Benedictine abbey (980–1102)

In a manuscript by William Dugdale, housed in the Ashmolean Museum, it is stated that in ancient times there was a college of six monks at Cranborne, built in memory of certain Britons who were slain in battle there.^[3] Some of the earliest history comes from the chronicle of Tewkesbury, which states that in 930, during the reign of Athelstan, there was a knight named Aylward Sneaw (also known as Aethelweard Maew), nicknamed 'Snow' for his pale complexion. Aylward founded an abbey at Cranborne, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, no later than 980. Aylward was patron of the monastery at Tewkesbury, which he made entirely subservient to the new monastery at Cranborne, thus making Tewkesbury a priory. Aylward later died, and was buried in his monastery at Cranborne. His descendants expanded the monastery by enlarging it and rebuilding it over generations.^[3][4]

Following the Norman Conquest of 1066, the holder of the manor, Brihtric, was imprisoned by William the Conqueror in Winchester Castle for an act of disrespect against his wife, Queen Matilda. His estate, including the monastery at Cranborne, was confiscated, and granted to Robert Fitzhamon, a Norman nobleman.^[3][4][5]

The Domesday Book of 1086 records that Cranborne Abbey was one of the most important monastic foundations in the region, holding at its maximum extent some 13,000 acres (20 sq mi) of land across four counties, including in Gillingham (Dorset), Damerham (Hampshire), Ashton Keynes (Wiltshire) and Loosebeare, near Crediton (Devon).^[4][5][6]

By 1102, Fitzhamon had become lord of Tewkesbury,^[7] and the monastery there was in ruins. When Fitzhamon and the abbot of Cranborne, Giraldus, worked to rebuild the monastery there, they realised that Tewkesbury was much better sited, offering strategic importance due to its location at the confluence of two rivers, the Severn and the Avon, as well as more fertile land and better access to water, compared to Cranborne's small River Crane. As such, the situation of 980 was reversed, Cranborne now becoming entirely subservient to Tewkesbury. Subsequently, in 1102, Giraldus, now abbot of Tewkesbury, accompanied by fifty-seven monks, left Cranborne for Tewkesbury Abbey.^[3][4][7]

Priory (1102–1540)

Cranborne, now a priory church under control of Tewkesbury, was left with one prior and two monks, its importance greatly reduced. Much of the history of the priory is lost, being interwoven with that of Tewkesbury. It is known however that almost all of the main church building was demolished and rebuilt during the early to mid 13th century, reconsecrated in 1252, dedicated to St Mary, St Peter^[3] and St Bartholomew. Further additions and rebuilding took place over the following centuries, including rebuilding the tower and roof in the 15th century.^[1][3][4]

In 1535, the yearly income of Cranborne Priory amounted to £55 6s 1d, surveyed as part of Valor Ecclesiasticus, a nationwide examination of the Church of England's finance ordered by Henry VIII.^[4]

On 31 January 1540, both Cranborne Priory and Tewkesbury Abbey were surrendered to Henry VIII as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. William Dydcotte, last prior of Cranborne, received a pension of £10. The manor of the priory, valued at £14 3s 3d, was sold to Robert Freke.^[3][4] The monastic buildings were demolished in 1703.

Parish church (1540–present)

The priory church survived almost in its entirety following dissolution, save for the cloisters and monastic buildings. Little is known about the condition of the church until the mid 19th century, when several parts of the building were rebuilt or restored. In 1855, the north porch was altered, before being rebuilt in 1873. From 1874 to 1875, the medieval chancel was demolished and rebuilt in the Gothic Revival style to designs by David Brandon, and the north vestry enlarged concurrently. Further work was carried out from 1877 to 1910 by the Rev. F. H. Fisher, including replacement of the chancel screen, reredos and tower screen. The wagon roof of the nave was restored in 1958.^[3][5]

Overview

Much of the priory church survives as the parish church of Cranborne, dedicated to St Mary and St Bartholomew, though the chancel and east end were rebuilt in the 19th century. The oldest part of the building is the Norman doorway in the porch, which dates back to 1120, and features recessed arches and dog-tooth carvings. 12th-century fragments also survive in the lower parts of the south aisle wall, and the nave piers. For a relatively small village, the church is large and spacious, displaying every style of architecture from the late Norman period to the more decorative Perpendicular Gothic era. The building is 148 feet (45 m) long, and has an area of 618 square metres (6,650 sq ft),^[8] which according to the Church of England makes it a "large" sized building.^{[1][3][5][2][9]}

Exterior

The 75 feet high west tower, floodlit by night

The church has an impressive exterior, dominated by the substantial west tower, which rises some 75 feet (23 m)^[10] from ground level, making it amongst the largest in any village church in Dorset.^[10] Historic England describe it as "massive, of 5 stages".^[1] An octagonal stair turret rises from the ground floor in two stages on the south face of the tower. The tower was built in 1440 at the expense of Richard, Duke of York, in the Perpendicular Gothic style, featuring a large west window, a pointed and moulded west doorway and two clock faces on the north and east sides.^[2] His coat of arms can be seen on a shield outside the west door. The tower and nave are floodlit at night.

Interior

Nave, looking west

The nave is of six bays, featuring both north and south aisles, and dates back to the mid 13th century, built in the Early English Gothic style, with a later 15th century barrel vaulted ceiling. The upper nave walls, pierced by two clerestory windows on the north side, contain three medieval wall paintings, dated to between 1240 and 1400. The subjects of these paintings are St Christopher, the Tree of the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Three Dead and the Three Living. These paintings were discovered in 1870, when the lime wash was removed from the south wall. Cranborne's painting of the Tree of Seven Deadly Sins is believed to be unique.^[1][2][3][5]

A larger and more ornate wall painting exists on the wall above the chancel arch, dating from the rebuilding of the chancel in 1874, depicting Christ and the twelve Apostles. The chancel itself is a Gothic Revival construction, separated from the nave by a thin wooden screen and designed by David Brandon, featuring a wagon roof.^[1][2][3][5]

Monuments and fittings

The 12th-century Purbeck font

There are numerous monuments in the church, many dating to the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. These include memorials to John Elliott, the Hooper family, Katherine Wyndham (third wife of Hugh Wyndham), Edmund Uvedale, John Hawles, William Miles and Edward Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester who was born in Cranborne. A monument in the church lists every abbot and prior of Cranborne from 1100 to the dissolution, and a list of churchwardens from 1645 to the present day. There is additionally a tomb recess in the north chancel wall that may have been an Easter Sepulchre. There are several funeral hatchments in the church, notably two in the tower, and a Jacobean tomb in the south nave aisle.^{[2][3][13][14]}

There is an ancient font in the south aisle, dating from the early 13th century, carved from Purbeck stone and featuring an octagonal bowl. Originally sited in the central nave, it was moved to the tower in 1854 and finally to the south aisle in 1970. The font originally had a wooden cover depicting a church steeple, which still survives amongst the monuments in the north nave aisle.^{[1][2][3][5][14]}

A highly intricate and detailed pulpit can be found under the north-eastern portion of the chancel arch, which is of much interest to historians. The pulpit, made of oak on a circular stone base, bears the monogram of Thomas Parker, and dates from c. 1440. Parker was abbot of Tewkesbury from 1381 to 1421. The pulpit contains numerous carvings, many of which relate to the surrounding Cranborne Chase.^{[1][2][3][5][14]}

The church has a moderate sized organ, comprising two manuals built by the Wadsworth brothers of Salford in 1880 at a cost of £481. The organ is listed by the British Institute of Organ Studies under the Historic Organs scheme. The organ was restored in 1991.^[3][15]