Marnhull

31 MARNHULL (7818)

(O.S. 6 ins. ST 71 NE, ST 72 SE, ST 81 NW)

Marnhull is a large parish with an area of some 3,800 acres, bounded on the W. by the R. Stour and on the E. by the Key Brook, a tributary of the Stour; another tributary, Chivrick's Brook, drains the centre of the area. Between the Stour and Chivrick's Brook a long ridge of Corallian Sand and Limestone rises to an altitude of 300 ft.; from it is quarried the stone, closely resembling that of Bath, with which nearly every building in the parish is constructed. The Limestone ridge is separated from the Stour by a narrow band of Oxford Clay about 200 ft. above sea-level; to the E., Kimmeridge Clay at about the same altitude extends as far as the Key Brook.

Until the 16th century the low-lying clay land E. of Chivrick's Brook was a separate parish named Thorton (fn. 1); its village is now deserted but it may be presumed to have had mediaeval open fields. The secondary settlements of Moorside and Lymburgh's Farm (fn. 2) developed, by the 14th century at latest, as enclosures of the waste outside the fields. Later enclosure occurred on Ram's Hill in the S.E. of Thorton, perhaps with the establishment of Lush's and Breach Farms and therefore probably in the second half of the 18th century.

The scattered village of Marnhull stands on the Limestone ridge in the W. part of the parish. It is not named in Domesday Book, but it is almost certainly included there with Sturminster Newton and is probably the 8 hides held by Waleran, Roger and Chetel (fn. 3); these lands are probably identifiable with the three separate settlements of Walton Elm, Burton and Kentleworth which now combine to form the village of Marnhull.

Settlement sites and burials of Iron Age and Romano-British date, discovered by quarrying in the neighbourhood of the village, represent early extension of settlement, off the Chalk, on to the lower Corallian-Limestone ridge. The most important monument is the parish church, and the village also contains several interesting 16th and 17th-century dwellings.

Ecclesiastical

(1) The Parish Church of St. Gregory stands near the centre of the village. It has walls of squared rubble and rough ashlar, with dressings of finer ashlar; the masonry includes a certain amount of Greensand but the greater part of the fabric is of local limestone. The roofs are covered with stone-slates, lead and tiles.

In the Nave, the second pier of the N. arcade is square, with attached columns on all four sides; it dates from the late 12th century and shows that the church of this date had a N. aisle, which was probably of four bays, the surviving compound pier marking the centre. In the late 14th century the North Aisle was extended westwards, with three longer bays to the W. of the compound pier; to the E. of the same pier the two eastern bays of the arcade were remodelled and a large North Chapel was built. At this time the N. aisle was not more than 10 ft. wide and a small two-storied building of the same date as the N. chapel occupied the angle between the W. side of the chapel and the aisle wall; it had an external doorway to the N. and a stair turret at the N.E. corner, with doorways opening from the vice to ground-floor and first-floor rooms and to the chapel. The form suggests a dwelling, possibly a lodging for a chantry priest, and references in the Salisbury Diocesan registers between 1388 and 1413 to a chantry of St. Mary, of which the Carents of Henstridge were the patrons, are probably pertinent. The Chancel Arch, and presumably the foundations to the E. which are said to have been discovered in 1881 and reused as the footings of the new chancel, date from the second half of the 15th century; the archway to the former South Chapel is similar to the chancel arch and this chapel formerly contained an elaborate alabaster tomb of c. 1470 (monument (6)). The West Tower is of the 15th century, with 18th-century restorations. Early in the 16th century the N. chapel and N. aisle were remodelled; the lodging was abolished and the aisle was made wider, incorporating the N. wall of the former two-storied dwelling; the vice and the doorways were blocked up, although the vice was subsequently reopened to provide access to the chapel roof. The E. bay of the widened aisle was lit by an upper window in the E. wall, over the chapel roof; below, the chapel was divided from the N. aisle by an archway and a pierced stone screen, the latter originally with a metal grille. At the same time a rood-loft vice was added at the S.E. corner of the N. chapel, presumably giving access to a rood loft in front of the chancel arch.

In 1852 the S. wall of the nave was replaced by the present S. arcade, the 15th-century archway to the former S. chapel being retained as the easternmost bay; the South Porch is also of 1852. The Chancel and the North Vestry are of 1881 and the Organ Chamber to the S. of the chancel is of 1897.

The church is notable for its fine 15th-century west tower and for three alabaster recumbent effigies of c. 1470. The coffered nave roof is unusually rich work of c. 1520.

Architectural Description—The Chancel Arch is two-centred and of three orders; the inmost is ogee-moulded, the second is a wide hollow-chamfer interrupted at the centre by a narrow roll-moulding, the third is another ogee. On each respond the inner order becomes a three-quarter shaft and the other mouldings are repeated in the form of shafts which rise from moulded bases and terminate at moulded and carved capitals; two winged angels hold a blank shield at the front of the centre capital (Plate 16) and the outer capitals have leaf enrichment. The N. respond is pierced by a squint from the N. chapel.

The Nave (54 ft. by 17 ft.) has on the N. side an arcade of five two-centred arches (Plate 151), each of two chamfered orders. In the E. respond the inner order rests on a head-corbel, probably of the 19th century; the outer order is continuous. The first column from the E. is of the 14th century and octagonal, with a moulded cap and a chamfered base; the latter rests on a chamfered square plinth, approximately at the present floor level and probably part of a 12th-century pier. The second column is of the 12th century; it has a square centre pier with a keeled three-quarter shaft attached to each face. The shaft bases, if any, are concealed below the floor. The N., E. and W. capitals have fluted and reeded cushions rising from roll-moulded neckings to scalloped square fascias, with pellets and narrow chevron fillets; the S. capital (Plate 16) has three human masks and some leaf ornament surmounted by a plain fillet; continuous to all four shaft caps is a hollow-chamfered abacus. The third and fourth columns of the colonnade are of the 14th century and similar to the first; the fourth has a square Greensand plinth of two chamfered stages, with shaped stops in the angles of the octagonal shaft; the shaft is of banded Greensand and limestone. In the three W. bays the two-centred arches are similar to those of the two E. bays but slightly higher. In the W. respond the chamfered outer order of the arch is continuous and the inner order rests on a moulded polygonal cap below which is a three-quarter shaft, possibly of the 12th century and reset. Above the arcade, the nave wall has at the E. end a square-headed rood-loft doorway. Over the second bay and at a higher level is a two-light clearstorey window; the jambs are hollow-chamfered and the head of the opening is formed by the wall-plate. The S. side of the nave has an arcade of four two-centred arches with details similar to the chancel arch; the E. bay is of the 15th century, the others are of 1852. The responds of the E. bay have moulded caps with foliate enrichment; two courses below the cap the centre shaft of the E. respond springs from an angel corbel and below that level the middle order of the respond is flat; the base has polygonal mouldings on the N. side only. The W. respond appears to have been extensively rebuilt, presumably in the construction of the western bays of the S. arcade.

The North Chapel (20½ ft. by 18½ ft.) has E. and N. walls of rough ashlar and squared rubble; the walls have chamfered plinths and the low-pitched lead-covered roof has ashlar parapets with weathered coping above hollow-chamfered and moulded string-courses; in the N. string-course are two human mask gargoyles. At the S. end of the E. wall is a former turret for the rood stairs, which also continue up to give access to the chapel roof; the vice doorway has a rebated four-centred head and continuous jambs; to the E. is a small round window and there is a small loop higher up, to the N.; the head of the turret is weathered. Adjacent, to the N., is a casement-moulded two-centred 15th-century window of two cinquefoil-headed lights with vertical tracery; further N. is a casement-moulded square-headed 16th-century window of three cinquefoil ogee-headed lights below vertical tracery in a four-centred arch with pierced spandrels; below is seen the sill of an earlier and narrower window, probably of the 14th century. At the N.E. corner of the chapel is a buttress of two weathered stages and in the W. part of the N. wall is a similar buttress, square-set. Between these buttresses is a square-headed 16th-century N. window uniform with that of the E. wall. At the N.W. corner of the chapel is a square vice turret. The vice is entered from the chapel through a chamfered square-headed doorway set across the corner; the doorway was probably blocked up when the adjacent 16th-century screen was inserted but it has since been reopened. At a somewhat higher level a narrow square-headed opening in the S. side of the vice now faces into the N. aisle, and higher still is a doorway with a chamfered two-centred head, also opening to the S.; both these openings are now blocked. The W. side of the chapel has a 16th-century stone screen with two square-headed lights, formerly with metal grilles, with ogee and casement-moulded surrounds; the head has been renewed and above it is a triangular relieving arch. The S. jamb of the screen is integral with the N. respond of a two-centred arch, with an ogee-moulded inner order flanked by deep casement mouldings and hollow-chamfered outer mouldings; the N. respond has ogee-moulded shafts with moulded polygonal bases, and capitals in the form of angels bearing a scroll with the inscription in raised black-letter 'beati omnes qui timent dominum et qui ambulant in vijs ei[us]'; the end of the scroll is broken. To the S., the arch springs from a 16th-century capital in which St. Michael with sword and shield stands between a man and a devil; this capital rests on the abacus of the N. shaft of the 12th-century pier in the N. arcade of the nave.

The North Aisle (34 ft. by 16 ft.) corresponds with the three W. bays of the nave arcade. To the E. it is bounded by the 16th-century stone screen and archway of the N. chapel, already described. Above the screen is a two-centred 16th-century window of three cinquefoil ogee-headed lights below vertical tracery. The lower part of each light is masked by the roof of the N. chapel and has a blind panel with a quatrefoil, and embattled cresting. The N. wall is of ashlar and squared rubble and has, externally, a chamfered plinth, a chamfered eaves course, and three 19th-century buttresses. In the E. bay is a blocked 14th-century doorway with a chamfered segmental-pointed head; its sill is 2½ ft. above the present floor-level but nearly level with the ground outside; externally the former doorway is entirely masked by the 16th-century ashlar facing. In the second and third bays are two 16th-century four-centred windows, each of three lights with segmental-pointed heads and vertical tracery. The N.W. corner of the aisle has 19th-century angle buttresses. At the base of the W. wall, the 14th-century aisle is represented by a hollow-chamfered plinth with a fragment of a diagonal buttress at the former N.W. corner; this aisle was about 10 ft. wide. Reset at the centre of the 16th-century W. wall is a 14th-century window of three trefoil ogee-headed lights.

The South Chapel has been demolished, except for the archway in its N. wall, now incorporated in the nave arcade. Hutchins (IV, 322) records that it formerly contained monument (6).

The West Tower (Plate 150) has three stages; at the base is a chamfered and moulded plinth and between the stages are weathered and hollow-chamfered string-courses. The parapet rises above a hollow-chamfered string-course decorated with gargoyles on all but the S. side. Hutchins (IV, 320) says that the tower fell down about 1718, but the evidence of the masonry shows this to be an exaggeration; the destruction appears to have been confined to the S. face of the top stage, which has been rebuilt in 18th-century style. The corners of the tower are strengthened by angle buttresses, staged in correspondence with the tower and having continuous string-courses. Above the weathered heads of the lower stage of the buttresses rise freestanding diagonal pinnacles with narrow trefoil-headed side panels and crocketed finials; these rise to more than half the height of the second stage. In the third stage, on the E., N. and W. sides, the buttresses are embellished with similar pinnacles, halved and attached to the buttress face, and themselves divided into two stages by moulded and hollow-chamfered strings. On the S. side, restored in the 18th century, the halved pinnacles are omitted but hollow-chamfered and weathered string-courses decorate the buttresses at the same level as the pinnacle string-courses of the other sides. The vice turret, in the eastern part of the N. side, is polygonal in plan and staged in correspondence with the tower; at the top is a parapet with quatrefoil perforations. The tower arch is two-centred and of three orders, the inner and outer orders with ogee mouldings, the intermediate order with a wide hollow-chamfer. The two outer orders continue on the responds but the inner order springs from attached three-quarter shafts with moulded caps and polygonal bases. On the N. side the vice doorway is the only feature of the lower stage; it has a chamfered four-centred head and continuous jambs. The W. doorway has a four-centred head with mouldings continuous on the jambs, except for one moulding which changes to a small shaft with a capital; above is a hood-mould with head-stops. The W. window is two-centred and casement-moulded, and of five ogee-headed cinquefoil lights with vertical tracery; the tracery is intersected by two-centred arches over the outer pairs of lights. The head is outlined by a weathered hood-mould. The lower third of the original opening has been walled up, perhaps in connection with an internal gallery, now gone. On the S. side, the lower stage has, externally, a small niche flanked by standards and crowned by a projecting canopy with miniature ribbing in the vault; above are crocketed gables and a heavily crocketed central pinnacle. The projecting three-sided base of the niche is much worn and its decoration has perished. In the second stage, the E., N. and W. sides of the tower have canopied niches similar to that of the lower stage; the bases are decorated with angel corbels. On the S. side, the second stage has a casement-moulded two-centred window of two cinquefoil-headed lights with a quatrefoil above and a label with head stops; on each side of the window is a canopied niche as before described. In the top stage, the E. and W. sides have coupled belfry windows, each of two transomed lights in a two-centred casement-moulded head with continuous jambs and a concentric hood-mould. The lights below the transoms have trefoil elliptical heads and are blind; those above have cinquefoil two-centred heads; above each pair of lights is a central quatrefoil; the upper lights have timber louvres. The N. side has only one belfry window, as described, the other half being occupied by the vice turret. Between the paired windows of the E. and W. sides and also beside the N. window are diagonal half-pinnacles with crocketed finials; they are similar to those of the buttresses but without panels; at the base of each half-pinnacle is carved a crouched human figure. The S. side of the top stage, rebuilt in the 18th century, has a single window of two cinquefoil-headed two-centred lights with a central quatrefoil under a two-centred casement-moulded head, with continuous jambs and a concentric hood-mould; the opening is nearly uniform with the other belfry windows and is probably composed of reused elements of the original windows. Below the sill is a square clock-face with pilasters and a horizontal cornice; lower still is carved a crouched human figure, presumably a vestige of the mediaeval pinnacle which originally stood there. The parapets, rebuilt in the 18th century, have moulded copings and pediment-like gables with ball finials at the centre. At each corner is a tapering pinnacle of two stages, with panelled sides, gadrooned string-courses and a pear-shaped finial.

The Roof of the nave is of two periods; at the E. end is one bay of late 19th-century work, said to replace a former 16th-century plaster ceiling; to the W. are five bays of timber coffering of c. 1520 (Plate 151). The 16-century roof comprises six heavily moulded main beams with raised centres intersecting a longitudinal ridge-piece with similar mouldings. The mouldings of the beams continue on slightly shouldered timber wall standards which rest on rounded ashlar corbels about 2 ft. below the wall-heads. At the wall-heads are moulded timber cornices, with three orders of casement mouldings enriched with spaced foliate bosses. The ten square compartments outlined by the beams, ridge-pieces and cornices are each divided into four smaller squares by two moulded cross-beams, and each smaller square is again divided by subsidiary moulded cross-beams into four coffers. The wooden panels which fill the coffers are carved with various quatrefoil patterns, some with foliate bosses at the centre, some with Tudor roses, some with medallions of human heads and one panel containing a shield with the arms of Carent.

The N. aisle has a 16th-century wagon roof of four bays, with moulded wall-plates, moulded cross and longitudinal ribs, and carved leaf-bosses at the intersections; the plaster panels have been removed exposing the intermediate cross-ribs and rafters. Three modern tie-beams have been added. The N. chapel has a restored coffered ceiling similar to the nave roof but without carved panels.

The lower storey of the tower is roofed with a ribbed vault, of stone in the lower courses and in the ribs which adjoin the walls, but made up with timber and plaster in the central part; the ribs spring from corner shafts with moulded capitals.

Fittings—Bells: Six; 3rd dated 1655 and inscribed 'T.P., R.M., N.S., C.W.', 5th inscribed 'Ave gratia plena', 15th century; others recast. Bracket: Reset in N. wall of chancel, angel corbel with traces of pigment, 15th century. Brass: On N. respond of chancel arch, plate (16½ ins. by 8½ ins.) inscribed:

                Anno Domini 1596
    Of Robert Sidlin Alyas Warrin heere
    The Bodie lyes intirred ovr brother deer
    For love that he vnto this parrishe bore
    Ten povnds he gave a stocke vnto the poore
    Which frinds of his in trvste shall styll retayne
    With them and their assignes aye to remayn
    To Robert Pope John Hilson their names be
    To Roger Clarke and Thomas Clarke did he
    Committ the stocke and did them fowr pray
    A povnd yeerly vnto the poor to paye
    To comfort them in their distresse and need
    A good example and a Godly deede.

Plate mounted in carved stone aedicule (2²/3 ft. high by 1¾ ft. wide) with disproportionately spindly columns supporting heavy entablature with guilloche frieze, scrolled consoles and dentil cornice; below cornice and above plate, moulded niche-head with scalloped conch; below, moulded podium inscribed 'Anno Domini 1596 by me Lynil Brine'; S.E. side of aedicule with rope emblem. Chest: oak (4¼ ft. by 2 ft. by 2½ ft. high), with beaded rails and three panels in front; early 18th century. Coffin-stool: with turned legs, beaded rails and moulded top, inscribed on the rails PARESH STOOLES 1683 TL. Collecting Box: oak (6½ ins. by 6 ins.), with painted inscriptions and date 1633. Communion Table: with turned legs, ball feet, ogee stretchers, moulded rails and plain top; 17th century.

Fonts: two; in S. aisle, stone bowl 2²/3 ft. square and 1½ ft. high, roughly worked and perhaps originally mediaeval cross-shaft base with circular basin scooped out, resting on octagonal Purbeck marble stem with two trefoil-headed panels to each side and moulded plinth, 15th century ; in N. aisle, disused octagonal stone bowl 2 ft. across and 1½ ft. high, with moulded under-edge and circular basin, possibly originally set on pedestal of the first. Glass: In N. aisle, reset in eastern window of N. wall, fragments including roses, suns, leaf-sprays and borders in black and silverstain, 15th century. Graffiti: On S. respond of tower arch, outline of hand enclosing 'NMHD 1611'; on tower vice doorway, various dates from 1679; reset in E. wall of chancel, stone inscribed '1748 … HARDING'. Hatchments: On W. wall of N. chapel, (1) arms of Strangways impaling Wood, lozenge-shaped wooden panel with plain surround, initials M.A.S. and date 1663; on W. wall of N. aisle, (2) of Pope impaling Buckler, panel similar to foregoing; on E. wall of S. aisle, (3) paly of three, Glisson, Godmanstone ? and (unidentified 3), similar panel; on S. wall of S. aisle, (4) of Filioll, below on a scroll, 'Leivetenant Filloll', on surround, 'Died the 5 of June and was buried the 8 of June in Worthen Anno Domini 1631', similar panel; adjacent, (5) lozenge of arms with mantling, helm and crest of Dive or Dine, similar panel.

Monuments and Floor-slabs. Monuments: In chancel, reset on N. wall, (1) of Rev. Conyers Place 1778, and his wife, daughter and sons, variegated marble wall-monument with cartouche-of-arms; (2) of Rev. Conyers Place, 1738, and his wife, 1741, parents of the foregoing, marble tablet with moulded architrave and arms; (3) of Rev. Harry Place, 1828, and his family, white marble tablet by Reeves of Bath, with arms; (4) of Robert Harvey Place, 1840, marble scroll by Reeves of Bath; reset on S. wall, (5) of Rev. Edward Place, 1768, slate inscription panel with marble surround and cartouche-of-arms. In nave, reset under E. arch of N. arcade, (6) three alabaster recumbent effigies (Plate 15) of c. 1470; centre, male figure in fluted armour wearing Yorkist collar of alternate roses and sun in splendour, with lion pendant; head resting on helm; crest mutilated but recognisable as erased and collared head of furred beast; feet resting on couched lion; on either side identical female effigies in gowns with full skirts and tight bodices, with jewelled collars and butterfly head-dresses, heads on tasselled cushions flanked by angels, mutilated; traces of colour remain. Effigies lie on 19th-century stone tomb-chest with trefoil-headed moulded panelling, apparently copy of former alabaster tomb-chest, fragment of which is reset in S. side. Tomb sometimes assigned to Lord Bindon (Hutchins IV, 322) or to either Carent or Filiol family (Helens, Marnhull Parish Notes); Carent most probable since Carent arms appear in nave roof and John Carent of Silton, d. 1478, was twice married. In N. chapel, on N. wall, (7) of James Galpin, 1829, white marble tablet by Clarke of Blandford. In N. aisle, on N. wall, (8) of John Pope, 1653, and Anna Pope, 1676, stone inscription panel with architectural surround of white stone, and arms in broken pediment, erected by Robert, son of John and husband of Anna, 1681; on W. wall, (9) of Jane, 1827, and Thomas Burt, 1838, marble tablet by Hiscock; (10) of Thomas, 1812, and Martha Burt, 1797, oval panel of grey marble. In churchyard, immediately W. of S. porch, (11) of members of the Moore family of King's Mill, 1663, 1691, 1702, stone table-tomb with moulded top. Seven paces E. of organ chamber, (12) of William and Ruth Crew, 1724, headstone. Twelve paces E. of chancel, (13) of George Hayter, 1719, headstone. Floor-slabs: In nave, (1) of Joseph Burge, 1676, and Richard Burge, 1693, large slab of Purbeck marble. In N. aisle, (2) of John Pope, 1653, Edward Pope, 1686, and Margaret Pope, 1712, Purbeck marble slab with shield-of-arms; (3) of … Pope, 1676, and Robert Pope, large Purbeck marble slab, much worn, with shield-of-arms. In N. chapel, all of Purbeck marble, (4) of Thomas Barfoot, 1694, and others of same family, slab also inscribed 'J.G. 1829'; (5) of Thomas Tutt, 1708, and others of same family; (6) of John Hussey, 1811, slab with rounded head; (7) of Edward Burdett, 1712; (8) of Edward Hussey, 1786.

Niche: In nave, on E. wall, S. of chancel arch, recess with traces of colour, with shaved-off canopy seen in outline. Paintings: In nave, above chancel arch, early 18th-century text of Lord's Prayer and Creed in architectural framework; behind it, 16th-century black-letter decalogue in three panels with black and yellow borders; doom painting alleged to underlie this. On E. wall of nave, S. of chancel arch, black-letter text of I Sam. XV, 23, on scroll, probably 16th century. Above western arch of N. arcade, scrolled cartouche with black-letter text, Matt. XXVIII, 19. On W. wall of nave, N. of tower arch, skeleton carrying spade; S. of tower arch, naked man with staff, both paintings in ochre with red outline, probably 16th century. Piscina: In N. chapel, in E. wall, niche with boldly chamfered ogee head with cinquefoil cusping (Plate 24); bowl with quatrefoil sinking, restored; 14th century. Plate: includes Elizabethan silver cup (Plate 42) by Gillingham silversmith, with incised strapwork on bowl, also replica of same, 1843; also silver paten with hallmark of 1724 and churchwardens' inscription of same year. Royal Arms: Over S. doorway, painted on lozenge-shaped wooden panel with moulded and mitred surround, Stuart arms with cipher C.R. altered to G.R., and date 1732 added (Plate 44). Weather-vane: on pinnacle of W. tower, of wrought iron, with date 1745. Miscellanea: In case in N. chapel, fragments of floor tiles, one with a shield vair; a carved ball-flower fragment; fragments of a crocketed stone canopy, perhaps from defaced niche on E. wall of nave; on floor of N. chapel, part of stone beast, perhaps tower gargoyle; in screen to W. tower, fragments of moulded oak panelling.

(2) The Chapel Of St. Mary (78332008), Roman Catholic, stands 1,500 yards N. of the parish church and is of roughly coursed rubble with a tiled and stone-slated roof. The Chancel and Nave were built in 1832 and an extension on the S. of the chancel was added about 1886. The N. wall of the nave has five weathered two-stage buttresses, and one chamfered two-centred lancet window in the W. bay. The S. wall has four larger windows of similar form; it has no buttresses. The W. porch is of ashlar with weathered diagonal buttresses; the W. doorway has a moulded two-centred head with continuous jambs and a concentric hood-mould.

Fittings—Plate: includes silver thurible with hallmark of 1733. [Vestments: Chasuble of c. 1300 transferred to V. and A. Museum, 1936.]

Secular

Central Marnhull Or Kentleworth

(3) The Old Rectory (78151869), 30 yds. S. of the parish church, is two-storied with attics and cellars, and has ashlar-faced walls and slated roofs. The house was enlarged and much altered in the second half of the 18th century and again in the 19th century but it probably is of late 17th-century origin; the date 1695 with initials T.C.M. is inscribed on a stone roundel built into the E. elevation. Originally the house had an H-plan but the N. recess was filled in in the 19th century. A few windows have original moulded stone surrounds but the other openings are of the 19th century. Inside, two ground-floor rooms have early 19th-century fielded panelling and another room has a bolection-moulded fireplace surround.

The Stables, 40 yds. W. of the house, have rubble walls and tiled roofs and date from the late 18th or early 19th century. Adjacent, raised on staddle stones, is a Granary of about the same date, with a pyramidal tiled roof with stone-slate verges, and walls of weather-boarded timber framework.

(4) Senior's Farm (78101873), house, 30 yds. W. of the parish church, is two-storied with attics and has walls of squared and coursed rubble with ashlar dressings, and roofs partly of stone-slate and partly tiled. The main E. range (Plate 56) dates from c. 1500 and retains several original features of high quality; the W. range is of the 18th century. The E. range is of architectural interest for its rich decorative finish, although its original purpose is uncertain. It may perhaps have originated as a manor house for occasional occupation by monks of Glastonbury Abbey, to which the parish formerly belonged; or, being close to the church, it could have been the residence of a well-endowed chantry priest.

The E. front of the E. range has four bays. On the ground floor at the N. end is a square-headed window of three lights with moulded four-centred heads and continuous jambs, within a casement-moulded surround under a weathered and hollow-chamfered hood-mould. The second bay has a blocked doorway with a small modern casement window in the blocking. The third bay contains the principal doorway, with a pointed ogee-moulded and hollow-chamfered head, continuous jambs and carved leaf spandrels under a roll-moulded, hollow-chamfered and weathered label; the arch has been mutilated to admit a square-headed 18th-century door. Above the label is a plain recess. S. of the doorway is a small blocked window and next to it is a modern window of three lights with details similar to the window first described. On the first floor the two N. bays have uniform square-headed windows of two chamfered and hollow-chamfered square-headed lights with continuous jambs. The windows of the two S. bays are similar to those of the N. bays except that within the square heads each light has a trefoil ogee tracery head with pierced and cusped spandrels; between these two windows is a small trefoil-headed loop.

The gabled N. wall is of rubble with ashlar quoins to about 1½ ft. above the wall-plates; at that level it is traversed by a weathered and hollow-chamfered string-course, above which the gable is of ashlar, with two square-headed attic windows, perhaps modern. On the first floor near the N.W. corner is a square-headed chamfered and hollow-chamfered window of one light with an ogee tracery head and quatrefoil roundels in the spandrels. The S. wall of the E. range has been rebuilt in recent times; on the ground and first floors are moulded single-light windows with four-centred heads and labels. The W. side of the E. range is of three bays, with two square-headed ground-floor windows, each of three lights with four-centred heads, and a doorway with a moulded and pointed head; as on the E. front the head of the doorway has been marred by the insertion of a square-headed 18th-century door. S. of the doorway is a small square-headed light with chamfered head and jambs. On the first floor the N. and middle windows are each of two square-headed lights while the S. window has two similar lights with cusped ogee tracery heads and trefoil-headed pierced spandrels.

The 18th-century W. range has eaves some 2 ft. lower than the N. range. On the N. side is a square-headed doorway with a chamfered timber surround. To the E. of the doorway the wall is splayed to avoid the window at the S. end of the E. range; to the W. is a square-headed three-light casement window with a moulded timber surround and mullions; similar windows occur on the first floor. The S. front has been rebuilt in recent times. Adjoining the W. end and projecting to the S. is an 18th-century barn with rubble walls and a stone-slated roof.

Inside, the ground-floor room at the N. end of the E. range has deep-chamfered wall-plates around the ceiling. In the N. wall is an original stone fireplace surround with a hollow-chamfered four-centred head under a recessed square surround, with roundels and fern-like carving in the spandrels; the jamb mouldings are continuous and end at moulded stops. In the W. wall a doorway with a chamfered four-centred head gives access to a small recess. The S. wall of the room is an original plank-and-muntin partition; each plank is bordered by continuous chamfers on the sides of the muntins and on the underside of the top rail; the chamfers end in broach stops above the sill. The doorway in the partition has a four-centred head. The partition retains some original painted decorations: chevrons on the chamfers, long-stemmed plants on the muntins and scrolled leafwork with pomegranate heads on the planks. Superimposed on this decoration one plank retains a painting of a crowned figure, in an ermine-edged yellow robe, bearing a sword. In the adjacent room the S. face of the same partition has hollow-chamfers and ogee-mouldings in place of chamfers; the doorway is moulded. This room has been reduced in size by the partitioning-off of a passage on the E., with reset oak panelling, but the moulded ceiling beams continue across the passage to the E. wall of the house; between the beams are 16th-century plaster panels with moulded fleurs-de-lis and leaf sprays. On the S. side of the room is an original fireplace surround with stone jambs and a timber head; the jambs are moulded and also have pilasters which correspond with moulded capitals on the head; the fireplace has been reduced in size by the insertion of a second 16th-century surround taken from a first-floor room; it has a moulded four-centred head and continuous jambs. In the W. wall, to the S. of the window, is a shell-headed ashlar niche, probably of the 18th century.

On the first floor, the chamber at the N. end of the E. range has a four-centred fireplace surround with double hollow-chamfered mouldings and run-out stops. The ogee-headed window W. of the fireplace retains, in the quatrefoil spandrels, some fragments of original coloured glass with the letters I.C. The staircase is modern but the first-floor partition on the S. side of the stair-well is original plank-and-muntin work of exceptionally high quality. On the S. face the muntins are moulded; on the N. face they are carved with narrow trefoil-headed panels in two heights, separated by a double band of quatrefoils (Plate 80). The planks are carved with tracery to correspond with the muntins. A doorway in the partition has a chamfered four-centred head and an old plank door hung on iron strap hinges.

The 18th-century W. range has no noteworthy features.

(5) Pope's Farm (77141819), house, ¾ m. W.S.W. of the parish church, is two-storied and has walls partly of ashlar and partly of coursed rubble, with tiled roofs. To the S. is a detached range, part stable and part habitation, also two-storied and of similar materials. Both buildings date from the first half of the 17th century. A barn to the N.E., of coursed rubble with a stone-slated roof, is of the late 17th or early 18th century.

The S. front of the farmhouse is ashlar faced; it has an ogee-moulded plinth, a hollow-chamfered string-course above the ground-floor windows and a stone cove at the eaves. The front is approximately symmetrical and of three bays, having the doorway near the centre with a one-light window over it, and four-light windows to either side in both storeys. The windows are square-headed with chamfered surrounds and reserved chamfers to heads and jambs. The gabled E. wall has moulded copings above shaped kneelers and a brick chimney-stack at the apex; the only opening is a small stone window on the ground floor. In the W. elevation, the S. range is ashlar fronted but the N. wing is of rubble; on the ground floor at the N. end is a square-headed three-light window with chamfered and hollow-chamfered heads and jambs, and the remains of a hollow-chamfered label. The first floor has two stone windows, as on the ground floor, but without labels.

Inside, the ground-floor room at the E. end of the S. range has moulded wall-plates and intersecting beams forming a ceiling of nine panels. The walls have 18th-century oak panelling in two heights; the N. side of the room is a plank-and-muntin partition. The kitchen, in the S. part of the N. wing, has a ceiling of intersecting deeply chamfered beams with which the partitions no longer correspond; the beam on the E. side of the room was originally a wall-plate, showing that there was formerly a passage to the E. In the S. wall of the kitchen is an open fireplace with a chamfered stone head and rounded shoulders; to the W. is an oven. The oak stairs are original; they have moulded close strings, heavy turned balusters, square newel-posts with ball finials and heavy moulded handrails. A cupboard on the landing has an oak door with long iron strap-hinges terminating in scrolls.

In the two storied Stable Range to the S., the E. front is of ashlar above a rubble plinth. The ground floor has three windows and two doorways, alternating and arranged symmetrically, with the three middle openings grouped together; above the window heads is a continuous weathered and hollow-chamfered string-course. The S. window has been altered to make a third doorway; the remaining windows are square-headed and of two lights, with chamfered and hollow-chamfered heads and jambs. Of the two original doorways that to the S. is wider than the other; it has a roll-moulded four-centred head with reserved spandrels under an ogee-moulded square head; both mouldings continue on the jambs. The other doorway has a four-centred roll-moulded head and jambs, and plain spandrels. On the first floor are two plain loft doorways and two ornamental loops with chamfered edges, convex heads and sills, and shaped jambs; these openings do not correspond with the divisions of the lower storey. The gabled end walls are ashlar faced but the W. wall is of rubble. All have windows of one, two and three lights, uniform with those of the E. front; several of them are blocked. The N. end also has a doorway with a four-centred roll-moulded head and continuous jambs; on the first floor is a three-light window with a label, and the attic has an opening of one light. Internally, a first-floor chamber at the N. end of the range has a stone fireplace with a hollow-chamfered four-centred head within a square ogee-moulded surround with mitred spandrels. The rest of the upper storey is a hay-loft.

(6) Church Farm (78231869), house, 100 yds. S.E. of the church, is a two-storied ashlar-faced farmhouse of the first half of the 18th century. The symmetrical three-bay N. front has a central doorway with a moulded architrave and a curved broken pediment on scroll consoles; at the centre of the pediment is a gadrooned urn. Widely spaced on either side are sashed windows with moulded architraves, and three similar openings correspond on the first floor. At the E. end of the N. front, on the first floor, is a small bull's-eye loop with a moulded architrave and four keystones. An extension on the S. side of the house is dated 1861. Internally the house has a Group (i) plan, as noted at Blandford Forum (p. 18).

(7) The Crown Inn (78261876), 100 yds. E. of the church, consists of a mid 17th-century cottage with additions of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The 17th-century parts are of rubble and thatch; the later additions are ashlar-faced and have tiled roofs. The plan is roughly L-shaped with the older parts forming a reversed L in the angle of the larger figure.

The original cottage, to the N. in the 17th-century part of the building, is of one storey with a semi-dormered attic; the original front faced S. and the E. and W. walls were gabled. One three-light ground-floor window remains on the S. front and above it is a window of two lights, but more than half of the original front is now covered by the later 17th-century S. range, which is single-storied with dormer-windowed attics. An 18th-century extension stands to the E. of the S. range. It is two-storied and has square sashed windows with ashlar keystones. A doorway in the S. wall has a flat timber hood with a moulded and dentilled cornice. Another extension continues the same range still further E.; through it passes a carriage-way to the inn yard and in the carriage-way wall is a carved stone inscribed 'James Downe, April the 4th, 1725'. Further extensions, of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, continue the building to the E. To the N. of the original cottage is an early 19th-century wing, originally two-storied and for habitation, but now used as a stable.

Inside, the fireplace at the W. end of the original cottage has a heavy chamfered timber bressummer with rounded shoulders and continuous chamfered jambs. An oven to the N. of the fireplace is now a cupboard; to the S. is an oak newel staircase with an original door. In the N. wall of the room is a panelled oak cupboard recess with arcaded chip-carving on the lintel. The ceiling beam has deep chamfers and at the E. end it passes through a partition to form a corbel on which rests the W. end of the stop-chamfered beam of the adjacent kitchen. The S. range has two square beams and, at the S. end, an open fireplace with a chamfered bressummer, rounded shoulders and continuous jambs. In the attic, the 17th-century cottage retains some original doors with bobbin latches.

(8) Yew House (77311841), ½ m. W. of the parish church, is two-storied and has walls of rubble with ashlar dressings and a roof of modern tiles; the house is of the second half of the 17th century. The S. front is symmetrical and of three bays. On the ground floor two stone windows, each of four square-headed lights with hollow-chamfered surrounds, flank a central doorway with a chamfered four-centred head. Immediately over the windows and stepped up to form a label over the doorway is a continuous hollow-chamfered string-course. On the first floor, windows of three square-headed lights are disposed symmetrically above the ground-floor windows, and an oval window with a chamfered ashlar surround occupies the place above the doorway. The string-course is repeated on the N. elevation and around the N. wing. The N. wing has an E. doorway with a chamfered four-centred head and there are stone windows of two and three lights in the side and back elevations, some with labels. The E. and N. walls are partly masked by modern additions.

Inside, the S.W. room has an original stone fireplace surround with a chamfered four-centred head. The S.E. room has a large open fireplace with ashlar jambs and a timber bressummer. Both rooms have stop-chamfered beams. In the N. wing, the beam which spans E.-W. retains the mortices of a former plank-and-muntin partition; the present partition is modern. One first-floor room has a moulded timber cornice.

(9) House (78601884), 500 yds. E. of the church, is two-storied with a cellar and has walls of ashlar and rubble, and a modern tiled roof; it was built about the beginning of the 18th century. The S. front is symmetrical and of three bays. The central doorway has a moulded stone architrave with ears at the ends of the lintel; above is a round sunk panel of stone, perhaps for a date but now blank. On each side of the doorway is a stone casement window of four chamfered square-headed lights in an ogee-moulded surround. Above is a continuous weathered and hollow-chamfered string-course, turned up at the centre to pass over the doorway and panel. The first floor has two three-light windows and a central window of two lights, all with mouldings as on the ground floor. The gabled W. wall has a stone two-light window in each storey and, on the ground floor, an oval loop, now blocked. The N. elevation is partly masked by a later addition but the W. part has two stone two-light windows on each floor, some blocked; below, to the W., is a small basement area with a cellar window of three lights. The E. end of the range is masked by a later building.

Inside, the original range has a Group (i) plan (see p. 18). The ground-floor rooms have stop-chamfered 18th-century ceiling beams and 19th-century fireplaces. Under the W. room is a cellar with a vaulted stone roof, two-centred in cross-section.

Monuments (10–17)

Unless otherwise stated the following monuments are of the 18th century and are two-storied, with walls of coursed rubble and tile-covered roofs.

(10) The Rectory (77841863), 350 yds. W. of the parish church, has walls of coursed rubble with ashlar dressings, and slated roofs. The S. range is of the early 19th century but to the N., at right angles, is an older wing with thicker walls and with chamfered ceiling beams; over a doorway on the E. side is a stone inscribed 'W.H. 1716'. The S. front is symmetrical and of three bays; the central doorway and flanking french windows and the three sashed first-floor windows all have moulded stone architraves.

(11) The New Inn and Trooper (78751885), 700 yds. E. of the parish church, is of two periods. At the E. end of the range is the former Trooper Inn, single-storied and now used as a store; it dates from the beginning of the 18th century or perhaps a little earlier. The entrance in the S. wall has a stop-chamfered stone lintel, and windows in the N. wall have chamfered stone surrounds and mullions. Inside, a chamfered ceiling beam has decorated stops and the fireplace in the W. wall has a chamfered wooden bressummer with continuous stone jambs; on one side is an oven, on the other a newel stair. The New Inn to the W. is of c. 1840.

(12) Cottage (77191815), 50 yds. S.E. of (5), is single-storied with an attic under a thatched roof and appears to be of the late 17th or early 18th century.

(13) House (77221840), 300 yds. N. of (12), is single-storied with a thatched roof and attics. It was originally a small 18th-century cottage but has been enlarged and extensively altered.

(14) Cottage (77701854), at the crossroads 540 yds. W. of the parish church, is of the 18th century but has been much altered.

(15) Cottage, 30 yds. N. of the foregoing, is of c. 1800; the roof is partly stone-slated and there is a dormer-windowed attic above the first floor. The S. front is symmetrical and of two bays, with the front door between the two ground-floor windows; the doorway has a segmental timber hood with a moulded cornice on scroll brackets. The casement windows have timber frames. Inside, the E. room has a fireplace surround with mouldings similar to those of the door-hood; there is also some fielded panelling.

(16) Cottages, two, 50 yds. E. of the foregoing, of two storeys with dormer-windowed attics, are of the early 18th century with later extensions to E. and W. The original part retains a stone window of two square-headed lights; the other casement windows are of wood. Inside, a chamfered ceiling beam has notched broach stops.

(17) Range of Cottages (77781858), facing S., 450 yds. W. of the parish church, is of several dates. The Retreat Inn at the E. end of the range is probably of the mid 18th century; its S. front has two bays with a central doorway; the ground-floor window E. of the doorway has a 19th-century bow added while that to the W. is sashed. Inside, the first-floor rooms have chamfered beams and the partition between them is of plank-and-muntin construction. To the W. is a two-bay Cottage, probably of the early 19th century. Further W., and separated from the last-mentioned by a narrow gap, is a pair of 18th-century Cottages with moulded stone window surrounds and a string-course at the level of the first floor.

Monuments (18–19)

The following monuments are of the early 19th-century and are two-storied, with coursed rubble walls and tiled roofs.

(18) Cottages, two adjacent, are contiguous to the E. end of (17). The tenement to the S. was originally a Methodist Chapel and has a gabled S. wall with inclined coping stones above shaped kneelers; near the apex is a square stone panel carved with a trefoil in which each lobe is again trefoiled; below is a recessed stone panel with a chamfered and moulded border with bead-and-reel enrichment. The large ground-floor window is modern, as are the openings in the E. front. The adjacent cottage on the N. has a symmetrical E. front of two bays with a central doorway.

(19) House (77531839), 750 yds. W.S.W. of the parish church, is two-storied with ashlar-faced walls; it was probably built c. 1800. The W. front has a plat-band at first-floor level and, on the ground floor to the N., a two-light casement window with a moulded square head and mullion. A similar window, blocked, occurs on the first floor in the gabled N. wall; other windows are sashed.

Other early 19th-century buildings in central Marnhull are as follows: At 78181866 and 77591845 are two ranges of Cottages, the first with slated roofs. At 77551842 is a Cottage of two bays with a single-storied addition to the E. At 78741883 is a House with a symmetrical W. front of four bays and a central doorway; all the windows are square-headed two-light casements with chamfered mullions and surrounds. A few paces S. are two Cottages with slated roofs. At 78571881 is a thatched Cottage with chamfered square-headed stone windows.

Walton Elm

(20) King's Mill Bridge (766170), 1½ m. S.W. of the parish church, carries the road to Stalbridge across the R. Stour. It was designed by G. A. Underwood and built in 1823 to replace a former stone bridge which dated from 1673; before that the bridge had been of wood (Quarter Sessions orders, D.C.R.O.). The 19th-century structure is of squared and coursed rubble with ashlar dressings; its three elliptical arches spring from piers with rounded cut-waters and the abutment piers at each end stand out from the spandrels and are defined by quoins. A deep horizontal plat-band continues from end to end of the bridge a little above the archivolts; over it are plain parapet walls with weathered ashlar copings. The spandrels of the centre arch are decorated with ashlar roundels and at the same level the abutment piers have oblong ashlar panels. Above the centre arch each parapet has a recessed ashlar panel; these seem to have been rebuilt and former inscriptions erased, but one stone still bears the word John, perhaps a reference to the builder of the bridge, John Stone of Yalcombe.

(21) Cottage (78021799), 800 yds. S. of the church, is of one storey with dormer-windowed attics and has rubble walls and a thatched roof; it is of the early 17th century. The building comprises a straight range of three rooms, two with fireplaces, and may have originated as two tenements, each of class S.

Inside, the two original rooms in the S.W. part of the cottage have been thrown into one by the removal of the partition. The former S.W. room had no fireplace; the ceiling is supported by deep chamfered intersecting beams and wall plates. Reset on the S.W. wall is part of a heavy plank-and-muntin partition with chamfered muntins. The adjoining room, with an open fireplace on the N.E. side, has a single transverse beam with deep chamfers. The fireplace has a stop-chamfered bressummer and chamfered jambs; to the S.E. is a wooden newel stair, closed at the bottom by an old door with beaded planks. The N.E. part of the house contains a room with an open fireplace on its N.E. side and a well preserved wooden newel stair to the S.E. of the chimney-breast. A kitchen has been added to the N.E.

(22) Crosses Farm (77341782), house, ¾ m. S.W. of the parish church, is two-storied with walls of coursed rubble and with modern tiled roofs. The farmhouse dates from the 17th century and has 19th-century alterations. The S.E. front is symmetrical and of three bays; on each side of the square-headed central doorway is a stone window of four lights with rebated and hollow-chamfered square heads, continuous jambs and hollow-chamfered mullions. Over the windows are hollow-chamfered stone labels with return stops; a similar label over the doorway is modern. On the first floor are three small wooden casement windows which may originally have been semi-dormers; the wall appears to have been heightened in the 19th century. A two-light mullioned window is reset on the ground floor in the S.E. part of the gabled N.E. wall. Inside, the plan is of class T; the N.E. front room has two transverse ceiling beams with stopped chamfers. The N.W. part of the house has been enlarged and remodelled.

(23) Cottages (77241778), two adjacent, 100 yds. W. of (22), are two-storied with walls of rubble, squared rubble and ashlar, and modern tiled roofs. The E. tenement is of the mid 17th century, that to the W. is perhaps of the 18th. On each floor of the S. front the E. tenement has a stone window of four square-headed chamfered and hollow-chamfered lights under weathered, hollow-chamfered labels; the other windows are modern. On the N. side are two 18th-century wooden casement windows. Inside are several deeply chamfered ceiling beams; the old fireplace openings are blocked.

(24) Antell's Farm (77691760), house, ¾ m. S.S.W. of the church, is two-storied with a cellar and has walls of roughly coursed rubble and tiled roofs. The plan is L-shaped, the two wings being contemporary. The house is dated 1708 by an inscription stone with the initials H.R.M. set in the brick chimney-stack at the apex of the N. gable of the E. range. The E. front, originally of five bays, is roughly symmetrical; the square-headed central doorway is flanked by two two-light windows (one blocked) beyond which are wider windows, that to the N. of four lights, the other of three. On the first floor three two-light windows are disposed above the central and outer ground-floor openings. All windows have timber surrounds. Inside, several heavy ceiling beams are exposed. The plan is of class T3 with the addition of a service range at the rear, at right-angles to the main range. (fn. 4)

(25) House and Outbuildings (77991818), 600 yds. S.S.W. of the parish church, comprise a dwelling house which originated as a cottage in the early 18th century, and other buildings erected between 1799 and 1837 in the development of a brewery. The house, which was embellished and enlarged at the end of the 18th century, is of two storeys and has rubble walls and a thatched roof. The outbuildings are of rubble with tiled roofs.

The S. front of the house, of irregular design, has a doorway with a reeded architrave, angle paterae and a moulded flat hood on scrolled brackets. To the W. is a window of three lights with a wooden dentil cornice and an open pediment; to the E. are two windows, the first three-sided on plan, the other of four lights with a cornice and pediment, as before; the tympanum is decorated with carved scroll-work. The first-floor openings are modern. At the rear of the S. range a two-storied wing projects N.; a stone in the W. wall is inscribed 'T.B. 1799'. In the gabled N. wall is a stone inscribed 'This malt house was enlarged by Thomas Burt, June 16th 1815'. A stable building to the W. is joined to the malt-house by a round-headed archway of brick and rubble, above which is the inscription 'T.B. 1804'. To the N., farm buildings are grouped around a yard; the barn door is surmounted by a stone inscribed with a text and 'T.J. Burt, 1825'. Another building is dated 1837. Inside the house some rooms have chamfered and stop-chamfered ceiling beams. The sitting-room fireplace is flanked by recesses with elliptical heads, reeded pilasters, moulded dentil cornices, shaped shelves and cupboard doors with fielded panels; the dentil cornice continues around the room.

Monuments (26–30)

Unless otherwise described the following monuments are of the 18th century and are of two storeys with rubble walls and tiled roofs.

(26) Elm Tree Cottage (77941813) is of the early 18th century with many later alterations. The doorway in the S.W. front has an open pediment on shaped brackets. The wooden casement windows have been renewed but one original window, with chamfered wooden mullions, is preserved in what was formerly the N.E. wall, now masked by a later extension.

(27) Cottage (77901811) has one room on each floor, the lower one with a chamfered beam.

(28) Cottages, two adjoining, immediately E. of the foregoing, are of two periods. That to the E. is older and has a thatched roof; the W. cottage, at right-angles to the first, may be of the 19th century.

(29) Barn (77481746) at Yardgrove Farm has a tiled roof with stone-slate verges. It is of the late 18th century and dated scratchings on the walls go back to 1802. The farmhouse is of the later 19th century.

(30) King's Mill (76621714), 30 yds. N. of (20), is two-storied with attics under a slated roof and dates from shortly before 1830 (Salisbury Journal, Jan. 4). At the W. end are the remains of a wooden water-wheel and sluices.

Monuments of the first half of the 19th century noted in Walton Elm are as follows: A Cottage (77821769), built c. 1840, incorporates a reset porch with octagonal stone columns and a moulded stone architrave; a Cottages at 77951811 is dated 1835; five early 19th-century Cottages are dispersed in Bat Alley (774180) and there are two Cottages at 77931812.

Burton and Pillwell

(31) Nash Court (78151967), house, ⁵/8 m. N. of the parish church, is two-storied with attics and has walls of ashlar and coursed rubble, and slated roofs. Although the house was the birth-place of the artist Giles Hussey in 1710, the present structure appears to be almost entirely of the late 19th century, albeit in Tudor style. Nevertheless, the thickness of the E., W. and S. walls of a gabled wing which projects from the S. front towards its E. end show that part of an earlier building is incorporated in the present house ; these walls are up to 4 ft. in thickness and have chamfered plinths 6 ft. high; they are probably of the 16th or 17th century. The W. wall of the projecting wing contains an 18th-century window, now blocked. Inside the house, one room has late 18th-century panelling and other rooms have dados of reset 17th-century oak panelling.

(32) Cottages, two adjoining, (78131974), 100 yds. N. of the foregoing, are of two periods; that to the E. is of the late 17th century, the other is of the early 18th century. Both cottages are two-storied, with walls of roughly squared rubble and slated roofs; the windows are modern. A chimney-breast projects from the gabled E. wall of the earlier cottage. Both cottages have been extended N., probably in the 19th century, and an 18th-century studded door is reset in the N. wall. Inside, the E. cottage has two ground-floor rooms separated by a through-passage, now with a staircase; the partitions are of plank-and-muntin construction, the muntins with beaded edges. In the E. room the original fireplace is blocked and the transverse ceiling beam is cased; in the W. room the ceiling has chamfered cross-beams which intersect at an octagonal wooden boss, carved with geometrical patterns and foliage. A reset partition forms a passage in the N. part of the room. The W. cottage has a plank-and-muntin partition and a longitudinal ceiling beam.

(33) Cottage (78151977), 50 yds. N.E. of the foregoing, is two-storied and of coursed rubble, with a tiled roof. On the ground floor the northern window of the W. front has four square-headed chamfered and hollow-chamfered lights under a label; the other openings are modern and of wood. Inside, two ground-floor rooms have stop-chamfered beams.

(34) Cross Tree Farm (77531929), house, at the junction of Burton Street and Sackmore Lane and ½ m. N.W. of the parish church, is a two-storied farmhouse of ashlar and rubble with a thatched roof. The original building is of the 17th century and has an L-shaped plan with the re-entrant angle facing E.; a single-storied extension to the S.W., at the heel of the L, is of the 18th century. The principal entrance is in the N.E. side of the S.E. wing; next to the doorway is a stone window of three square-headed lights with rebated and hollow-chamfered jambs and heads; a similar window opens above, on the first floor. The S.E. gable wall is of rubble. On the first floor is an oval window with an ashlar surround, perhaps reset; the scar of a similar window, removed and blocked up, appears in the N.E. gable. The S.W. wall and the 18th-century S.W. extension are of rubble with wooden casement windows. The N.W. elevation of the main block is of ashlar with a plat-band at first-floor level; it has three bays, and the window of the middle bay, lighting the stairs, is set higher than the others, with the plat-band shouldered up around it. The staircase window is modern, but above it is an original stone opening with a hollow-chamfered square head and jambs. The N.E. bay has on each floor a three-light square-headed stone window with rebated and hollow-chamfered mouldings, that of the first floor blocked. The N.E. gable wall has two small modern windows on the ground floor and, above, a stone three-light window; the plat-band continues. The S.E. side of the N.E. wing has a three-light stone window on each floor, the plat-band continuing as far as the re-entrant angle.

Inside, the original staircase is preserved; it has close strings, square newel-posts, heavy vase-shaped balusters and stout handrails of square section with a shaped capping. The ground-floor rooms have several heavy beams with chamfered edges. On the first floor are several plank-and-muntin partitions.

(35) House (77741929), 230 yds. E. of the foregoing, is two-storied, with rubble walls and a tiled roof; it dates from the first quarter of the 17th century and was originally single-storied with attics. All openings are wood-framed with iron casements and probably of the 19th century. Inside, there were originally only two ground-floor rooms; a large one to the N.E. with an open fireplace, and a smaller room to the S.W., the plan being probably of class S, although the stairs have been moved from their original position. The ceiling of the N.E. room has deeply chamfered cross-beams with four chamfered wall-plates. At the intersection of the cross-beams and where they join the wall-plates are carved wooden bosses; the central boss is decorated with a rosette and that on the S.E. wall is carved with the initials 'I.B.' interlaced; the other bosses have simple chipcarving.

(36) Cottages, two adjoining (77421943), are of the 17th century and of two storeys with walls of rubble and ashlar, and tiled roofs; they are now combined as one house. In the 18th century the E. cottage was refaced in ashlar and given a symmetrical two-bay S. front with a central doorway and sashed windows. The W. cottage, which is smaller, has a modern casement window on the first floor and a combined window and doorway below. In the N. wall the E. cottage has, on the ground floor, a stone window of two lights with rebated and hollow-chamfered square heads and jambs. The N.E. corner of the building is chamfered externally to 6 ft. above ground, where the chamfer ends in an ogee corbel. Inside, the single ground-floor room of the W. cottage has a ceiling with heavily chamfered cross-beams and wall-plates, apparently modern. On the E. side of the room is an open fireplace with an oven in the S. jamb. The stairs have an 18th-century latticed balustrade and moulded handrail. The E. cottage has two ground-floor rooms (plan class S); the room on the E. has an open fireplace, the other room was originally unheated. The fireplace is closed with a late 18th-century timber chimney-piece, but the original ogee-moulded and hollow-chamfered bressummer is seen in an adjacent cupboard. The partition between the ground-floor rooms has roughly chamfered muntins. Some doors retain 18th-century drop-handles and others have wooden latches.

(37) Lovell's Farm (77511938), 1,000 yds. N.W. of the church, is of two storeys with dormer-windowed attics; it has walls of coursed rubble with ashlar dressings, and roofs of tiles and stone-slates. The S. range has a symmetrical S. front and is probably of the 17th century. It was extended to the E. in the 18th century and a wing was built northwards from the E. end of the extension early in the 19th century. The original part of the S. front has a rubble plinth and is of two bays with a central doorway; above the ground-floor window heads is a continuous weathered and hollow-chamfered string-course. The windows of both storeys are of three square-headed lights with recessed and beaded stone architraves and beaded mullions; the doorway surround is similar, with the addition of a fluted keystone. Over the doorway is a segmental wooden hood with a dentilled cornice and shaped brackets. The E. extension has neither plinth nor string and the window surrounds are of wood. The N. wing is of roughly coursed rubble, with tiled roofs with stone-slate verges; the windows are of wood. Projecting N. from the W. part of the original S. range is a gabled N.W. wing. It has wood-framed windows with 18th-century leaded iron casements on the ground and first floors; the attic window has modern casements; all these openings are spanned by long timber lintels. In the E. wall is a small circular first-floor window with a recessed ashlar surround and radial leaded glazing.

Inside, the room at the W. end of the original range has 18th-century fielded panelling, in two heights, with moulded dado rails and cornices. In a cupboard beside the 18th-century fireplace are preserved the chamfered stone jamb and continuous wooden bressummer of an open fireplace. S. of the fireplace is an external doorway, now blocked up and used as a cupboard. The partition between this room and the entrance vestibule is of plank-and-muntin construction with beaded edges. Several ground-floor rooms have deeply chamfered ceiling beams. A window pane has a scratching of 1738.

(38) Stained Glass of the 16th century, reset in a modern window at Lovell's Court, 150 yds. W.S.W. of the foregoing, was recently transferred from Agecroft Hall, Lancashire (see V.C.H., Lancs. IV, 398). The window has seven transomed lights, in each of which are two medallions surrounded by modern glazing. The medallions are as follows, reading first above and then below in each light, starting from the left, as viewed from inside: (i) lozenge with initials R.L. for Ralph Langley, made into a medallion with modern work; (ii) roundel with initials R.L. surmounted by cockatrice crest; (iii) as (i); (iv) shield with cockatrice, perhaps not original; (v) quarry with fetterlock enclosing falcon, for the Duke of York ?; (vi) as (ii); (vii) shield-shaped medallion enclosing crest, a lion's head erased, gorged and chained, probably 19th century; (viii) shield of 16th-century Royal Arms of England in a Garter, crowned; (ix) lozenge depicting hawthorn bush with crown, flanked by initials H. and E., badge of Henry VII; (x) as (ii); (xi) lozenge depicting greyhound's head, collared, above flowers; (xii) shield as (iv); (xiii) and (xiv) lozenges as (i).

(39) Hains (77991988), house, ¾ m. N. of (1), is of late 16th-century origin, but it has been rebuilt, except for the S.E. ground-floor room. In this room the ceiling rests on deeply chamfered cross-beams which intersect at a quatrefoil wooden boss carved with foliate cusps. The wall-plates are also deeply chamfered and half of another boss, against one wall-plate, suggests that the ceiling may originally have extended further.

(40) Clock House (77391945), ⁵/8 m. N.W. of (1), is two-storied, with rendered walls and slated roofs; it dates from about 1830. The symmetrical W. front has two french windows flanking a central sashed window, and three sashed windows on the first floor; the S. front has four bays of sashed windows. Stables to the N.E., with rubble walls and slated roofs, are probably of the second half of the 18th century.

(41) Pond Farm (77291968), house, ¾ m. N.W. of (1), is a late 17th or early 18th-century farmhouse of two storeys, with walls of rubble and slated and tiled roofs. In the 19th century the house was divided into tenements but it is now restored as a single dwelling; all openings have modern surrounds. The plan appears originally to have been of class F.A. room near the middle of the range has an open fireplace with hollow-chamfered and ogee-moulded stone jambs and a cambered oak bressummer. Several rooms have heavy chamfered and stop-chamfered ceiling beams and there are some chamfered plank-and-muntin partitions.

Monuments (42–60)

Unless otherwise described the following monuments are two-storied and have walls of roughly coursed rubble, and tiled roofs; they are of the 18th century.

(42) Cottages, pair (77041953).

(43) Cottage (77311988) was until recently one of a pair but the S. tenement is now demolished.

(44) Cottages, two adjacent (77431945), are of two dates; that to the W. is perhaps of the first half of the 18th century, that to the E. is of the 19th century. The W. tenement has a symmetrical S. front of two bays with a central doorway. Inside, the open fireplace at the E. end of the W. building has an oven to the N. and spiral stairs to the S. The rooms are divided by plank-and-muntin partitions and there may originally have been a throughpassage. The ceiling beams are stop-chamfered.

(45) Range of five tenements, on the N. side of Burton Street (77441939), is of late 18th-century origin but has recently been remodelled.

(46) Range of three cottages on the N. side of Burton Street (77471938).

(47) Cottages (77481943), two adjacent, are similar to one another except that that to the W. is slightly larger and earlier than the other. Each has a symmetrical two-bay façade with a central doorway with a segmental hood on shaped brackets. The casement windows are modern. In the W. cottage the first floor rests on three large transverse beams with deep stopped chamfers. The fireplace is in the E. wall, with the stairs to the N. of the chimneybreast.

(48) The Post Office (77541933), on the N. side of Burton Street, is of three storeys with a slated roof; the third storey was probably added in the 19th century. The S. front is symmetrical and of two bays with a central doorway. Above the doorway is a square stone sundial with an iron gnomon.

(49) Cottage (77571935), of the first half of the 18th century, has a two-bay E. front with a central doorway. The windows are of stone with chamfered square-headed lights; to the N. of the doorway the openings are of three lights, to the S. of two lights. In the gabled S. wall each storey has two similar two-light windows and the N. gable has a similar opening at attic level; other windows are of wood. Inside, the first floor rests on a heavy chamfered beam with run-out stops.

(50) Cottages (77561931), range of three, facing N., includes one tenement in which the ceiling rests on a heavy chamfered beam with shaped stops and a central groove for a plank-and-muntin partition.

(51) Firtree Cottage (77531907), 800 yds. N.W. of the parish church, is of the late 17th or early 18th century but has been remodelled in recent times and provided with a slated roof and sashed windows. The S.E. front is of five bays, but the N.E. and S.W. bays are secondary additions to a three-bay range. This original range has an open fireplace at the N.E. end. The first floor rests on a large transverse beam with deep chamfers.

(52) House (77611933), on the N. side of Burton Street, has the S. front partly rebuilt in brick, and is roofed with thatch. The original rear wall, now internal, is of cob. All openings have been modernised. Inside, some rooms have exposed chamfered beams with run-out stops and one room has 18th-century fielded panelling.

(53) House (77771923), on the N. side of Burton Street, 700 yds. N.W. of the parish church, is an early 18th-century cottage with additions to N. and W.; it has a thatched roof. The windows of the original cottage have timber surrounds and iron casements with leaded glazing. Inside, the original cottage has an S-class plan with an open fireplace on the W., with a stop-chamfered bressummer and chamfered jambs; a longitudinal ceiling beam has chamfered edges with notched stops. The room in the E. half of the original cottage now has an early 19th-century cast-iron basket grate in a reeded marble chimney-piece with corner roundels.

(54) House (77871917), 130 yds. E. of the foregoing, is of the late 18th century with additions at the rear. The S. front, of four bays, has casement windows with segmental heads; the front doorway has an open pediment hood on shaped brackets. Inside, the stairs have cut strings and shaped spandrels; the moulded handrail ends in a splayed scroll above a turned newel post.

(55) Cottages, two adjacent (78161892), are probably of the late 18th century. Inside, a door of vertical outer and horizontal inner planks, fastened with iron studs and hung on ornamental wrought-iron hinges, was probably brought from elsewhere.

(56) House (78641912), in Sodom Lane, is probably of the early 18th century. It has stone windows of two and three square-headed lights with chamfered mullions and heads, and recessed surrounds. To the S. is a two-storied extension of one bay with stone windows of two lights and a flat roof; further S. is a later extension with a wooden window. The S. gable of the original building has two oval lights in ashlar surrounds.

(57) Cottages, two adjacent (78951911), are of two periods; the older is of the 18th century, the other is dated 1833. In the former the newel stairs are built beside the chimney-breast and the first floor rests on a chamfered beam. The 19th-century cottage has a slated roof.

(58) Gannett's Farm (79441960) is of the late 18th century.

(59) Old Mill Cottages (78252013), nearly 1 m. N. of the parish church, are probably of 18th-century origin but all openings were restored in brickwork and furnished with sashed windows at the end of the 19th century.

(60) Great Down Barn (78661987), ¾ m. N.N.E. of the parish church, has walls of coursed rubble and a tiled roof. A flush entrance is on the E. side and a transeptal egress bay is on the W. On each side of the transept the main roof sweeps down to cover lean-to sheds. Internally the walls are partly lined with elm boarding.

Monuments of the first half of the 19th century in Burton and Pill well include the following: Cottages at 77271975 and 77281956; a Range of cottages at 77281954, and a symmetrically-fronted two-bay Cottage at 77251953 dated 1832; a thatched Cottage at 77271977 with a date-stone of 1825 not in situ; a two-bay Cottage with a central doorway of c. 1800 at 78231908; a Cottage at 78131908; two Cottages together at 78051919, and a pair of Cottages at 77821916. Of two adjacent Cottages on the W. side of Sackmore Lane at 77541913, that to the N. has an inscription dated 1805 on a ceiling beam, the other has a date-stone inscribed 'W.G.C. 1841'. A Cottage immediately N. of the foregoing is also of the early 19th century while a range of Cottages (formerly The Trooper Inn) at 77581938 has a date-stone inscribed 'M.M.H. 1812' over one of the doorways.

Thorton and Moorside

(61) Thorton Farm (80481804), house, 1½ m. E.S.E. of the parish church, is partly of two and partly of three storeys and has walls of coursed rubble and ashlar, and modern slated roofs. Although the house is mainly of the 18th and early 19th centuries it includes elements of a late mediaeval building.

The N. front has, to the W., the slightly projecting block of the 19th-century W. wing, ashlar-faced and with a chamfered plinth and moulded cornice; the casement windows have wooden frames and the doorway is sheltered by a flat wooden hood on shaped brackets. The E. part of the N. front is of the 18th century and is three-storied in consequence of the falling ground. The ground-floor windows are wood-framed; on the first and second floors are 18th-century stone windows, each of three square-headed lights with rebated and chamfered heads and jambs. On the S. side of the house the W. wing has a single sashed window on each floor and at the E. end of the S. front is a 19th-century single-storied lean-to. In a recess between these 19th-century features the S. wall of the original range is exposed. It is of squared coursed rubble with a chamfered plinth, and in the E. part of the wall is a late mediaeval stone window of three rebated and hollow-chamfered square-headed lights under a hollow-chamfered, weathered label with returned stops. Next to the window is a square-headed doorway with a timber lintel. On the first floor is a three-light window like that below, but with no label. Inside the house no notable features are exposed. A mid 19th-century stable contains, reset, a small niche with a chamfered two-centred head and a projecting sill.

The farmhouse is enclosed on three sides by a rectangular Moat (Class A 1 (a)), (fn. 5) orientated N.-S. and defining an island some 80 yds. by 70 yds. in extent and 4 or 5 ft. higher than the surrounding land. The N., W. and S. ditches are 18 ft. to 25 ft. wide and 3 ft. to 4 ft. deep. An external bank 20 ft. wide and 1½ ft. to 2 ft. high lies along the S. ditch. The E. ditch is gone but its alignment is shown by a partly walled scarp, 5 ft. to 6 ft. high, on the W. side of the farmyard. The E. half of the island is occupied by the house and garden; the W. half contains an orchard and in the N.E. corner of this part is a dry rectangular pond. Along the S. side of the island and for about 20 ft. on the W. side is an internal bank 1 ft. high and 9 ft. to 12 ft. wide. Several scarps 1½ ft. to 2 ft. high occur on the island. Some sherds of 13th and 14th-century pottery, and larger quantities of 17th-century and later pottery have been found in the garden.

(62) Lush's Farm (81091800), house, ³/8 m. E. of the foregoing, is a two-storied farmhouse with walls of squared, coursed rubble and slated roofs. It is of the mid 19th century and has a symmetrical three-bay W. front with casement windows and a central doorway.

(63) Breach Farm, house, 700 yds. S.E. of the foregoing, is two-storied, with rubble walls, in part rendered, and with thatched roofs. It is of the 18th century and has a T-shaped plan. The symmetrical N.E. front is of three bays with casement windows and a central doorway.

(64) Hayter's Farm (80141867), house, 1¼ m. E. of the parish church, is single-storied with attics and has walls of rough ashlar and rubble, and tiled roofs. It is of the 17th century but extensively rebuilt. The N. wall has, to the W., a stone window of three square-headed lights with chamfered and hollow-chamfered jambs under a weathered hollow-chamfered label with returned stops; other openings are modern. Inside, there is a ceiling beam with deep chamfers.

(65) Cottage (80021936), ½ m. N. of the foregoing, is of the later 17th century and of one storey with an attic; it has coursed rubble walls and a thatched roof. In the N. front, E. of the doorway, is a 17th-century stone window of three lights with hollow-chamfered square heads and jambs. The gabled E. wall has a single light with a chamfered square head, and the S. wall has a three-light opening, as before. Other openings have modern wood surrounds.

Mediaeval and Later Earthworks

(66) Settlement Remains of the former village of Thorton lie E. of Thorton Farm, 1½ m. E.S.E. of the parish church (805180–809180). Until early in the 16th century Thorton was a separate village and parish, with its own church; thereafter it was joined to Marnhull (Hutchins IV, 318). The settlement had a recorded population of thirteen in 1086 (D.B. Vol. I, f. 80b); in the 14th-century Subsidy Rolls it is included with Todber and the population cannot be estimated. The last rector was instituted in 1506 (Hutchins IV, 319). In 1662 there were five households in Thorton Tithing (Meekings, 52) but some of these may have been outlying farms in the area, which was probably already enclosed.

Of the settlement itself little remains. To the E. of the present farm, along both sides of a track, are very fragmentary rectangular platforms, bounded by scarps 1 ft. to 2 ft. high and cut into by modern drainage ditches; there are traces of larger closes around the platforms.

For the Moat at Thorton Farm see (61).

(67) Cultivation Remains. The open fields of Marnhull were still in existence in 1634 when North, Middle and South Fields were recorded (S. & D. N. & Q., VI (1899), 147–51). The date of enclosure is unknown but pasture 'lately enclosed' existed in 1655 (S. & D. N. & Q., III (1892–3), 234). All the visible ridge-and-furrow in the parish is of post-enclosure date; it is seen S.W. of Yardgrove Farm (772174) and S. of Firtree Cottage (775189).

Roman and Prehistoric

The following sites, no doubt related, are on a ridge of Corallian limestone at 200 ft. to 250 ft. above sea-level, S.E. of the R. Stour.

(68) Occupation Debris and Inhumation Burials (794203), Romano-British, were found in 1870 and 1892 at Great Down Quarry. Over twenty skeletons were found in 1870, and in 1892 a lead coffin was examined by H. St. George Gray. Nails and angle pieces indicated a wooden outer coffin. The skeleton was of a man about 28; by the feet were hob-nails and near the waist was a Kimmeridge shale spindle-whorl. Pottery and coins ranging from Carausius to Constans were found near by. A stone coffin now at (31) was discovered at 78651982. (S. & D. N. & Q. IX (1905), 5–8; Dorset Procs. XXXVIII (1917), 72–3; Hutchins IV, 327; E. H. Roscoe, The Marn'll Book (1952), 83).

(69) Settlement Site and Inhumation Burials (79551985), Iron Age and Romano-British, were excavated at Allard's Quarry by C.E. Bean in 1932–9 and Mrs. A. Williams in 1944–5. A settlement of the Iron Age 'A' culture, apparently undefended, was continued on a smaller scale during 'B' and 'C' phases on the site. It appears to have been virtually deserted from the middle of the 1st century A.D. until late in the 3rd century, when it was reoccupied. The Iron Age 'A' remains consisted of 66 pits, 1½ ft. to 9 ft. deep, three series of post-holes indicating rectangular huts (one measuring 20 ft. by 12 ft.), pairs of postholes, and two burials. To the Iron Age 'B' phase belonged 19 pits and two circular huts, one 9 ft. across. A possible hut-site, four post-holes indicating a granary 6 ft. square, 16 pits and two burials were attributed to the Belgic occupation. Finds of the Iron Age included much pottery, a bronze ring and brooch, a shale armlet and pedestal base, spindle-whorls, querns, weaving-combs, sling-pellets, and two coins of the Durotriges. Remains of horse beans were recovered from a pit.

The Roman features consisted of a hut site (17 ft. by 13 ft.) with sleeper-beam trenches, gullies, hearths and several burials. Some roof tiles indicated more solid buildings. The coins and pottery were mostly of the 4th century. A small quantity of 2nd-century samian and coarse ware, unassociated with any structural features, was also found. (Dorset Procs. LI (1929), 99; LXXII (1950), 20–75; LXXXII (1960), 85.)