East Lulworth (Chapel of St Mary)

St Mary's Chapel (Roman Catholic) was built by John Tasker in 1786-87, and can be found in the grounds of Lulworth Castle. Most accounts of the chapel's origins retell the story that King George III gave Thomas Weld permission to build a Catholic church, but only on condition that it should not look like a church. It is supposed to have been the first free-standing Roman Catholic chapel built in England since the Reformation.

Sources:

• Dorset Historic Churches Trust, Dorset Churches. [Dorchester]: DHCT, 1988, p. 24.
• Hutchins, J. The history and antiquities of the County of Dorset, 3rd ed., edited by W. Shipp and J.W. Hodson, Westminster: J.B. Nichols, 1861-1873, Vol. 1, 1861, p. 375-376, plates facing p. 376.
• Knox, R. A., Thomas Weld's church. The Tablet, 18 July 1953, pp. 68-69.
• Long, E. T., "Voila la Bastille"" The church at Lulworth. The Tablet, 18 July 1953, p. 69.
• Newman, J. and Pevsner, N., The buildings of England: Dorset. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1970, p. 195-196.
• Manco, J., Greenhalf, D., Girouard, M., Lulworth Castle in the 17th Century. Architectural History, Vol. 33, 1990, pp. 29-59.
• Manco, J., Kelly, F., Lulworth Castle from 1700. Architectural History, Vol. 34, 1991, pp. 145-170.
• Mee, A., ed., Dorset: Thomas Hardy's country. The King's England. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1939, pp. 97-98.
• Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset, Vol. 2, South-East Dorset. London: HMSO, 1970, pt. 1, pp. 145-146.

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Maintained by Michael Day, Last updated: 30 November 2014.