St Mary's Church, Catherston Leweston facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church
Religion
Affiliation	Church of England
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Active
Year consecrated	1858
Location
Location	Catherston Leweston, Dorset, England
Architecture
Architect(s)	John Loughborough Pearson
Architectural type	Church
Architectural style	Early Decorated

St Mary's Church is a beautiful old church located in Catherston Leweston, a small place in Dorset, England. It's part of the Church of England. A famous architect named John Loughborough Pearson designed it, and it was built between 1857 and 1858. This church is so special that it's listed as a Grade II* building, meaning it's very important historically and architecturally.

Today, St Mary's Church is part of the Golden Cap Team of Churches. Services are held here twice a month on Sundays. Sometimes, they also have special "Songs of Praise" services.

Building a New Church

Why a New Church Was Needed

St Mary's Church was built to replace a much older church. Records show that the first known leader of the old church was Adam Payn in 1337. By the mid-1800s, the old building was in very bad shape. It was falling apart and needed to be replaced.

Who Paid for It?

The lord of the manor, a wealthy person named Robert Charles Hildyard, decided to pay for a brand new church all by himself. He hired John Loughborough Pearson, a well-known architect from London, to design it. The plans were for a church that could hold about 50 people.

How It Was Built

The church was built by Mr. H. Poole of Westminster, with Mr. W. Buchanan from London as the main supervisor. Many skilled workers helped create the church's beautiful details. Mr. M. Barns and Mr. S. Poole did much of the carving. Mr. W. Hoare from Charmouth handled the carpentry, and Mr. J. Dunn, also from Charmouth, worked on the flint walls.

Robert Charles Hildyard laid the first stone for the church in 1857. Sadly, he passed away on December 7, 1857, before the church was finished. The church was officially opened and blessed by the Bishop of Salisbury, Walter Kerr Hamilton, on September 7, 1858.

Church Design and Features

Materials and Structure

St Mary's Church is built using special materials. The outside walls are made of knapped flint, which is a type of stone that has been carefully shaped. The decorative parts are made of Bath stone, and the roofs are covered with red tiles from Stoke-upon-Trent. Inside, the stone walls are made of smooth Bath and Caen stone.

The church has a main open area called a nave, a special area near the altar called a chancel, and a small room on the north side called a vestry where the organ is kept. You enter the church through a door at the west end.

The Bell and Roof

Above the entrance, there is a small tower called a bell-cot. It has a single bell inside. This bell is very interesting because it was made from a piece of brass cannon. This cannon was captured during the Crimean War (1853–1856) at a place called Sebastopol.

The church's roof is made of oak wood and has beautiful carved angels supporting it. All the floors inside the church are covered with decorative Mintons tiles.

Inside the Church

The church's furniture was made around the same time the church was built. The seats are made of oak wood. The pulpit, where sermons are given, and the font, used for baptisms, are both made of Beer stone. The font was a gift from Frederick Hildyard to remember Robert Charles Hildyard. The organ was made by Joseph Walker of London in 1857.

Stained Glass Windows

The windows in the church have beautiful stained glass made by a company called Clayton and Bell from London. Many of these windows are special memorials to the Hildyard family. Some of them show important scenes from the Bible, like the Agony in the Garden, the Betrayal, the Bearing of the Cross, the Entombment, and the Resurrection. The large window at the west end shows different parts of the life of St Mary.

In the chancel area, there is a reredos, which is a decorated screen behind the altar. There are also special seats called sedilia and a small shelf called a credence shelf. The reredos has three arches supported by green marble pillars. The Pede cloth and kneeling cushions in the sacrarium (a sacred part of the chancel) were made by Mrs. Hildyard.

Memorials

Inside the church, there are special tablets that remember members of the Hildyard family. There's one for Robert Charles Hildyard from 1857, and another for his son, R. H. Hildyard, from 1876. Both of them are buried in the churchyard outside. In the chancel, there is also a memorial tablet for Catherine Hildyard, who passed away in 1855.