Listed Building record MDO13959 - Parish church of St Mary, Iwerne Stepleton

A parish church with walls of flint and rubble with some stone, covered with roughcast render, and a stone-slate and tiled roof. The earliest part of the building appears to be the chancel and nave, thought to have been built in the late eleventh or early twelfth century. The thickness of the walls of the chancel may indicate that it originally supported a tower. There are numerous later additions, most of nineteenth-century date. Largely refenestrated and vestry added in the 19th century. The record for this monument has been enhanced with support from Wessex Water.

(ST 86281124) St. Mary's Church (NAT) <1> The parish church of St. Mary stands at the W. end of the parish and close to the R.Iwerne, which at this point is dammed up to form a lake. The walls are mainly rendered, but the N. wall of the nave has been exposed during recent repairs, showing it to be of flint and rubble with squared rubble dressings; the roofs are stone-slated and tiled. The Chancel and Nave are of the late 11th or early 12th century; from the thickness of the walls it appears probable that the chancel was originally surmounted by a tower. A blocked archway in the E. wall of the chancel presumably opened into a sanctuary, now demolished; according to Hutchins (I, 300) the foundations of a compartment to the E. were exposed at some time by excavation, but no details are known. Hutchins also refers to the discovery of eight narrow windows in the nave; one of them, a round-headed loop, has recently been rediscovered. <2> Church of St Mary. Grade 2*. <3,4>

Record last edited

Oct 7 2022 3:43PM