All Saints’ Church, West Parley. NGR: SZ08648 96841, 50.7711 -1.8787. Lead Author: JT
All Saints’ Church has a mid-12th century nave replacing a Saxon original. The entrance doorway is Norman, having uprights of a fine pale green sandstone and a lintel of Heathstone.
1. All Saints’ church, with 12th and 16th century walls and 15th century timber frame porch. The 19th century vestry door can be seen on the left. The 12th century wall is of darker and better quality Heathstone, whereas the 16th century western part is of a lighter orange colour, and some blocks have been rendered, in lighter colour again, to protect them.
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2. The Norman entrance door has uprights of a very pale Greensand that may have come from the Vale of Wardour.
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On the western side of the porch the wall is built of a mixture of Heathstones, varying in colour from orange to brown. A sharp change in the arrangement of the stones shows where the nave was lengthened in the 16th century. As the 16th century portion is of mixed quality, and includes many orange blocks, these probably came from the local Branksome Sands which was excavated mostly for the brick clay. The porch is timber-framed, and roughcast, of the late 15th century. The remainder of the north wall of the nave, and the whole of the south wall are roughly rendered. The south wall has a buttress of deeply weathered Heathstone.
3. The lintel of the doorway is made of sharp-grained dark brown Heathstone.
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4. The eastern chancel wall was rebuilt in the 19th century, using Heathstone, probably re cut, brick and pale, fine, Greensand. The window, of 14th century date, is Purbeck Burr limestone.
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5. West window, replaced in the 16th century extension to the nave, is also Purbeck Burr limestone.
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6. A buttress supports the south wall of the nave. The wall is roughcast, but where some has fallen off Heathstone can be seen underneath.
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The outer wall of the chancel was rebuilt in 1896, and the vestry added, using Heathstone and brick, with occasional blocks of Greensand. The eastern window is 14th century, with a very narrow frame of pale colour. The three windows in the nave are recorded as 18th century, and appear to be Bath Stone with shelly layers. The door to the vestry, and the windows in the chancel, 1896, are Bath Stone from a different source.
7. The 18th century windows are of an oolitic limestone with layers that are shell-rich, as in some Bath Stone.
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8. On the south side of the 19th century wall of the chancel, the two windows are of a different bed of Bath Stone.
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9. The font consists of two parts, the lower thought to be Saxon, the upper 1400. They are of similar stone, but whitewashed. The grains in the stone do not suggest Purbeck Marble, and the stone is grey.
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10. Most of the inner walls are whitewashed, but the chancel arch, of 1180, is of a light colour heathstone, suggesting that the Branksome Sands heathstone was used, with a few pale green sandstone blocks.
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