Monument record MDO622 - St Cuthbert's church (Oborne), Castleton

Old Parish Church of St. Cuthbert, Oborne. The walls are of rubble with dressings of the same material, and the roof is slate-covered. A chapel was mentioned on this site in a Papal Bull of 1145. The Chancel was rebuilt in 1533. The nave and north porch were destroyed after 1802; the west tower, if there was one, was destroyed earlier. A new church was built in Oborne village in 1862 and in recent years the chancel of the old building has been restored.

[ST 6534 1783] St. Cuthbert's Church [GT] (remains of). <3>

Only the chancel of St. Cuthbert's, the old parish church of Oborne, remains.

The chapel of Oborne is mentioned in a Papal Bull of 1145 <2>

The walls are of rubble, the roof slate covered. The church was formerly a chapel of ease to Sherborne

The chancel was rebuilt in 1533; sometime subsequent to 1802 the nave and N. porch were destroyed - if there was a W. tower it was destroyed earlier.

A new parish church was built in 1862, and in recent years the chancel of the old building has been restored <4>. <1, 2, 4, 7>

The building is in good condition but now disused. The chancel arch has been blocked and a small doorway inserted. There are 4 light windows on the M, S and E the N. set being blocked. The extent of the nave - 11.5 m long and 5.0 m wide - is indicated by the remains of the walls which are intermittently visible to a height of 0.2m. See AO 55/173/1 Rems. of church from S.W. <5>

The Rev. Longsdon stated that the building can now be considered as in use, since it is equipped with altar and pews, and one service a year is held there. <6>

ST.CUTHBERT'S, OBORNE DESCHEDULED PREVIOUSLY M396

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1901, Ordnance Survey Object Name Book reference revision 1901 (Unpublished document). SWX1268.

<1.1> Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments, Rev. F.B. Phillips, Rector of Oborne, 1901 (Unpublished document). SWX999.

<2> Page, W (Ed), 1908, The Victoria History of the County of Dorset 2, 64 (Monograph). SWX1805.

<3> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, OS 6" 1938 (Map). SWX1540.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 63 (Monograph). SDO97.

‘(3) Old Parish Church of St. Cuthbert, Oborne, stands on the S. side of the road on the N.E. edge of the parish. The walls are of rubble with dressings of the same material, and the roof is slate-covered. The church was formerly a chapel of ease to Sherborne. The Chancel was rebuilt by John Myer, abbot, and John Dunster, sacrist, of Sherborne in 1533. At some uncertain date subsequent to 1802 the nave and N. porch were destroyed; the W. Tower, if there was one, was destroyed earlier. A new church was built in Oborne village in 1862 and in recent years the chancel of the old building has been restored.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (20½ ft. by 14 ft.) was rebuilt early in the 16th century. The E. window is of four four-centred lights in a square head with the following inscription on the lintel "Orate pro bono statu do[m]pni Johis. M. abbatis de Schirborn ano. Domini MCCCCCXXXIII"; flanking the head are shields bearing a crozier between the initials I.M. and the arms of the abbey; above the head of the window is a shield of the royal Tudor arms with a crown. The gable has a cross with a weathered figure of Christ. In the N. wall is a window similar to the E. window but now blocked; on the lintel is the inscription "Orate pro bono statu dompni Johis. Dunster sacriste de Schirborn qui hoc opus fieri fecit ano. Domini"; flanking it are shields bearing a device, perhaps the initials I.D., and the arms of Horsey. In the S. wall is a window similar to the E. window but without inscription or shields; the doorway has chamfered jambs and four-centred head. In the W. wall are the moulded responds of the chancel-arch; in place of the arch is an early 16th-century moulded beam with mortices for the rood-loft and a modern gable-wall above; in the blocking of the opening is a reset 15th-century doorway with chamfered jambs and two-centred head. Reset in the gable are two 15th-century window-heads each of two trefoiled lights with tracery in a two-centred head. The bell-cote is modern.

The Nave is represented by portions of foundations extending some 35 ft. to the W. of the chancel. The remains at the W. end seem to indicate some form of W. tower.
The Roof of the chancel is of barrel-form, plastered on the soffit; it retains its original moulded wall-plates and some of the ribs.

Fittings—Altar: Reset under communion table, large slab, probably altar. Bell: inaccessible, uninscribed, probably old. Communion Rails: with turned balusters and moulded rail with enrichment, 17th-century. Communion Table: with turned legs and enriched top-rails, 17th-century. Monument and Floor-slabs. Monument: In churchyard—N.E. of chancel, to Richard Ferkes, 1601, table-tomb. Floor-slabs: In chancel—(1) to John Shuttleworth, 1686. On site of nave—(2) slab with incised cross and calvary, mediæval. Plate: includes a stand-paten of 1723 and a paten of 1724. Pulpit (Plate 27): four-sided with moulded styles and rails, three ranges of panels, two lower with lozenge enrichments, upper with conventional designs with fleurs-de-lis, enriched cornice and scrolled brackets to bookshelf, with date 1639. Recess: In chancel—in S. wall, plain rectangular recess. Tiles: In chancel—ornamental slip-tiles, set in modern panels, with shields-of-arms (a) a griffin, (b) checky, (c) Edward the Confessor, also crossed keys and a sword, birds, etc.; others in nave, late 14th or 15th-century. Miscellanea: In chancel and in churchyard — various architectural fragments.’

<5> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 15-JUL-55 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<6> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F2 NVQ 22-MAY-62 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<6.1> Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments, Rev. G.M. Longsdon, The Rectory, Oborne, Sherborne (Unpublished document). SWX999.

<7> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1972, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume IV (North), 201-2. History of Dorset Vol. 4 1870 3rd Edn. (Hutchins) (Monograph). SDO99.

<8> Department of the Environment, 1986, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Dorset (Parishes of Trent,Sandford Orcas,Over Compton,Nether Compton,Castleton,Oborne,Poyntington,Bradford Abbas,Clifton Maybank,Thornford,North Wootton, Haydon, Purse Caundle & Goathill), West Dorset, 02-JUN-1986 (Scheduling record). SDO16437.

<9> Historic England, Historic England Archive, Object Number: BF051564, St Cuthbert's Church, Castleton (Index). SDO14738.

<10> Ordnance Survey, OS55/F173/1 (Photograph). SDO18642.

<11> Smith, K, Old St. Cuthbert, Oborne, Dorset (Monograph). SDO18191.

<12> National Record of the Historic Environment, 199303 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 16 2024 6:59PM