St. Martin-on-the-Walls,North Street, Wareham. NGR: SY9221 887697. Grade 1 listed. Lead Author: PS
While many people come to this small church to see the frescos and the effigy of Lawrence of Arabia, it is the type of stone used in the walls which is of interest to geologists as it is one of only 8 churches in Dorset which still has pre-Conquest stonework in situ.
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Short history
A church is reputed to have been founded on the site by Saint Aldhelm in the 7th century but it is thought that this earlier building was destroyed when Wareham was sacked by the Danes in 1015.The present church was built in about 1030 and stands adjacent to the northern part of the 9th century earth wall of the Saxon town in an elevated position above the main street (1). The re-built church consisted of a chancel and nave. The north aisle and north arcade were added in about 1200 by knocking through the north wall. The west end of the church was rebuilt late in the 15th century. The south porch, with a tower above, was added in the 16th century. The church was rarely used after 1736 and fell into disrepair. It was re-dedicated in 1936 when restorers uncovered the wall paintings. |
1. View of the church from the south
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The exterior
The church has a Purbeck limestone slab roof. The main building stone used for the walls is Upper Purbeck Broken Shell Limestone (Burr) but some of the stone may be Middle Purbeck limestone. Visually they are very similar, both being shell brash limestones (2). Without knowing where they were quarried, they can only be reliably distinguished by looking for distinctive species of a small crustacean called an ostracod under a microscope.
The church has a Purbeck limestone slab roof. The main building stone used for the walls is Upper Purbeck Broken Shell Limestone (Burr) but some of the stone may be Middle Purbeck limestone. Visually they are very similar, both being shell brash limestones (2). Without knowing where they were quarried, they can only be reliably distinguished by looking for distinctive species of a small crustacean called an ostracod under a microscope.
2. Burr in the south wall.
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3. Part of the south wall.
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Individual blocks of other types of stone are also visible in the walls. For example, the 12th century south wall of the nave contains several different blocks of stone (3). In particular there are several blocks of granite (4). This is an igneous rock never found in Dorset as all Dorset rocks are sedimentary in origin. It probably arrived in Wareham as part of a ship’s ballast as Wareham was a busy port in the early Middle Ages. Dark brown blocks of Heathstone can also be seen, and much degraded stone from the Upper Purbeck Marble beds (5). Small gastropods (Viviparus) are visible in these blocks.
4. Granite block.
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5. Purbeck Marble with Viviparus gastropods.
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During the Great Fire of Wareham in 1762 the church was used as a temporary refuge for those who had lost their homes. At this time a fireplace was installed in the north wall of the nave to provide warmth and a cooking facility for the displaced residents. This fireplace no longer exists, but the site of the exterior chimney stack remains (6). Of particular interest are the two large Heathstones (7a and 7b). These and others seen in the walls almost certainly came from the Poole Formation south of the river near Arne, where the heathstone outcrops at the top of the hills. These two blocks look different because the iron content in the matrix and the sand grain size in different outcrops are very varied. Heathstone is a common component of many old Wareham buildings.
6. Site of old chimney.
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7a. Heathstone.
7b. Heathstone
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The Interior
The interior walls are decorated with wall paintings (8). A complete description of them is available in the church. The undecorated walls are whitewashed. The central pillar of the arcade originally had 4 Purbeck Marble shafts but they were replaced in the eighteenth century. Two original shafts survive on the half column on the east wall (9). Some very early stonework can be seen in the wall between the chancel and the nave on the east side (chancel side) where a rough hewn block of Broken Shell Limestone (Burr) was emplaced in the early church (10).
The interior walls are decorated with wall paintings (8). A complete description of them is available in the church. The undecorated walls are whitewashed. The central pillar of the arcade originally had 4 Purbeck Marble shafts but they were replaced in the eighteenth century. Two original shafts survive on the half column on the east wall (9). Some very early stonework can be seen in the wall between the chancel and the nave on the east side (chancel side) where a rough hewn block of Broken Shell Limestone (Burr) was emplaced in the early church (10).
8. Interior looking towards the chancel
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9. Purbeck Marble columns.
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The 16th century font (11) with the inscription ‘SET UP BY WILLIAM WELSTED AND PHILIP HELIER 1607’ is Purbeck Limestone on rough hewn pillars. The effigy of Lawrence of Arabia (T.E. Lawrence) was sculpted by the Eric Kennington for St. Paul’s Cathedral. A full explanation of how it came to be in St. Martin’s can be found in the church.
10. Block of Burr emplaced in the chancel wall.
12. T.E.Lawrence effigy.
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11. The font.
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Lawrence is depicted in the effigy as recumbent in Arabic dress with a curved dagger in his hand and a whip to his side. His feet rest against a Hittite sculpture of two fighting bull horns. A full description can be found in the church. The effigy is carved in Portland Stone on a Purbeck limestone base (12).
