Loders

59 LODERS (C.d.)

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)XXXVIII, N.E. ^(b)XXXVIII, S.E.)

Loders is a village and small parish 2 m. N.E. of Bridport. The church is the principal monument. There is an extensive lynchet-system in the parish.

Ecclesiastical

^a(1) Parish Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Plate 82) stands at the W. end of the village. The walls are of local rubble and ashlar with dressings of the same materials; the roofs are covered with slates and lead. The manor was given by Richard de Redvers in about the year 1107 to the Norman abbey of Montebourg, and the Priory of Loders was founded as a cell of that abbey. The western half of the N. wall of the Chancel dates from the 12th century but the rest of the chancel seems to have been rebuilt and extended in the 13th century, which may also be the date of the Nave. Late in the 14th century the chancel-arch was rebuilt and the West Tower and South Porch added. Early in the 15th century the South Chapel was added and an upper storey built over the porch. Probably during the same century the E. half of the S. wall of the chancel was rebuilt. The Priory was dissolved with other alien houses in 1411. The church was restored in 1836 and in 1900, and the E. wall has been refaced or rebuilt. The monastic buildings seem to have stood to the N. of the church and some of the walls of Loders Court (3), to the N. of the chancel, may be of mediæval date.

The church is of some architectural interest and among the fittings the font and carvings should be noted.

Architectural Description—The Chancel (36½ ft. by 16¼ ft. at the E. end and 14¾ ft. at the W. end) has a modern E. window. In the N. wall are three windows, the easternmost of c. 1400 and of three cinque-foiled lights with vertical tracery in a two-centred head; the second window is a partly restored 13th-century lancet; the third window is of the 12th century and is a single round-headed light, modern externally; below it is the shouldered head of a blocked doorway; the internal lintel is the reversed head of an early window; between the two western windows are the remains of a 12th-century respond of one large and one small shaft with remains of scalloped capitals; there was probably a second small shaft to the E. and the whole would seem to be the remains of the respond of a cross-arch, the side shafts perhaps supporting vaulting-ribs. In the S. wall are three windows, the easternmost of the 15th century and of three cinque-foiled lights with vertical tracery in a two-centred head with a label; the middle window is of c. 1400 and of two trefoiled lights with tracery in a two-centred head with a label; the westernmost window is modern except the splays; in its W. splay is a squint, from the S. chapel, with a flat triangular head; the 15th-century doorway has hollow-chamfered jambs and four-centred head; in the W. splay is a small recess with modern jambs and cinque-foiled ogee head; it is probably a lamp-niche. The late 14th-century chancel-arch is two-centred and moulded and springs from moulded and shafted responds with moulded and carved capitals and moulded bases.

The Nave (57¼ ft. by 20¼ ft.) has, in the N. wall, three windows, the two eastern of late 14th-century date and of two trefoiled lights with tracery in a two-centred head with a label; the eastern is much restored; the 15th-century westernmost window is much restored and of three cinque-foiled lights with vertical tracery in a two-centred head with moulded reveals and label with returned stops; at the E. end of the wall is the largely rebuilt rood-loft staircase now combined with a partly modern approach to the pulpit; the restored lower doorway has a chamfered lintel and the upper doorway has a flat four-centred head of early 16th-century date; between the two western windows are the jambs and two-centred arch of a blocked doorway and near the W. end of the wall is a second blocked doorway with a four-centred head. In the S. wall is an early 15th-century arcade of two bays, with two-centred and moulded arches springing from responds each with one shaft and a pier with four attached shafts with moulded bases and capitals enriched with paterae; the late 14th-century S. doorway has moulded jambs, four-centred head and label with returned stops; further W. is a much restored late 14th-century window similar to those in the N. wall and with a label.

The South Chapel (30½ ft. by 11¾ ft.) is of early 15th-century date, ashlar-faced and finished with an embattled parapet, pinnacles and carved stops or gargoyles. At the S.W. angle is a semi-octagonal stair-turret giving access to the room over the porch; it is finished with a moulded parapet, pinnacles and carved half-figures of men, some of whom are playing musical instruments. The E. window is of four cinque-foiled ogee lights with vertical tracery in a two-centred head with moulded reveals and label with head-stops. In the S. wall are two windows similar to the E. window.

The West Tower (12 ft. square) is ashlar-faced and of late 14th-century date; it is of three stages with an embattled parapet and gargoyles. The two-centred tower-arch is of two orders, the outer chamfered and continuous and the inner moulded and springing from attached shafts with moulded capitals and bases. The W. doorway has moulded jambs and two-centred head; above it is a window of three trefoiled lights with vertical tracery in a two-centred head, with a moulded label and returned stops. The second stage has, in the S. wall, a window of two transomed and trefoiled lights with tracery in a two-centred head with a moulded label and head-stops. The bell-chamber has in each wall a similar window but without transoms or labels.

The South Porch is of late 14th-century date, but the upper storey was added early in the 15th century and has a parapet similar to and continuous with that of the S. chapel; it is continued along the W. part of the S. wall of the nave. The outer archway has moulded jambs and segmental-pointed arch with a label and returned stops. The upper storey has, in the S. and W. walls, a window of one cinque-foiled light in a square head with a label.

The Roofs of the chancel and nave are of barrel-form and plastered; the latter has a moulded cornice on the side walls. The S. chapel has five chamfered tie-beams. The roofs of the porch, the storey over and the ground stage of the tower have chamfered beams.

Fittings—Bells: six; 3rd (not hung) perhaps by Thomas Purdue, 1647; 6th by Thomas Pennington, 1626. Brass: see under Monuments (3). Chest: In S. chapel (used as altar)—incorporates four traceried and four linen-fold panels, one panel with a shield bearing a dolphin and another with France modern, French, late 15th-century. Coffin-lid: In chancel—broken tapering slab of Purbeck marble with cross on calvary, 13th-century. Door: In tower-staircase—of nail-studded battens, with iron fleur-de-lis and strap-hinges, probably late 14th-century; in doorway to second stage, of battens with strap hinges, mediæval. Font (Plate 13): square bowl of Purbeck marble with four round-headed panels in each face, rounded stone stem with four attached shafts or lobes, c. 1200. Glass: In E. window, to Margaret Nepean, 1833, figure subjects in the main lights, the birth of Christ, the Crucifixion, Resurrection and Baptism, with Evangelists' symbols, and figures in the tracery. In nave—in N.W. window, in tracery, blue rose and rays, 15th-century. In S. chapel—in tracery of S.E. window, figures of (a) bishop or abbot; (b) St. Barbara with tower; (c) St. Dorothy with basket and flowers; in tracery of second window, (d) Benedictine abbot, with manacle in right hand, probably St. Leonard; (e) man with bag and staff, 15th-century, largely in situ. Images: In E. wall of S. chapel—carved stone Crucifixion (Plate 10) with the Virgin and St. John, top missing, 15th-century. On W. wall of tower—carved stone Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John and two smaller figures of donor and wife in recess with trefoiled ogee head, 15th-century, much weathered. Monuments and Floor-slabs. Monuments: In S. chapel—on S. wall, (1) to Rt. Hon. Sir Evan Nepean, 1822, wall-tablet with bust in low relief. In churchyard—S.E. of chancel, (2) to John Marsh and Maud his wife, 1708, also to their children Maud, 1703, Joan, 1707, Robert, Katherine and Elizabeth, 1708, table-tomb; (3) to Samuel Strong, 1779, Mary his wife, 1769, their daughters Elizabeth, 1796, and Grace, 1791, and others, table-tomb with shield-of-arms on brass inset in E. end; (4) to Joan Moss, early 18th-century, headstone; (5) to John Read, 1710, and Edith, his wife, headstone; further W., (6) to Edward Hansford, early 18th-century, slab; (7) to Robert, 1663–4, Matthew, 1709–10, and Robert Travers, 1709, on later table-tomb. Floor-slabs: In chancel—(1) to John Sampson, vicar, 15th-century; (2) to . . . Larder (?), 17th-century. In S. chapel—(3) to Robert Larder (?), 1616. Niches: In S. chapel—flanking E. window, two, with moulded brackets, side buttresses with pinnacles, canopy with trefoiled ogee heads, pinnacles and panelled soffit, early 15th-century. Paintings: In nave—on W. wall, remains of painted figures of Death (a skeleton) and Time, probably 17th-century. Piscina: In S. chapel—in S. wall, recess with cinque-foiled ogee arch in square head, quatre-foiled drain, early 15th-century. Plate: includes a stand-paten of 1728 given by John Sutton, vicar, in 1730, the year he gave similar patens to Bothenhampton and Frome St. Quintin. Recess: In chancel—in N. wall, with moulded jambs and ogee head, window-sill above formerly embattled, 14th-century, probably tomb-recess. Sundials: On E. side of entrance to S. porch—two scratchdials. Weather-vane: On tower—copper cock, probably late 17th or early 18th-century (Plate 54).

^a(2) Wesleyan Chapel, 1,450 yards E.S.E. of the church, at Uploders, with walls faced with stucco and roofs covered with slates. A tablet in the N. wall records that the Chapel was built in 1827. It is a plain rectangular building gabled E. and W. with a bell-cote on the W. gable. The round-headed windows have wood frames dividing them into two two-centred transomed lights. There is an E. porch with Roman Doric columns with half-round antae and entablature. Inside there is an E. gallery with panelled front carried on two columns.

Secular

^a(3) Loders Court, house, 20 yards N.E. of the parish church is of two storeys with cellars and attics. The walls are of stone faced with stucco and the roofs are slate-covered. Some rubble walling in the cellars may be the fragmentary remains of Loders Priory. The house was almost entirely rebuilt at the end of the 18th century and has modern additions on the E. The N. front of the 18th-century house is symmetrically designed; there is a porch in the centre, a plain flat string at first-floor level, a simple cornice and a parapet wall alternating with short lengths of balustrading. The porch has four Roman Doric columns, the two in the centre coupled, and an entablature with triglyphs and mutules centred over each column. The window openings are plain. The W. front has features similar to those of the N. front and a mid 19th-century treillage supporting a flared roof the full width of the ground floor. The arrangement of the S. front is largely haphazard and the E. is concealed by later additions. Inside, in the cellars is a short length of stone walling with rough square plinth. On the ground floor, the S.E. room contains a late 18th-century marble fireplacesurround with entablature and frieze-panel carved with an urn and rams' heads. The staircase-hall is semi-circular at the S. end and contains its original stair with wrought-iron balusters. The house retains a number of early 19th-century fittings.

^a(4) The Vicarage, 100 yards E. of the church, is of two storeys; the walls are of rubble and the roofs are tile-covered. The house incorporates an early 16th-century building which was much altered and enlarged in the 19th century. A room on the ground floor has two windows, both of three ogee-headed lights; the ceiling has original moulded beams forming nine panels; the fireplace has moulded jambs and four-centred arch in a square head with quatre-foiled spandrels. A passage, to the W., has a doorway with chamfered jambs, square head and label, and in the N. wall of the house are two small cinque-foiled lights.

Monuments (5–17)

The following monuments, unless otherwise described, are of the 17th century and of two storeys; the walls are of rubble and the roofs are covered with thatch or modern materials. Some of the buildings have exposed ceiling-beams and original fireplaces.

^a(5) Loders Mill, 300 yards W.S.W. of the church, is of two storeys with attics. There are three-light windows with wood frames on ground and first floors.

^a(6) Farmer's Arms Inn, on the S. side of the road, 240 yards E. of the church, retains some original stonemullioned windows and two doorways with four-centred heads.

^a(7) Range of cottages, on the N. side of the road, 350 yards E. of the church, was built at different times in the 18th century. The southernmost tenement with walls of ashlar has a tablet bearing the name and date: "R. Fuszard, 1786".

^a(8) Waddon Farm, house 120 yards E. of (6), has later extensions on the W.

^a(9) Cottage, immediately E. of (7), is dated 1755. It retains some original two-light windows with wood frames.

^a(10) Cottage, 70 yards E. of (8), was built probably early in the 18th century. The doorway has a panelled head.

^a(11) Newhouse Farm, house on the W. side of the road, 600 yards E.S.E. of the church, has been much altered in the 18th century.

^a(12) Yondover Farm, 620 yards E.S.E. of the church, has walls of roughly coursed rubble. The north block was built in the 17th century. The south wing with E. and W. gables with flat copings and shaped kneelers has a panel with the initials and date "R.B. 1738".

^a(13) Cottage, on the S. side of the road at Uploders, about 1 m. E.S.E. of the church, was built probably early in the 18th century.

^a(14) Uploders House, 80 yards E.S.E. of (13), has 18th-century and modern additions and has been much altered.

^a(15) Upton Manor Farm, house, 350 yards E.S.E. of (14), was built in the 16th century and has a 17th-century extension on the N.E. and an 18th-century wing on the N.W. On an added gable is a stone with the date 1655. Inside the building, the kitchen has original moulded ceiling-beams forming nine panels.

^a(16) and ^a(17) Callington and Matravers, about 1½ m. E.S.E. of the church, are similar houses with walls of roughly dressed stone and thatch-covered roofs. They were built in the first half of the 18th century. The E. and W. ends are gabled; the windows have voussoirs and flush frames. In the 19th century a N. porch with attenuated columns was added on to Callington and a N. wing on to Matravers.

Earthworks

^a(18) Lynchets on the E. and part of the N. slopes of Knowl Hill, ¾ m. S.E. of the church. Group (a) form three terraces about 340 yards long, following the contours of a spur on the E. slope; the terraces vary from 18 to 36 ft. wide. Groups (b, c and d), to the N. of (a), consist of four, two and five terraces respectively following the E. slope of the hill and turning W. at the N. end; the terraces vary from 13 to 44 ft. in width. The lengths of the three groups are 300, 180 and 200 yards respectively. Group (e), to the W. of the W. end of (d), consists of two terraces on the N. slope, 48 ft. wide and extending for about 120 yards.

^a(19) Lynchets on the W. slope of the hill, on the E. side of New Road and about 1 m. S.E. of the church, form three terraces, the lowest 60 and the others 36 ft. wide. They extend for about 180 yards.

^a(20) Lynchets, on the W. slope of Knowl Hill, about 300 yards S.W. of (18 e), seem to have covered two fields but have been much ploughed out or denuded. The width of the terraces varies from 12 to 30 ft.

^a(21) Lynchets, on the E. slope of Loders Hill about ½ m. S.S.E. of the church, form a system extending for nearly ¼ m. The width of the terraces varies from 12 to 30 ft.

^b(22) Lynchets, on the S.W. slope of Stony Head and about ¼ m. S. of (21), extend for about 200 yards. The terraces vary from 12 to 30 ft. in width. There are two other terraces further down the slope.

^a(23) Lynchets, extending round the western end of Waddon Hill ¼ m. N.E. of the church, extend for about 660 yards. The terraces average about 27 ft. in width.

^a(24) Lynchets, on the N. side of the Asker valley ¾ m. E. of the church, have been much destroyed.

^a(25) Lynchets, on a S. slope and on the N. edge of the parish ¾ m. N.E. of the church, extend for nearly ½ m. The terraces vary from 15 to 65 ft. in width. They become very irregular towards the W. end.

^a(26) Mound, on Boarsbarrow Hill 580 yards S. of the church, has been reduced almost to unrecognisable traces. The name is, however, significant and in 1930 the uprooting of a tree is said to have exposed a deposit of human bones.

Long Bredy, see Bredy, Long.

Long Burton, see Burton, Long.