Church Of The Blessed Virgin And Child

The Church of the Blessed Virgin and Child is a parish church, originally a monastic frater, dating from the early to mid 13th century. It was altered in the 15th and 16th centuries and restored in 1849 and 1900-10. The church is constructed of coursed Binstead stone, with Caen stone and Purbeck marble used internally, and has an old plain tile roof. It is aligned on a north-south axis, comprising four wide bays.

At the south end, a large, full-height buttress sits centrally, flanked by pointed lancet windows; the central lancet is positioned behind the buttress. Sloping-topped angle buttresses are also present. The east side features six pointed lancets with a continuous roll moulding. A boiler house and chimney occupy the north bay, with buttresses between bays and a 19th-century gabled porch to the north of the centre. The west side has similarly styled lancets, two near the south end and two to the north of the centre. Between these is a staircase turret-like buttress, a two-light window, and three smaller lancets. Irregular 18th-century buttresses are situated in front of one window and towards the north. Close to the north end is a 16th-century doorway and remnants of a hatch from the kitchen.

The north elevation, facing the cloisters, presents a three-order finely moulded doorway, retaining its medieval door with original ironwork. Adjacent to this is a two-light trefoiled window, with three lancets above, the central one being taller and featuring a moulded sill string. A single lancet is high-set within the gable. A square-plan, hip-roofed bellcote sits on the roof.

Internally, a prominent feature is a 13th-century reading pulpit on the south wall, resting on a large corbel bracket decorated with stiff-leaf splays; the pulpit itself is a 19th-century restoration. Behind the pulpit is a pointed archway leading to a vaulted room lit by a two-light window. A doorway to the south provides access to the staircase within the buttress/turret. To the north is a staircase leading to the church, with an open arcade of coupled Purbeck columns supporting moulded point arches; there are four arches and two higher-set to the south. A pointed doorway to the north reveals a wall painting. The church houses a 15th-century arched brace roof with longitudinal ribs and bosses at the junctions, with the remainder of the building exhibiting 16th, 18th, and 19th-century features. A reredos dating from circa 1900 is also present. A monument from 1651 commemorates Mary Do, comprised of stone and marble, and featuring a figure beneath an open pediment on Tuscan columns. The remaining monuments and furnishings are largely from the 19th century.