Iwerne Stepleton (Former Church of St. Mary)

The former St. Mary's Church, Iwerne Stepleton, Dorset; house and church just visible from the ramparts of Hod Hill

Hidden within the "bends" on the A350 north of Stourpaine, the former Parish Church of St Mary, Iwerne Stepleton (sometimes referred to as Stepleton Iwerne) sits hidden within the estate of Stepleton House and its gardens. No longer open to the public, the house and church can be glimpsed amongst a screen of trees from the ramparts of the hill fort on Hod Hill.

The church was described by Newman and Pevsner as Norman, consisting of a nave and chancel. They conjecture that there once must have been an apse or square-shaped altar space, "for the only decorated piece is the E arch now just framing a Perp window." The RCHME suggests that the village - deserted by 1662 - probably would have been close to the church.

The Church is a Grade II* Listed Building, but was declared redundant in 1995.

Sources:

• John Hutchins, The history and antiquities of the County of Dorset, 3rd ed., edited by William Shipp and James Whitworth Hodson, Westminster: J.B. Nichols and Sons, 1861-1873.
• Arthur Mee, ed., Dorset: Thomas Hardy's country. The King's England. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1939, pp. 233.
• John Newman and Nikolaus Pevsner, The buildings of England: Dorset. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972, pp. 241.
• Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset, Vol. 3, Central Dorset. London: HMSO, 1970, pt. 1, p. 132: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/dorset/vol3/pp132-135

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Maintained by Michael Day, Last updated: 23 August 2015.