|
Churches which still retain west gallery
features or connections |
|
*Abbotsbury, St Nicholas |
North gallery removed 1885. 1808 west gallery
survives. Huge C18 reredos of wood. The chancel has a
moulded plaster ceiling. Jacobean canopied pulpit, complete with Civil War (?) bullet holes. |
|
*Allington, dedication
not known |
|
|
Almer, St Mary |
nside, the chancel is a
Victorian rebuild and there are some good examples of family
pews (Dorset
Historic Churches Trust) |
|
Blandford
Forum, St Peter & St Paul
|
The church and town were destroyed in 1731 by a
devastating fire, and the whole place was rebuilt by a local family of builders
and architects, by the name of Bastard. John Bastard was responsible for the
rebuilding of the church during the period 1731-1739, and the interior has
remained largely as it was in his time without the interference of Victorian
reformers. It retains its galleries, font, pulpit, box-pews and mayoral seat.
In 1794 a gallery was built for new organ - which is the date on Royal
Arms in centre. Extended 1819 and 1837. Extensions removed 1971. #
The
whole church was cleverly extended in 1893 when the apsidal sanctuary was moved
on rollers and set down on new foundations, the resultant gap being infilled to
make a new chancel. (CEPC) |
|
Castleton (Sherborne), dedication not
known |
Church built 1715. It has a West gallery and a
reused Jacobean stair. |
|
Chalbury, dedication unknown
|
Originally 13th C. with a 14th C, east window and
timber bell-cote. The interior was refitted in the 19th C. and has escaped
Victorianisation. The division between chancel and nave takes the form of a
triple arch supported on slender wooden columns.
Box-pews,
triple-decker, west gallery, and clear glass in the windows.
(CEPC) |
|
Charlton Marshall, St Mary |
Rebuilt in 1715, probably by the same family as
at Blandford, the interior retains much of its Georgian atmosphere, with clear
glass, 18th C. altar rails and a canopied pulpit. |
|
Chickerell, Dedication
not known |
N aisle with piers made from cast iron and an incised slab with a priest on it
(rather rare in Dorset). W gallery, Norman font and
Jacobean pulpit. |
|
Easton, St George |
A pulpit and a reading desk take up the centre of the
church. Galleries to the S, N and W. A nice pedestal font. |
|
East Stour, Dedication
not known |
Inside the church is a purbeck font with
the usual blank arches and a lecturn with an C18 wooden pelican.
The church is cross-shaped and has galleries to the N & S. |
|
Folke (nr. Leweston), Dedication
not known |
Some 3 miles south of Sherborne,
this 1628 church contains benches, communion table railings, hour glass stand,
hatchments, screen, lectern with panelling, stalls, 2
decker pulpit, font & cover, and windows similar to Leweston,
all of 1628. (Info: P
Shepherd) |
|
Hazelbury Bryan, St Mary & St
James |
Canopied pulpit. |
|
Horton, St Wolfrida |
Said to contain Georgian fittings, but are they
of the west gallery period? |
|
Leweston, Dedication not
known |
A 'purpose built' 2cell chapel of 1616 for
Sir John Fitzjames, the then Lord of the Manor. Benches with
rounded ends, patterned and wall panelling, reredos,
two-decker pulpit with tester; all of 1616. Also a 13th
Cent. undecorated font. (Info: P
Shepherd) |
|
*Lyme Regis, St Michael |
West gallery dated 1611.
Inscription
on the gallery - " IOHN HASSARD BUILT THIS TO THE GLORIE OF ALMIGHTIE GOD IN
THE EIGHTIETH YEARE OF HIS AGE ANO DOMINI 1611 " Additional words "seven times
Mayor" have been lost.
N and S galleries removed 1885, but the canopied
pulpit and lectern, which remain, also date from the 17th C. |
|
Over
Compton, dedication not known |
This contains several monuments, one with early C19 figure. Two decker pulpit.
Several hatchments. |
|
Poole, St James |
SZ 008904. Church built 1820. Galleries. |
|
Portland, St George |
Church built 1777 to the designs of Mr. Gilbert.
The interior remains as it was built, with box-pews, west gallery and transept
galleries, and twin pulpits. |
|
Puddletown, St Mary |
West gallery, with turned balusters, dated 1635 .
Archbishop Laud's visitation led to the conclusion that a pillar needed
strengthening, the seats were not decent and were much decayed, and more
seating was needed. A meeting of parishioners on August 10th 1634 decided to
reseat the church throughout, strengthen the pillar and arch, make a pulpit and
prayer desk, provide a communion table and rails, build a west gallery with
seats, and provide a new font cover. All of these furnishings still survive in
situ. The estimated cost of £130 was to be raised by subscriptions, by a
levy of 5/- on seat holders, and by "five ordinary single rates."
A
1637 seating plan survives, when the sexes were segregated. Another of 1679
shows them no longer separated. The gallery was intended for extra seating, but
for a long time served as a musicians' gallery.
Puddletown =
Weatherbury in Hardy's novels. Hardy says that his grandfather when a young
man, before 1800, lived in Puddletown and played violoncello in church. He
later became a member of the Stinsford choir, by which time Puddletown had
eight instrumentalists and Stinsford only four, all Hardys. Hardy's father told
him that at Puddletown "in the time of the violin, oboe and clarionet
players, Tom Sherren used to copy tunes during the sermon."
In 1845
a barrel organ was introduced and the band (two clarinets, a piccolo, a
bassoon, and two bass viols) dispensed with.
See note
under
Bere Regis, below.
In 1852 a small manual
organ replaced the barrel organ, which was sold to Bere Regis. The present
organ was built 1906 and stands in the gallery, which is still used by the
choir. (Dorset churches leaflet)
There
are also box-pews. #
This church is where Sergeant Troy buries Fanny Robin,
after which he falls asleep: "He groped along the wall
and over the graves in the dark till he found himself round
at the north side. Here he entered the porch, and reclining
upon the bench within, fell asleep."
Thomas Hardy, the celebrated
Dorset writer, used Puddletown as 'Weatherbury' in his novel
'Far from the Madding Crowd'. There had been a family
association with the village because his grandfather had
played the violincello in the church band. However, by 1845
the band, much to their disgust, were dismissed and a
barrel-organ installed in their place.
That instrument does not seem to have lasted because
by 1852 it, too, was replaced by a small organ.
dorset historic
churches trust
|
|
Radipole, dedication not
known |
C17 bellcote with three openings - unusual. Near a busy
road and not far from Weymouth and open when visited. The pews inside have pretty paintings on the ends.
West gallery and a few minor tablets. |
|
Stinsford, St Michael |
SY712910 "The organ stood on one side
of the chancel, close to and under the immediate eye of the
vicar when he was in the pulpit and also in full view of the
congregation. Here [Fancy Day] sat down, for the first
time in such a conspicuous position...." (Under The
Greenwood Tree Part IV, Chapter V)
In December, 1996, the newly-restored West Gallery of St.
Michael's was rededicated, and a new organ, replacing this
one, was set there. Incidentally, Hardy himself once
recommended the restoration of the West Gallery -- with
the organ placed there.
The church is essentially 13c,
although the tower is 14c, the north arcade 1630 and the
building was altered several times by the Victorians, who
removed the musicians' gallery and box pews. A barrel organ
was then installed and the church band abolished, much to the
disgust of the Hardy family, who had provided many of the
musicians. The most informative
church guide quotes Thomas Hardy, "If an organ be really
required I should say, speaking for myself alone, that the old
west gallery should be re-erected for it..." These words
proved to be remarkable because in 1996 a new gallery and
organ were installed as a result of the generosity of Richard
Purdy of Yale University, who endowed the church and
churchyard in commemoration of Florence Hardy.
Dorset
Historic Churches
Trust
|
|
Studland,
St James |
There is a Norman font and an
18c pulpit. The west gallery was installed towards the end of
the 18c.
( Dorset Historic Churches Trust ) |
|
Tarrant Rawston, dedication not
known |
West gallery (Dorset churches
leaflet) |
|
Tyneham,
St Mary |
|
|
West Stafford, St Andrew |
The fabric of this mediaeval church was refitted
circa 1640, and the fittings include a west gallery. (Some sources, however,
say the gallery is 18th C.} #
  
It is
essentially a Jacobean church of about 1640. The plastered
wagon roof, the superb screen between the nave and chancel and
the pulpit replete with a painting of St. Paul and tester are
exceptionally pleasing. The Communion rail is late 17c and
the most impressive chandelier above the nave is dated at
1712. There is an 18c western gallery with a good coat of
arms on the front. Alas, the Victorians simply could not
resist 'improving' this lovely building in 1898 by
constructing a chancel to a design by Ponting.
The church is
closely associated with Thomas Hardy, Dorset's world famous
novelist. In 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' it is the setting
for her marriage to Clare (see chapter 33) and the non-wedding
of Christine Everard in 'A Changed Man and Other Tales - The
Waiting Supper' Part II. (Dorset
Historic Churches Trust) |
|
West Stour, Dedication not
known |
A small church with a S tower-cum-porch. Open. Jacobean
pulpit. Much mediaeval woodwork now incorporated into the west
gallery and a cupboard. |
|
*Weymouth, St Mary,
Melcombe Regis |
"Harmonises admirably with its Georgian setting"
(CEPC)
Does this include galleries and
pulpit? |
|
*Winterbourne Abbas, St
Mary |
The north gallery is dated 1701, and now houses
the organ.)
"It will surprise many to learn how recently Dorset
church bands were to be heard. That at Winterborne Abbas did not disappear till
1881; the last band disappeared in 1895."
([S & G] - Screens and Galleries : Francis Bond ,
1908) |
|
*Winterborne Steepleton, St
Michael |
The west gallery with turned balusters is dated
1708. # |
|
*Winterborne Tomson, St Andrew |
Adjacent the old Manor House, this church was
fashioned in early in the 18th C., and restored after a long spell of disuse,
in memory of Thomas Hardy. Early 18th C. furnishings, including a west
gallery and box-pews.
The gallery is formed from the mediaeval rood loft and is reached by
ladder. (CEPC) # |
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|
Churches which are known to have had west
gallery features or connections |
|
*Abbotsbury, St Nicholas |
North gallery removed in 1885. |
|
Bere Regis,
St John the Baptist |
West gallery (with
barrel organ
- now in Dorset County Museum) removed in 1875 during renovations by
Sir George Street. (Tim
Colquhoun, Organist at Bere Regis &
Puddletown).
The barrel organ originally came
from Puddletown (Dorset) when in 1852 the mechanism was sold
to the Church Wardens at Bere Regis. (The Choir, July
1934, p. 150, article by Canon Galpin). 2 of the original 5
barrels survive. (C&C B-O) |
|
Bradford Abbas, St Mary
|
Gallery removed in 1865 |
|
Bridport, St Mary
|
Reference to the galleries being
removed 1859-60 during major restoration work. |
|
Burton Bradstock, Dedication not known
|
West gallery extended in 19th C. and north
gallery added. Removed 1897. |
|
Charminster, St Mary
|
18th C. gallery removed in 1897 |
|
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|
Chapels which are known to have, or have
had west
gallery features or connections |
|
Longham, Congregational Chapel |
Chapel built 1841, and contains a west gallery.
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| Asterisks denote
churches in preparation
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