Parish Church Of St Mark

Parish Church of St Mark, Highcliffe

The Parish Church of St Mark is a limestone building with blue slate roofs, located on Hinton Wood Avenue (formerly known by its address on Lymington Road). Built in 1843–4, it was constructed by John Bemister of Christchurch, who acted as builder-architect. The foundation stone was laid on 14 April 1842 and the church opened on 27 January 1843. The land was donated by Lord Stuart de Rothesay (1779–1845), a former ambassador to France who had recently built Highcliffe Castle nearby.

The church began as a small cruciform structure in the lancet Gothic style typical of the unarchaeological early 1840s. Several masonry joins and changes in tooling patterns reveal the extent of the original building—for example, on the north wall of the chancel and west of the second window on the south side of the nave. The original small lancets survive in deep splayed recesses; these are uncusped and sit within the original masonry marked by diagonal tooling.

The church has been substantially enlarged and altered. An enlargement in 1867, probably by Benjamin Ferrey (also from Christchurch), extended the nave westward by about 20 feet, added a gallery, and created a north doorway. The third nave bay on the south marks this phase of work. A bellcote was added over the west gable at this date. The north transept acquired diagonal buttresses and a north window with Decorated Gothic tracery, both likely from 1867.

A second major campaign occurred in 1932–3 when the architects Reynolds & Tomlin (a commercial Bournemouth firm known for their 1930–1 ABC cinema in Boscombe) lengthened the chancel and added a north-east vestry with flat parapet and a south-east organ chamber. The east gable displays a triple stepped lancet framed in a blind arch from this phase. Recent alterations in 1990–1 by Richard Scott introduced a high narthex extension on the west with glazed doors on each side and a west window with triangular head. A new staircase projection like a west transept replaced a porch of 1932, and a low addition was built west of the north transept. A corridor from 1990–1 links the south transept to a hall complex to the south-east. The big west narthex contains toilets, a staircase, and storage spaces along the north side.

The plan has become increasingly complex through these phases. The original cruciform arrangement is still discernible beneath north-east vestries and a south-east organ chamber. The west entrance now leads through a large vestibule and library into an open space beneath a west gallery with railed front of varnished pine (circa 1991), accessed by a staircase to the north. Walls throughout are painted.

The kingpost roofs date from 1881, at which time very large beams on corbels were inserted over the transepts to carry the rafters of nave and chancel in a continuous run.

The interior contains a rich and mixed collection of fittings and furnishings, many of which reflect Lord Stuart de Rothesay's interests. In the north-east corner of the north transept stands an elaborate ex-situ doorcase, probably of 14th-century French origin, with a vaulted canopy, heavy finial, and flanking pinnacles. Lord Stuart de Rothesay likely intended this piece for Highcliffe Castle nearby, which incorporated various elements of French historic fabric.

The oak altar rail and pulpit, both incorporating Continental woodwork, were given by Lord Stuart de Rothesay. The pulpit has a timber staircase and a base of two very large scrolled brackets, possibly from a doorcase. Its carved wooden decoration appears to have been assembled somewhat randomly, with one or two medieval French pieces (such as Flamboyant tracery on the upper south face) mixed with material probably from Jacobean furniture or Victorian infill. The altar rail features Jacobean-style arches on turned balusters, matching the credence table which was assembled in 1932. The pews are a mixture of Victorian and early 20th-century examples.

The stained glass is of considerable quality and varied date. The east window dates from 1935 by Powell & Sons. The north transept north window is a memorial to someone who died in 1870, while the north transept east window was designed by H.T. Bosdet (1856–1934). Two north nave windows date from circa 1901 by Clayton & Bell. On the south side, one window is signed by Lavers, Barraud & Westlake (circa 1879) and another is unsigned (circa 1886). The oculus in the west wall contains golden glass by Henry Haig representing alpha and omega. The chancel contains fine Gothic tablets to the Stuart family.

Kaiser Wilhelm II worshipped here in 1907, evidence of the high social standing of Highcliffe Castle and its church at that period.

The churchyard is triangular in shape and contains a good war memorial of circa 1920 at its north end (separately listed at Grade II). Among its many fine Victorian graves is a notable group belonging to the Selfridge family, who leased Highcliffe Castle from 1916 to 1922. Gordon Selfridge's mother is commemorated by a luxuriant Neo-Renaissance tomb chest with cherubs, while his wife (who died of influenza in 1918) is marked by an Art Nouveau angel. Gordon Selfridge himself, who died in poverty in 1947, has a simple headstone nearby.

The alterations of 1990–1 were dedicated on 14 April 1991, exactly 149 years after the foundation stone was laid.