Church Of St Mary

TARRANT RAWSTON ST 90 NW - 3/53 Church of St Mary 26.6.53 GV II*

Redundant Parish Church, now private chapel, C14 origin with late C14 or early C15 alterations, C16 porch and south chapel, C18 chancel, north chapel and further alterations. Flint and squared rubble with ashlar dressings, tiled roofs with stone-slate margins. Plan: nave, short chancel, north and south transeptal chapels; south porch with bellchamber over. Windows are mainly of 2 or 3-trefoiled lights with Perpendicular tracery. C20 gallery window in west gable apex. Bell- chamber has single trefoiled opening. Porch has chamfered circular arch with continuous jambs.

Internal features. C18 semi-circular chancel arch with moulded imposts; transept arches are chamfer semi-circular with moulded imposts and chamfered jambs, that to the south being C16 and that to the north an C18 copy; polygonal C17 timber pulpit with moulded panelling below and chip carved panelling above, carved cornice with integral reading desk. C19 seating incorporating some C17 timberwork; plastered barrel vault ceilings, probably C18; early C19 gallery with panelled and moulded front; octagonal stone font on octagonal pier bearing quatrefoils and dated 1868; late C18 turned communion rails; reset medieval floor tiles with slip decoration; baroque monument dated 1788 to Radford and Thomas Gundry having skull and crossbones and scrolled cheek pieces (a late date for this style of monument.) (RCHM, Dorset, vol.IV, p.110/1, no.1. Newman, J and Pevsner, N. The Buildings of England: Dorset, 1972, p.419.)

Listing NGR: ST9390506666