St.Peter's Church Portesham, Grade 1 listed, NGR:SY 60254 85839: 50.6709 -2.5638 (Lead author: PS)
General description
The church (1a and 1b) occupies a central position in Portesham village which is situated at the mouth a valley which rises steeply to the north onto an east-west ridge of Portland and Purbeck Stone known as the Ridgeway. There are many listed memorials in the church and in the churchyard which have not been explored. However, one memorial embedded in the south wall of the church is dedicated to William Weare who wanted to be buried “neither in the church nor outside it” (2a and 2b). The tomb is Portland limestone. The plaque, also Portland, appears to have been recently recut.
Much of the church dates to the 12th and 13th century. The porch and aisles were added in the 16th century. The north aisle has 17th century alterations. The nave and aisles are roofed with lead sheeting and the chancel has a slate roof.
The church (1a and 1b) occupies a central position in Portesham village which is situated at the mouth a valley which rises steeply to the north onto an east-west ridge of Portland and Purbeck Stone known as the Ridgeway. There are many listed memorials in the church and in the churchyard which have not been explored. However, one memorial embedded in the south wall of the church is dedicated to William Weare who wanted to be buried “neither in the church nor outside it” (2a and 2b). The tomb is Portland limestone. The plaque, also Portland, appears to have been recently recut.
Much of the church dates to the 12th and 13th century. The porch and aisles were added in the 16th century. The north aisle has 17th century alterations. The nave and aisles are roofed with lead sheeting and the chancel has a slate roof.
Photo 1a. A general view of the south side of the church.
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Photo 1b. Taken from the west for a view of the tower hidden in Photo 1a.
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2a. William Weare memorial.
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2b. A closer view of the Weare memorial.
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The Exterior
The exterior walls are mainly small blocks of Purbeck Cypris Freestone with Portland stone quoins and buttresses. Some Portland stone is randomly distributed in the walls particularly the south wall east of the porch. Both were obtained from local quarries such as Rocket Quarry on the Ridgeway above the village. A scattering of brown Corallian limestone blocks can also be seen. In the past much Corallian limestone was quarried at Abbotsbury.
The south wall adjacent to the tower is a typical example of the stonework in the walls (3a). There is also a colourful nodule of Chert embedded in the wall (3b) which probably arrived on site with the Portland Stone.
The exterior walls are mainly small blocks of Purbeck Cypris Freestone with Portland stone quoins and buttresses. Some Portland stone is randomly distributed in the walls particularly the south wall east of the porch. Both were obtained from local quarries such as Rocket Quarry on the Ridgeway above the village. A scattering of brown Corallian limestone blocks can also be seen. In the past much Corallian limestone was quarried at Abbotsbury.
The south wall adjacent to the tower is a typical example of the stonework in the walls (3a). There is also a colourful nodule of Chert embedded in the wall (3b) which probably arrived on site with the Portland Stone.
3a. South-west wall.
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3b. Chert in south-west wall.
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The lower two stages of the tower belong to the 13th century with the top stage added in the 15th century. The stonework in the buttresses shows evidence of weathering where bivalve shells in the Portland stone have weathered out leaving narrow shell-shaped cavities (4). Some stone in the door jambs on either side of the 17th century west door (5) have been laid vertical to the bedding plane and have suffered particularly badly from weathering.
4. Bivalve cavities in tower buttress.
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5. The west door.
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The wall at the north-west end of the nave (6a) has been altered may times since the 13th century. The 15th century window which is heavily encrusted with white lichen (6b) is made of Ham Hill stone (6c close up of the stone). Small carvings of a king and a bishop embellish the head stops. The blocked arch to the east of the window was originally part of the north arcade, and is Portland stone and Corallian limestone. The blocked doorway beneath the arch is filled in with Portland and Cypris Freestone blocks.
6a. North-west wall.
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6b. Window of Ham Hill Stone.
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6c. Ham Hill Stone in window.
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The west wall of the north aisle (7) has a 17th century window which was filled in during the 19th century with Cypris Freestone blocks. There is also an early 15th-century Portland Stone statue of ‘Virgin and Child’ which has been defaced.
Inset in both the north and south walls of the aisles are 15th century Portland stone windows, some with 20th century replacement mullions and tracery (8).
Inset in both the north and south walls of the aisles are 15th century Portland stone windows, some with 20th century replacement mullions and tracery (8).
7. West wall of north aisle.
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8. Aisle window.
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The chancel has a 14th century window in the north wall and a matching window in the south wall. Both are built with local Corallian Limestone which over the centuries has weathered. The north window has a replacement Portland stone shaft (9). Corallian Limestone is oolitic and the ooliths can be clearly seen in a single block of weathered Corallian Limestone used in the coffin-shaped priest’s doorway (10a) dated to the 13th century in the north wall of the chancel. They are small whitish spheres (sometimes called ooliths) which have weathered out of the stone (10b Loupe of the surface showing ooliths). The east window (no photograph) is a 15th century replacement in Portland stone. Coursed Cypris Freestone blocks are used in the east wall with some Portland stone below window height.
9. Chancel window.
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10a Doorway in north wall of chancel.
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10b. Loupe showing ooliths.
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The 16th century south porch (11a) walls are rubble stone, mainly Portland stone with some Cypris Freestone at higher levels. The porch contains several old monuments (not shown) dated to the late 17th and early 18th century. All are Portland Stone. The brown stone benches (12a) on either side of the porch are a sandy limestone (12b Loupe of the bench stone) identified by G.T. as a quartzose slightly glauconitic bioclastic limestone (grainstone-packstone).
11. The south porch.
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12a. Stone bench.
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12b. Bench loupe image.
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The interior
Much of the interior stonework dates to the 15th century such as the chancel arch (13), tower arch and the elaborate arcades. All are Portland Limestone. The 13th century font (14) is a plain square tapered bowl also of Portland Limestone.
Much of the interior stonework dates to the 15th century such as the chancel arch (13), tower arch and the elaborate arcades. All are Portland Limestone. The 13th century font (14) is a plain square tapered bowl also of Portland Limestone.
13. The interior.
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14. The font.
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There is one mystery. On four columns are brackets consisting of an angel holding a shield (15a, 15b and 15c). They appear to have a coating on them but the stone is uniformly pock-marked and has not been identified. The information in the church says that they have been re-cut. There are also two older angel heads in the north aisle (not shown) which according to the information in the church are from an earlier church and are pre-12th century in date. They are not pock-marked and are probably Portland Stone.
15a. The pillar carving.
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15b. Close-up of carving.
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15c. Close-up of carving.
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Sarsen stones
A stream runs alongside the east wall of the churchyard. In the wall and in the stream bed are large boulders with pebbles embedded (16). These are Sarsen stones. They are formed of a sandy conglomerate with many angular flints cemented together in a very hard siliceous matrix. It is thought that they originated in the Bagshot Beds laid down in the Eocene. Erosion from melt water after the last Ice Age broke up the beds and swept the debris down the hillside to their present positions.
A stream runs alongside the east wall of the churchyard. In the wall and in the stream bed are large boulders with pebbles embedded (16). These are Sarsen stones. They are formed of a sandy conglomerate with many angular flints cemented together in a very hard siliceous matrix. It is thought that they originated in the Bagshot Beds laid down in the Eocene. Erosion from melt water after the last Ice Age broke up the beds and swept the debris down the hillside to their present positions.
16. Sarsen stone in boundary wall.
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16a. Sarsen in church grounds, dimensions 2m. X 2m. Photo: AH
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1) 'Portesham', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 2, pp. 240-246. Accessed on line at:
British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/dorset/vol2/ (pp240-246)
British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/dorset/vol2/ (pp240-246)
Text and images by PAS, except where otherwise stated. November 2018.
