The Former 'Stonyn' Door In Churchyard About 5 Metres South Of Vestry, Church Of St Margaret

The former 'Stonyn' door is located in the churchyard about 5 metres south of the vestry of the Church of St. Margaret. It dates from either 1515 or 1518 and is made of Ham stone. The structure is a block of stone approximately 1.2 meters wide, 400 millimeters thick, and 2 meters tall. It features a moulded open pediment at the top, beneath which is a band of carved medieval Latin script that translates to "Let us go into the house of God rejoicing" on one side and "Truly this is a holy place" on the other. Below this, the outline of a segmental arched doorway can be traced. This door was erected by Prior Chard of Montacute, who was also the vicar of Tintinhull, possibly during repairs to the churchyard wall using stone from the ruins of Montacute Castle. It may have served as his private gate to the parsonage, which is now Tintinhull Court. This door has been preserved as the lintel, while a 18th-century gateway now replaces it in the churchyard's south wall.