Church Of Saint Bartholomew

ST 81 NE SUTTON WALDROW -

2/173 Church of Saint Bartholomew 16-8-60 GV II*

Parish church, 1847 by George Alexander. Internal decoration by Owen Jones. Flint with random, squared rubble blocks. Ashlar tower and dressings. Tiled roofs with end stone copings. Plan: Nave, chancel, west tower, south aisle and north vestry. In the Deocrated style, all windows having mainly curvilinear tracery. West tower: 3 stages with recessed octagonal spire; diagonal buttresses terminating in crocketted pinnacles; flying buttresses from pinnacles to spire; 2 levels of octagonal loops in spire; weathered string courses; pointed west window of 4 lights with 'star of David' tracery; cill string with head stop terminals; trefoiled loop above west window; pointed belfrey openings of 2 lights with labels with carved stops. East and west aisle windows of 3 lights under pointed heads with labels terminating in head stops. South chancel window of 2 lights under pointed head with label terminating in head stops. 5-light east chancel window under pointed head with label terminating in head stops. Single light north chancel window with label terminating in head stops. Vestry has 2 and 3 light, square-headed windows with labels terminating in headstops. Pointed west vestry door reached by flight of steps with stone rails supported by trefoil pierced panels. 2-light nave windows with pointed heads and labels terminating in head stops. Gabled south porch with moulded, pointed archway and trefoiled lights to the east Open traceried wooden door. Nave doorway is pointed with label terminating in carved stops.

Interior. Pointed, moulded chancel arch with continuous jambs. 4 bay pointed arcade on octagonal piers with moulded caps and bases. Pointed, moulded tower arch. Windows have shafted rere-arches. Arch braced collar beam nave roof with windbracing, the principals springing from corbels. Similar chancel and aisle roolbbut without windbracing. Cinqufoiled sedilia. Ogee headed, trefoiled piscina. Stone communion rail pierced by trefoils. Decorated pulpit with cinqufoiled niche to rear. Stone lectern on corbel. Octagonal stone font on octagonal shaft. Encaustic tiles by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin in chancel. Interior decoration by Owen Jones in abstract patterns in red, dark blue and gold against pastel blue background. This is said to be the most important surviving example of his work. Belfry contains reset medieval carving, thought to be a monument to a heart burial recut to represent grotesque face (RCHM). (RCHM, Dorset, vol. IV, p. 84/5, no. 1. Newman, J and Pevsner, N. The Buildings of England: Dorset, 1972, p,4o9 and p. 553/4.)

Listing NGR: ST8620815705