Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church in the village of
Charminster
Charminster is a village and civil parish in west Dorset, England, situated on the River Cerne and A352 road north of the county town Dorchester. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 2,940 and also contains the hamlet of Ch ...
,
Dorset
Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
, in the
Diocese of Salisbury
The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England, within the ecclesiastical Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the historic county of Dorset (which excludes the deaneries of Bournemouth and Christchurch, ...
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
building. The oldest parts date from the 11th and 12th centuries, and the tower was built in the 16th century.
Description
Early history
There was a
minster church
Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England and Wales, most notably York Minster in Yorkshire, Westminster Abbey in London and Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire.
The term ''minster'' is first found in royal fou ...
, perhaps a wooden building, here in the 8th century. There is some evidence that the site of the present church was at that time the river bed, and that the Saxon church was situated nearer North Street to the west."History" St Mary's, Charminster. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
The oldest parts of the present building, parts of the east wall of the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
The south aisle was extended in the 15th century, by the Trenchard family of
Wolfeton House
Wolfeton House (sometimes Wolveton House) is an early Tudor and Elizabethan manor house in Dorset, England. It is situated amongst water-meadows north-west of Dorchester not far from the confluence of the rivers Frome and Cerne. It is near t ...
, to form the south chapel, and further extended in the early 16th century. There are
table tomb
A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a deceased person or persons, located within a Christian church. It can take various forms ranging from a simple commemorative plaque or mural tablet affixed to a wall, to a large ...
s of members of the Trenchard family in the south chapel.
The tower was built in the 16th century by Thomas Trenchard. It has three stages and an
embattled
A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...
parapet with seven
gargoyle
In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...
s. The north and south vestries, adjacent to the tower, are also of this period. Thomas Trenchard's spiral monogram is carved on the tower in many places, and on the vestries. The south porch is 16th-century, its arch being reconstructed in the 17th century.
On the north wall of the nave there are areas of stencilled decoration, from the early 16th century, showing strawberries and strawberry leaves.
The font, probably 12th-century, was recut and reshaped in the 15th century.
Later modifications
The
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
, demolished in the 17th century, was rebuilt about 1838, and the north aisle was rebuilt in the late 19th century. The roofs were replaced in 1895. A new organ was installed about 1953.