Description

WINTERBORNE KINGSTON

520/14/150 CHURCH STREET
14-JUL-55 CHURCH OF ST NICHOLAS

II*
Parish church. C14 with additions and restoration in the 1870s. The west tower, nave, chancel and south porch date largely from the C14, some of the fenestration is C16, and the north aisle and north vestry were added in the late C19.
MATERIALS: Built of banded flint and local Heathstone rubble with ashlar dressings and clay tiled roofs.
PLAN: Nave of four bays with north aisle and north vestry, chancel, west tower and south porch.
EXTERIOR: The west tower was diagonal two-stage buttresses and a moulded string course with embattled parapet above. The west window consists two trefoil-headed lights with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head, whilst the belfry has pointed, Y-tracery windows with reset head corbels above each opening. The south elevation has a projecting porch with a C14 two-centred archway with ovolo and hollow chamfered mouldings and chamfered stops. There is a pair of trefoiled lancets to the left of the porch and two C16 flat-headed, four-light windows to the right. The south wall of the chancel has a C14 window of two trefoil ogee-headed lights with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head and a partly restored C14 doorway with chamfered jambs and a segmental-pointed head. The three-light, pointed east window is C19; to the right of which is a two-light window in the east wall of the vestry. In the north return are two small square windows, and a C19 three-light, cusp-headed window in the east end of the north aisle. The latter is known as the Bond Window and illustrates the lineage of Nathaniel Bond (1840-1910), owner of the Manor of Muston. The C19 work is fenestrated mainly with pairs and triplets of lancets.
INTERIOR: The nave has a four bay arcade with pointed arches. The easternmost arch has chamfered responds and dates from the C14, whilst the rest have clustered shafts with moulded capitals and bases and are late C19. The C19 pointed, moulded chancel arch has shaft responds with capitals and bases; whilst the pointed tower arch comprises three chamfered orders dying into the responds. The nave has a C19 arch-braced collared roof with a single wind-braced purlin and the chancel has a C19 ribbed barrel roof.
FITTINGS: The tower has seven bells; three of 1600 by John Wallis which are inscribed: "Feare God," "Prayse God," "Love God"; one of 1749 by William Elery; and three of late C20 date. There are a number of good quality fittings including a C14 trefoiled piscina with a round bowl; an early C17 octagonal oak pulpit with moulded panels and a chip-carved frieze; and a stone font in a baluster form with an ogee-moulded bowl. It is dated 1736 on its pedestal and retains its original cover with pineapple finial. Other features are largely C19, including encaustic tiles and an early C19 marble monument.
HISTORY: The church is situated towards the centre of Winterborne Kingston and it is dedicated to Saint Nicholas who was Bishop of Myra in Lycia during the fourth century. The church has C14 origins and was restored by the architect G E Street (1824-81) in the 1870s when the vestry and the north aisle were also added. In 1999 the west tower was restored.
SOURCES:
Royal Commission of Historic Monuments in England, `Dorset: an inventory of historical monuments' (1952) HMSO. London, vol. 2, pt. II, pp 300-301
N. Pevsner and J. Newman, `The Buildings of England - Dorset'(1972), pp481

REASON FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: The Church of St Nicholas is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* A small parish church comprising a C14 nave, chancel, tower and porch. The addition of the vestry and north aisle, and restoration work in the 1870s by G. E. Street, an eminent C19 architect, further increase the building's interest
* The quality of its architectural detailing, materials and craftsmanship
* It has a high quality and quantity of surviving medieval and later fabric.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17539644

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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