DORSET BUILDING STONE
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St. Mary's Church, Puddletown (Lead Author : SA)

St. Mary’s Church in Puddletown (SY7587 9435) started as a Norman building, but has been altered and enlarged several times. The fabric is therefore of a mixture of stones. The predominant stones are the Lower Purbeck Cypris Freestones from the Ridgeway quarries, Poxwell being nearest, and flint which would be available from the Chalk fields to the north of the river Piddle (or Trent). There are occasional blocks of Portland Freestone, an ‘orange’ slab that could be Corallian limestone, (see below) and a sarsen at the base of the north side of the tower.
Picture
“Orange” highly fossiliferous Corallian block in west side of porch. Photo: IH
A Roman villa was excavated on the northern hill leading down to the River Piddle in 2014, and it is probable that stone from the villa has been used in the church. It has certainly been used in Waterston Manor, within sight of the villa. Only the foundations and piles of roof tiles remain in the villa.
Picture
Puddletown church tower from the south side showing some Heathstone (dark brown), Ham Hill Stone (at top of turret but mostly flint) ,Purbeck Cypris Freestone and some Portland Stone. Photo: IH
Picture
Photograph showing tower and illustrating the stages of its building using different stone in each phase. Photo: IH
Picture
Porch from the east showing roof of Purbeck stone and some blocks of Corallian sandstone( yellow). Photo: IH

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The bulk of the wall is Purbeck Cypris mainly, but the darker pieces are probably Ham Hill Stone, as well as the window and the parapet. Photo: IH
Picture
Detail of Ham Hill Stone effigies in the Martin Tomb. (the oldest in the church). Photo: IH
Picture
View of whole Church from the north. Photo: IH
The tower also includes brick, and the arrangement of the stones shows clearly the three stages in which it was built. Ham Hill Stone from Somerset  has also been used outside in the window tracery as well as inside. The interior has a south chapel with magnificent tombs that are made of alabaster, Purbeck Marble and Caen stone (see below). These are the Martin tombs, the Martin family having owned Puddletown and Athelhampton for centuries. The oldest tombs are of Ham Hill Stone.
Picture
The Chapel with an alabaster tomb in centre.The upper tomb in the corner is Caen Stone whilst the lower is Ham Hill Stone. Photo: JT.
Picture
Interior of Puddletown church showing the use of Ham Hill Stone. Photo: IH
Picture
Picture
Close-up of Sarsens in base of tower plus brick, Purbeck Cypris Freestone. Photo: IH
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Use of carved stone from elsewhere in the fabric of the wall. Mainly Purbeck Cypris Freestone whilst the darker pieces are Ham Hill Stone. Photo: IH
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View of church from the south side showing clerestory with Ham Hill Stone and the buttress of Portland Stone is on the south transept, which is otherwise known as the south chapel. Photo: IH
Picture
Alabaster effigy with Purbeck Marble in the Martin chapel,Puddletown church. Photo: IH
Picture
Norman Font of Caen Stone and floor tiles of Purbeck stone. Photo: IH.
Picture

© DORSET BUILDING STONE
and contributors
  • 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
      • 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 >
      • Devon Trails
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    • Stone Index >
      • Stone Index A-B >
        • Abbotsbury Ironstone
        • Bath Stone
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        • 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
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      • Stone Index F-O >
        • Featherbed Limestone
        • Featherstone
        • Forest Marble
        • Flint
        • Fuller's Earth Rock
        • Grey Chalk
        • Ham Hill Stone
        • Heathstone
        • Inferior Oolite
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      • Stone Index P-T >
        • Portland Cherty Beds
        • Portland Cherty Series
        • Portland Stone
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        • Rag
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        • Sherborne Stone
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        • 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
    • 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
      • Fordington
      • Hilton
      • Lytchett Matravers
      • Milton Abbey
      • Milton Abbas
      • Stratton
      • The Piddle Valley >
        • Affpuddle
        • Alton Pancras
        • Bere Regis
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        • Piddletrenthide
        • Puddletown
        • Tolpuddle
      • Winterborne Tomson
    • North Dorset >
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      • Belchalwell
      • Blandford Parish Church
      • Blandford St. Leonard's Chapel
      • Blandford St. Mary
      • Blandford Cemetery Chapels
      • Bradford Abbas
      • Chetnole
      • Child Okeford
      • Compton Abbas
      • Farnham
      • Folke
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