Holy Trinity Church is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

church in

Fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada *Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach, ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was built in 1827–29, replacing an earlier parish church which was partially destroyed during the Great Storm of 1824. Holy Trinity remains in religious use and has been

Grade I Listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

since 1956.

History

Fleet's original church, along with much of the village, suffered considerable damage and destruction during the Great Storm of 1824. After waves broke through

Chesil Beach Chesil Beach (also known as Chesil Bank) in Dorset, England is one of three major shingle beach structures in Britain.A. P. Carr and M. W. L. Blackley, "Investigations Bearing on the Age and Development of Chesil Beach, Dorset, and the Associat ...

, many of the village's residents were forced to retreat to nearby

Chickerell Chickerell is a town and parish in Dorset, England. In the 2011 census the parish and the electoral ward had a population of 5,515. History Although Roman remains have been found, indicating that there has been settlement in the area for many ...

. Once the storm had subsided, it was discovered that five dwellings had been destroyed, along with the nave of the parish church. In the aftermath, the Rector of Fleet, Rev. George Gould, of Fleet House, decided to have a new church built at his expense and plans were drawn up by Stickland of Dorchester. The chosen site of the new church was 540 yards inland from its predecessor. The foundation stone of the new church was laid by Rev. Gould on 25 April 1827. It was completed in 1829 and consecrated by the

Bishop of Bristol A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, the Right Rev. Robert Gray, on 25 August 1829. A new altar of oak was dedicated by the

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

, the Right Rev.

John Wordsworth John Wordsworth (1843–1911) was an English Anglican bishop and classical scholar. He was Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford from 1883 to 1885, and Bishop of Salisbury from 1885 to 1911. Life H ...

, on 25 January 1891. It was gifted by Sir Henry Peto of Fleet House. In 1891–92, improvements were made to the church at the expense of Sir Henry Peto, in memory of his father,

Sir Samuel Morton Peto Sir Samuel Morton Peto, 1st Baronet (4 August 1809 – 13 November 1889) was an English entrepreneur, civil engineer and railway developer, and, for more than 20 years, a Member of Parliament (MP). A partner in the firm of Grissell and Peto, he ...

, who died in 1889. The church was reseated in accordance to a suggestion made by Sir Samuel Morton Peto on his final visit to the area, with the teak and cedar woodwork of the original pews being preserved as much as possible. Other work included the alteration of the chancel arch, the replacement of the flooring with blocks of wood on concrete, as much of the original flooring had suffered from dry rot, and the installation of heating apparatus. The work took three months to carry out under the supervision of George Vialls of London, and the church was reopened in February 1892. Today the church holds one service each month and is also used for weddings, funerals and other events. It is part of the circuit known as Chesil Churches.

Architecture

The

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church is built of ashlar stone with slate roofs. There is a west tower, nave, chancel and sanctuary. All of the windows contain painted glass; the east window, which depicts the

Raising of the son of the widow of Nain The raising of the son of the widow of Nain (or Naim) is an account of a miracle by Jesus, recorded in the Gospel of Luke chapter 7. Jesus arrived at the village of Nain during the burial ceremony of the son of a widow, and raised the young man f ...

, was painted by Mr. Stevenson of Bath.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Holy Trinity Church, Fleet
Chesil Churches website
Buildings and structures in Weymouth, Dorset Churches in Dorset Grade I listed churches in Dorset 1827 establishments in England Church of England church buildings in Dorset