St. Mary the Virgin , Stratton.
NGR: SY 65112 93777; Lat:50.742546, Long:-2.4958197. Lead authors: KJH,PJB
Introduction
The original building was a chapel dependent on Charminster. The original church was Norman, built in about 1140 and was a long, narrow building with a thatch or shingled roof. This church may have been destroyed, possibly by fire as it was succeeded by a 13th century Early English church. The remains of this church include the porch, the chancel arch behind the organ, the hagioscopes (squints) and the font. A tower was added in the 14th century and in the early 15th century, the present flamboyant windows were inserted in the south wall. The church was largely rebuilt between 1890-91.
The original building was a chapel dependent on Charminster. The original church was Norman, built in about 1140 and was a long, narrow building with a thatch or shingled roof. This church may have been destroyed, possibly by fire as it was succeeded by a 13th century Early English church. The remains of this church include the porch, the chancel arch behind the organ, the hagioscopes (squints) and the font. A tower was added in the 14th century and in the early 15th century, the present flamboyant windows were inserted in the south wall. The church was largely rebuilt between 1890-91.
1. The church viewed from the south
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2. Stratton Church from the north side.
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The exterior
The walls of the nave, porch and vestry were of Flint banded with the lower Purbeck Cypris Freestone, but the 14th century tower is of plain limestone. It seems as if the old stone was mostly re-used during the rebuild of 1891. Much of the Ham Hill Stone dressings looked new. The window on the north wall of the nave, west of the porch, was of older Ham Stone. The entrance arch looked like lower Purbeck Cypris Freestone. Above the arch, which was a strange shape, were very white blocks that could be Chalk. The archway of the blocked south door was of the same stone as the northern archway. The Ridgeway quarries can provide Portland stone as well as Purbeck. On the south wall of the nave and somewhere in the tower we found what looked like Purbeck Burr. If we were right then the Purbeck limestone must have come from the Upwey quarries, because they are the only ones that can provide stone from the whole of the Purbeck Limestone.
3. South nave wall of Cypris Freestones and Flint.
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4. 13th century arched doorway of Cypris Freestone in the south wall.
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5. Side of entrance arch of Cypris Freestone.
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6. Entrance arch Cypris and possible Chalk block above.
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7. Cypris Freestone in south wall.
8. Possible Burr in south wall.
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9. The 14th century tower showing louvre vents of Ham Hill Stone. The tower is built of ashlar limestone blocks.
11.The 13th century stone-tiled porch roof. Ripple marks are very evident on some surfaces, clearer in the image 12.
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10. Preaching cross of Ham Hill Stone in the churchyard. The monks of Cerne Abbey would preach from the plinth. The arms of the cross were destroyed when it fell during a severe winter.
12. The porch tiles are very thin bedded flagstone and so much so that cement mortar has been added to the edges of some tiles. Closer investigation revealed shelly Forest Marble with a matrix of fine sand - probably a mix of sand and quartz grains
and the former close to silt grade. Probably from Long Burton via the Cerne valley.
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13. Gravestones belonging to the Pope family. There is also some stained glass in the church commemorating family members, some of who were killed in the Great War.
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14. The Pope family vault in the churchyard. A local brewing family based at nearby Muckleford.
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The interior
The interior is fairly plain but is well-lit by natural light. The limestone blocks of the walls bear the characteristic marks left by Victorian renovations and cement wash obscures some of the stone pillars. The wooden staircase leading to the belfry is unique in the country and dates from the Tudor period. Similar staircases are found in France and as this one does not quite fit the tower, it may have originated on the other side of the Channel.
15. The chancel arch of Ham Hill Stone dated to post-1547, when the original one was demolished.
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16. Chancel arch pillar of Ham Hill Stone.
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17. Bivalve in nave wall. Note the tool marks left by 19th century renovators.
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18. An older window of Ham Hill Stone in the north side of the nave is showing decay.
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19. The 13th Century font, a replacement for the Norman original
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20. The pulpit steps.
The 13th century font is made from?? Summary to follow
The steps are Portland-Portland, evidence to follow |
20. Partial view of the 13th century chancel arch, now behind the organ.
22. Stone carvings on the south side of the nave, which may be from an earlier version of the church or even Cerne Abbey after its destruction.
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21. Rounded Norman arch in south side of the nave.
23. 13th century doorway into the (late 19th century vestry)
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24. Chalk block used in the internal walls of the belfry.
It was interesting to find Chalk being used in the tower construction. The images are from the first landing in the tower. The inner walls mainly coursed Cypris flat-bedded micrite, squared rubble blocks hard enough to take iron coloured scratches from a steel ignition key. the window frame and dressings are of white powdering chalk. The nearest sources of Chalk are probably Muckleford Chalk Pit and the large quarry above Cerne Abbas.
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25. Close-up of Chalk block in belfry.
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More detailed observations of the stone used in the interior
26. Section at roof tile edge clearly shows Forest Marble.
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27. 13th century font top with ooids in pyrite. Possibly Portland-Portland.
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Awaiting information from GT for these two images, i.e.28 and 29
30. Awaiting text for this caption.
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31. Immediately below the bowl the stem seems cleanest and the speroidals look to be coarser pelloids of the variable Ridgeway stone size(s) as seen here.
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32. There are spheroids to be best seen at the worn inside edge of the font bowl - but too large for grains in Portland-Portland.
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33.
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34. Two zigzag lines of veining descending the stem.
Maybe these were Alpine orogeny pressure solution cracks that later opened and were filled with sparite? The base plate has Purbeck broken oyster inclusions.
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35. Close -up of veining.
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36. Veins in font.
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37. Scaled close-up of features at b) in Image 36.
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A zig zag vein terminates above a separate Middle Purbeck oyster bed base at a. Tool marks, diagonal across the base plate, are seen in the scaled close-up at b.
Text and photos by KJH and PJB, May 2018
