Listed Building: PARISH CHURCH OF SAINT JAMES (109345)

CORFE CASTLE WEST STREET, KINGSTON SY 95 79 (South side) 6/192 Parish Church of Saint James 20.11.59 GV I Anglican Parish Church. Built c 1880 for 3rd Earl of Eldon. Architect G E Street. Ashlar stone walls, with chamfered plinth - moulded round apse. String course under window cills. Stone slate roofs with coped gables. In C13 style, showing French influence. Nave with north and south aisles of 4 bays, and clerestory; crossing with central tower, north and south transepts - vestry east of north transept; apsidal sanctuary, west narthex. Tower, of 2 stages above roof, has moulded parapet with stepped coping and cornice with wide billet ornament. In belfry, a triple arcade on each face has the 2 outer arches blank, the centre with a louvred window. Angle buttresses to lower stage, circular angle shafts to belfry. String courses to each stage. In ringing chamber each face has a trefoil-headed lancet. West gable wall has shallow buttresses. Large rose window. Narthex below this, with lean-to roof, has open arcade (now glazed) of 7 bays, with pointed arches on circular columns. Doorways at each end. Single lancets in west walls of aisles. Nave aisles have, in clerestory, 4 pairs of lancets separated by shallow buttresses. Aisles have similar lancets, separated by gabled buttresses. East of the north transept a circular stair turret with conical cap and surface moulding in lattice pattern. Vestry east of this has twin gables on each face, with lancets at 2 levels. Apsidal sanctuary has lancets separated by gabled buttresses. Single lancet in east wall of south transept. In south wall, a triple lancet in sunk panel, pointed arched, with hoodmould. In west wall a circular window with quatrefoil tracery. Internally, nave has pointed waggon type roof with exposed rafters, and wind-bracing. Simple timber lean-to aisle roofs. Quadripartite vaults to crossing and transepts, sexpartite vault to sanctuary. Nave arcade has Pubeck marble piers with attached shafts, stiff-leaf capitals and moulded arches with dog-tooth ornament. Crossing arches similar, with moulded capitals. Rere-arches to windows, with Purbeck marble shafts. Sedilia and piscina in sanctuary. Encaustic tile floor. Stained glass by Clayton and Bell. Wrought iron chancel and parclose screens. Wrought iron pulpit on stone base. Stone font - quatrefoil shape, on Purbeck marble base. (All these fittings by Street). Main west door with fine ironwork, flanked by 2 smaller openings, from narthex. In sanctuary, 2 marble monuments by Chantry to first Earl and Countess of Eldon, dated 1832 and 1831 (moved from Old Church). In south transept, 2 simple tablets to second Earl and his daughter, dated 1854 and 1864 - also from the Old Church. An outstanding and unspoiled Gothic Revival Church (J Newman and N Pevsner. Buildings of England. Dorset. p. 243). Listing NGR: SY9555379548

Record last edited

Oct 11 2023 3:34PM