Cranborne (SS. Mary and Bartholomew)

Church of SS. Mary and Bartholomew, Cranborne (November 2014)

A Benedictine monastery existed on this site in Saxon times. It was founded in the tenth century and was linked for many years with the abbey at Tewkesbury. At first, Tewkesbury was subordinate to Cranborne but the situation was reversed in the late 11th century. Both Tewkesbury Abbey and its dependent cell of Cranborne came to an end during the dissolution of the monasteries, being surrendered to the king on the 31 January 1540. Apart from the church, none of the monastic buildings survive.

There is a late Norman doorway in the north porch - this is the oldest part of the existing church. The remainder of the building - except for the nineteenth-century east end (by David Brandon, 1875) is also pre-Reformation. The tower is Perpendicular in style and built of stone and flint. The font is of Purbeck Marble and is thirteenth century. The pulpit is c. fifteenth century, and bears a monogram, T.P., which is supposed to stand for Thomas Parker, the Abbot of Tewkesbury and Cranborne from 1389-1421.

Sources:

• Addison, L.F., Cranborne Church, Dorset. (Notes on famous churches and abbeys, no. 30). London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, n.d. (c. 1920s).
• Betjeman, J., Sir John Betjeman's guide to English parish churches, revised and updated by Nigel Kerr. London: HarperCollins, 1993, p. 182.
• Chafin, W., Anecdotes and history of Cranborne Chase, 2nd ed. London: J. Nichols, 1818 (reprinted, Wimborne: Dovecote Press, 1991).
• Dorset Historic Churches Trust, Dorset Churches. [Dorchester]: DHCT, 1988, p. 22.
• Hawkins, D., Cranborne Chase. London: Gollancz, 1980.
• 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.
• Masse, H.J.L.J., The abbey church of Tewkesbury: with some account of the priory church of Deerhurst, Gloucestershire. (Bell's cathedral series). London: G. Bell, 1900.
• Mee, A., ed., Dorset: Thomas Hardy's country. The King's England. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1939, pp. 78-79.
• Newman, J. and Pevsner, N., The buildings of England: Dorset. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972, p. 170-171.
• Pitfield, F.P., Dorset parish churches, A-D. Milborne Port: Dorset Publishing Company, 1981, pp. 212-215.
• Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset, Vol. 5, East Dorset. London: HMSO, 1975, pp. 5-7.
• Smart, T.W.W., A chronicle of Cranborne, being an account of the ancient town, lordship and chase of Cranborne in the county of Dorset: collected from original records and other authentic sources of information. London: Nichols and Son, 1841 (reprinted, Wimborne: Dovecote Press, 1983).

Bells:

8, 17-0-21 in F.

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Maintained by Michael Day, Last updated: 8 November 2014.