Parish Church Of St Osmund

The parish church of St Osmund is a building of significant group value, largely dating to the 19th century, with a 15th-century west tower. Most of the church was rebuilt in 1846, although the medieval chancel arch and north arcade were retained. The design is attributed to Benjamin Ferrey by Goodhart-Rendel. The church is constructed of coursed and squared rubble stone, with window dressings of Ham Hill, and has slate roofs.

The west tower is of two stages externally and three stages internally, incorporating a projecting vice. Angle buttresses project into the nave, and diagonal buttresses are present on the west side. The west window consists of three lights with restored mullions and moulded vertical tracery set within a pointed head, incorporating a label and stops. The top stage has a two-light window with blind tracery in a pointed head and moulded label on each wall. A restored, chamfered doorway to the vice is located in the north wall.

The nave features a north arcade composed of four two-centred arches of two chamfered orders. The piers have four engaged shafts with moulded capitals and bases, separated by hollow chamfers, dating to around 1300. A south arcade mirrors the design of the north arcade. The north aisle was rebuilt in 1846, using old stonework and incorporating new windows with two-stage buttresses,. The north windows are of two cinquefoiled lights with a quatrefoil and pierced spandrels within a pointed head, all under a label. The south aisle is similar in design and date. A south door has chamfered jambs and a pointed head. A south porch possesses an outer two-centred archway with continuous moulded jambs. The chancel has two-stage buttresses on the eastern corners. The east window has three lights with vertical tracery set within a pointed head and a label. A south doorway is also present.

Inside, the chancel arch is two-centred and composed of two chamfered orders. To the west, the outer order springs from engaged shafts with moulded bases, scalloped capitals, and chamfered abaci, dating to around 1200. The tower arch is two-centred and has two wave-moulded orders, with the inner order disappearing into the jambs. The nave roof features arch-braced collar beam trusses springing from stone corbels. The chancel roof incorporates king post trusses with arch braces springing from stone corbels, and hind braces. A font with a square stone bowl featuring sunk arched panels on each side, a cylindrical stem with four smaller shafts on a restored base, dating to around 1200, is also present. A 14th-century coffin lid with a low-relief cross is set into the nave floor. A benefactor's table, located in the tower, is a painted panel commemorating the charity of Mrs S Toogood from 1826. Numerous monuments and floor slabs are also present, further details of which are documented in the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments for Dorset, Volume II, page 179.