Listed Building record MDO11954 - St Swithun's Church, North Allington, Bridport

The new church of St Swithun is a fine neo-Greek building designed by Charles Wallis and built in 1826-7. It replaced an earlier church dedicated to St Swithun on a different site.

The new church of St Swithun was constructed on a new site in 1826-7. The building was designed by Charles Wallis of Dorchester and was the Parish Church of Allington (1).

The building is of Bothenhampton stone rendered with stucco and with ashlar dressings. It is neo-Greek in style and rectangular in plan with a pedimented Doric portico on the east end and a circular bell turret over. The doors are square-headed and the windows have semi-circular heads. There is an entablature round the building with plain frieze, except over the portico where the full Doric members, triglyphs, mutules and guttae appear; the low parapet wall is plain. (2)

Pevsner states “a delightful front, the best of the date in the county” (3).

The interior is simple with no demarcation between the chancel or nave, being a ‘preaching’ church in with the clergy shared the same space as the congregation. It has a flat ceiling with plain cornice. In the centre of the west wall is a single recessed panel with semi-circular head and architraved surround extending almost to ceiling height. At the east end is a gallery extending the full width of the building over the entrance vestibule and ancillary rooms, supported on cast iron columns. In the central bay of the gallery is a painted inscription of 1827 recording the building of the church. The gallery houses the organ and choir seating on either side. The floors were originally stone flags. (1)

The original mahogany communion table of 1827 now stands against the west wall and a new altar was installed in 1975. The font is in Gothic revival style and dates to 1864. (1)

Hill, William, 2002, A short history of Allington and it's church (Monograph). SDO21283.

<1> Pitfield, F P, 1981, Dorset Parish Churches A-D, 24-26 (Monograph). SDO10406.

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 45-6 (Monograph). SDO97.

<3> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 110 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 868557 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 15 2025 11:28AM