Church Of St. Mary The Virgin, Swanage.
Text by Peter Stevens. Photos by Peter Stevens and Sheila Alderman.
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St Mary the Virgin (1) is the Parish Church of Swanage. It is a Grade 2 listed building and mentioned by Pevsner.
The original church is thought to be an Early English or Norman chapel, built about 1250, with the tower (2) being separate. Fragments of Early English carved stones have been found on the site. There have been various phases of rebuilding of the church, the first being in 1620. In 1859 the existing church was demolished and rebuilt to a much larger scale. There was further enhancement in 1907 with the addition of the north aisle. There have been several claims to the age of the tower and its purpose. In 1943 an official of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments visited the church. He judges the church to be early 13th century based on various stone fragments. He reported that “the walls are coursed of Purbeck rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings.” The lower stage of the tower is 14th century with the upper stages 17th century. A top storey was added with a lead roof in 1620 which contains the eight bells the oldest of which is stamped 1564. In 1840 the tower was pointed in Blue Lias mortar which sets extremely hard. |
1. St Mary's north aspect
2. The western aspect of the tower
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The original tower was built separately from the church, which then was just a chapel-of-ease. It is thought that its purpose could have been a lookout for the early Danish raids and French raids that occurred in Swanage, then Swanewich, in the 14th century.
3. Purbeck Broken Shell Limestone (Burr) Note how fossiliferous it is. (click to enlarge image)
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4. One distinctive Purbeck Marble block ( see 5 for close-up)
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5 Close-up of Purbeck Marble showing freshwater snails (Viviparus Gastropods, click to enlarge image)
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On the west side of the tower a door has been replaced by a window. This window has broken shell mullions with finer textured tracery. To the left of the window fitted in with the stonework is a decaying Purbeck Marble stone (5).
The church is built of Purbeck stone with Broken Shell Limestone (Burr, 3,7) and Cypris Freestone evident. The exterior window surrounds are of a shelly Purbeck limestone (6). The church roof (8) appears to be Purbeck stone laid in diminishing courses.
6. Variety of Purbeck limestones in church wall
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7. Close up of the voids left by bivalve shells in Purbeck Stone
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8. East end of church with Coursed Purbeck Stone tiled roof. Note the variety of colours in Purbeck stone walls.
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The west entrance porch (9) has panelled walls with large flagstones that look to be Portland and Purbeck stone.
9. The west entrance
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10. Contrasting 14th century and 17th century tower and 20th century west porch
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The interior of the church is Gothic Revival style with Perpendicular windows. The three columns (12) between the north and main aisle have been lime-washed making it difficult to ascertain the identity of the stone and Gothic arches. Affixed to a column on the north aisle is a stone coffin lid (11).
11. Coffin lid attached to interior column
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12. Lime-washed interior column of Purbeck Limestone ( note the wooden arch- braced beamed ceiling)
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The circular font and stand (13b.) are made of Purbeck Marble. This was emplaced when the original hexagonal font (13a.), dating from 1666, was moved to the newly built St. Marks Church in 1856.
13a. St Mary's previous 15th century Purbeck Marble font, now at St Marks Swanage
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13b. Circular 19th century font of Purbeck Marble
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The chancel floor is made of red manufactured tiles with the altar standing on a plinth of black Purbeck Marble. There is no reredos but a line of Purbeck Marble Bowtell moulding along the east wall under the east window at approximately 5-foot in height.
The interior roof (14, with the author Peter Stevens)) is wooden arch braced beams terminating on corbels. A window behind the south choir stalls has a Purbeck Marble column. Behind the altar the east window was replaced after the war during which the church suffered bomb blast demolishing a large portion of the east side of the church.
The interior roof (14, with the author Peter Stevens)) is wooden arch braced beams terminating on corbels. A window behind the south choir stalls has a Purbeck Marble column. Behind the altar the east window was replaced after the war during which the church suffered bomb blast demolishing a large portion of the east side of the church.
14. Interior of church facing the altar. Note the ceiling of wooden braced beams.
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15. Flagstone of Purbeck Marble showing smaller gastropods and Unio bivalves
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Standing against the wall of the south transept is a slab of undressed Purbeck Marble with decorative carvings on one side. This was recently brought into the inside of the church from lying on the ground at the east end of the churchyard but while its purpose is unknown. It could be part of an old sarcophagus.
The flooring is part wood block flooring with stone flagstones and ledgers of Purbeck Marble (15) and some from the Purbeck Unio bed. There are also some Blue Lias flagstones.
References
1) Swanage Past. David Lewer, Dennis Smale
2) Purbeck Parish Churches. F.P. Pitfield
The flooring is part wood block flooring with stone flagstones and ledgers of Purbeck Marble (15) and some from the Purbeck Unio bed. There are also some Blue Lias flagstones.
References
1) Swanage Past. David Lewer, Dennis Smale
2) Purbeck Parish Churches. F.P. Pitfield
