Lyscombe (Chapel)

Ruined Chapel at Lyscombe, Nr. Cheselbourne, Dorset

The chapel and ruined cottage (sometimes called a priest's house) at Lyscombe can be found in a remote valley off the road linking Piddletrenthide and Cheselbourne. The chapel is medieval in origin and has a Norman chancel arch. The land belonged to Milton Abbey and passed to Sir John Tregonwell in the 16th Century. By the early 20th Century, the chapel was being used as a dwelling, before becoming almost completely ruinous from the 1950s onwards. After many years of neglect, the chapel was sensitively restored.in 2005 with the support of a grant from DEFRA. The restoration received the RIBA Wessex & South West Town & Country Design Award 2006 and the Civic Trust Award 2007.

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.
• John Newman and Nikolaus Pevsner, The buildings of England: Dorset. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972, p. 262.
• Jo Draper, "The lost buildings of Lyscombe." Dorset Life, October 2013: http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2013/10/the-lost-buildings-of-lyscombe/
• Dorset Historic Churches Trust page: http://www.dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/lyscombe.htm
• Architecton, Lyscombe Chapel & Priest's House [the architects' profile of the restoration] (PDF): http://www.architecton.co.uk/PAGES/823-Brochure-web.pdf

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Maintained by Michael Day, Last updated: 22 April 2014.