Corallian
    • Portesham
    • Kimmeridge Bay
    • Portland near Swanage
    • Purbeck near Swanage
    • Shaftesbury Sandstone
    • Uplyme Quarries
    • Upwey
    • Whiteway Hill Quarry
    • Non-Dorset Quarries and Pits
  • Secular Buildings
    • Bindon Abbey
    • Blandford Town Hall
    • Cerne Abbas (village and Abbey)
    • Cranborne Manor
    • Durweston Bridge
    • Ibberton Village
    • Kimmeridge Bay
    • Lulworth Castle
    • Kingston Lacy Exterior
    • Kingston Lacy Interior
    • Moignes Court
    • Non-Dorset Buildings
  • Contact Us
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