Church Of St Aldhelm

OKEFORD FITZPAINE BELCHALWELL ST 70 NE 9/101 CHURCH OF ST ALDHELM, Belchalwell 4.10.60 GV II* Church, formerly the parish church of Belchalwell. South door and part of south nave wall c.l190; nave arcade, south tower, porch, parts of chancel and north aisle windows C15; south tower window C18; east and west walls and north aisle wall late Cl9. Squared coursed rubble, ashlar, banded stone and rubble. Gable eased tiled roofs with stone coping. Plan: nave, chancel, north aisle, south tower and south porch. C15 and C19 work in the 'perpendicular' style but with a late Norman south door. South tower of 2 stages with diagonal 2 stage buttress; embattled parapet; octagonal north east vice turret to first stage with stone roof terminating in gargoyle finial; plinth; string courses. Above buttresses are corner standards with moulded bases and gargoyles. South tower wall has 2-centred h window with no tracery and moulded label with carved head stops on first stage. East tower wall has square 2-light 'perpendicular' tracery window with stopped label. Second stage has 3 2-light square headed 'perpendicular' windows with stopped labels. North face has similar single light window. North aisle and north and south chancel windows of 2-cinqufoiled lights with 'perpendicular' tracery with squared heads under stopped labels. West nave window; Cl9 of 2-lights under 2-centred head with 'perpendicular' tracery under returned label. 2 stage weathered buttress. North aisle east window of 3-lights, 'perpendicular' tracery under segmental head with stopped label. East chancel window of 3-lights, 'perpendicular' tracery under 2-centred head. North aisle has blocked door and chancel has south door with pointed segmental head. South porch has diagonal buttress the outer door being 2-centred with continuously moulded jambs. South doorway has a 2-centred outer arch and segmental pointed tympanum arch. Outer arch has chevron decoration and a label with dog-tooth and nailheads terminating in head-stops. Responds have shafts with leaf capitals. Interior: 3 bay nave arcade with 4-centred moulded arches bearing traces of painting. Piers with 4 attached shafts separated by hollow chamfer and moulded bases and capitals. 2-centred tower arch with blind tracery. Squint from south tower to chancel. Roofs, nave probably Cl9 arch braced collar with tie beam and cusped vertical struts from tie-beams to principals. Chancel has pointed, fielded, ribbed roof having single collar with small arch braces. North aisle has arched braced roof with tie-bean. Door to tower vice of 3-planks with wrought iron strap hinges. C17, fielded pulpit with arabesques. C20 font. Other fittings mainly C19. "RCHM, Dorset vol. III", pp 202-3, no 2. Newman,J and Pevsner, N, "The Buildings of England; Dorset", Penguin, 1972, p 89.

Listing NGR: ST7924709803