Listed Building record MDO12778 - Church of St Peter, High Street, Shaftesbury

Located near the centre of the town. Has walls of greensand ashlar and rubble and is roofed with lead and partly with modern materials. The record for this monument has been enhanced with support from Wessex Water.

(ST 86262293) St Peter's Church (NR). (1)

St Peter's is the mother church of Shaftesbury and is the only one remaining of the twelve which were once in the town. The Abbess was patron of St. Peter's and the list of vicars begins with John Schipp, September 6th 1305.

The church is partly 13th century having been altered and repaired at various times. It consists of three parallel aisles of the same length. Four aisles with slender pillars on each side of the centre one, dividing it from those on the north and south. Each aisle has an alter at the east end. The south aisle was widened sometime between 1799 and 1848.

Below is a vault once used as a cellar by the Sun and Moon Inn adjoining but restored as a chapel sometime since 1907.

The east window of the central aisle is Perpendicular but has been restored; it contains a few medallions of old glass. (2)

Parish Church of St. Peter of ashlar and rubble has 14th century north and south arches in the west tower indicating a building of that date. The remainder of the tower, the nave, north aisle and west porch are of the late 15th century; the south aisle was rebuilt and enlarged in the 16th century. There is no chancel. Alterations were made in the 19th century. Plan. (3-4)

Excavations in St. Peter's Church by Shaftesbury and District Arch. Group during 1976 examined levels in the 'crypt' or undercroft before new floors were laid; against the south wall, three features were located.

1) A large pit, partly obscured by a 19th century brick arch, was excavated to a depth of 1.10m. A substantial amount of pottery was recovered from the black soil infill, which ingeneral terms had similarities with the Middle or Late Saxon pottery, although in Dorset these forms may have continued well into the 11th century. Charcoal, pieces of chert, unworked flint and two worked flints (one a transverse arrowhead) were also found in the infilling).

II) A feature (pit?) dug after the south wall was built in 16th century (No details or finds given).

III) A roughly semi-circular feature (? pit) situated to the west of the above was investigated to a depth of 1 metre. The loose infilling contained 18th or 19th century material.

A small trench also examined the foundations of two piers in the north and south arcades of the church. (5-6)

Historic England, Historic England Archive, PC41098 (Index). SDO14738.

St Peter's Church, taken from High Street in the north-west. Note on the envelope stating ready for Architectural Diary September the 13th 1926. The postcard claims that the tone of the church bells is the sweetest in the county.

Shaftesbury and District Archaeological Group, 1977, 1st Interim Report (Jan. 1977) L15 St Peter's Church, Shaftesbury (Monograph). SDO21188.

Shaftesbury and District Archaeological Group, 1977-80, Shaftesbury and District Archaeological Group; Interim Report 1977-80 (Serial). SDO11483.

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1927-8 (Map). SWX1540.

(ST 86262293) St Peter's Church (NR).

<2> Sydenham, L, 1953, The Town and Abbey of Shaftesbury, 18 (Monograph). SDO18011.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1972, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume IV (North), 61 (Monograph). SDO99.

<4> Department of the Environment, 1973, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Dorset (Borough of Shaftesbury), 38-9 (Scheduling record). SDO16496.

<5> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1978, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1976, 59-60 (Serial). SDO76.

<6> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1980, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1977, 129-31 (Serial). SDO77.

<7> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BF051589 (Index). SDO14738.

St Peter's Church, Shaftesbury. File of material relating to a site or building. This material has not yet been fully catalogued. Copyright, date, and quantity information for this record may be incomplete or inaccurate.

<8> Historic England, Historic England Archive, 1016948 (Index). SDO14738.

[LATE SAXON POTTERY FROM ST PETER'S CHURCH, SHAFTESBURY]. Short typed report on late Saxon pottery from St Peter's Church, Shaftesbury, by Laurence Keen.Contents : Loose notes

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 206417 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 19 2024 1:54PM