Oborne, Dorset OS Grid Ref: ST655184
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The chancel to the south side of the main road is all that remains of the old parish church dedicated to St Cuthbert since the nave was pulled down in the 19th century when the new church, half a mile to the north, was erected within fourty days of the foundations being laid. A service is still held here once a year on Trinity Sunday.
HISTORY
The religious association of the site is an ancient one as Oborne was granted by the Saxon King Edgar in 970 to Sherborne Abbey, only a mile away and then a cathedral, in memory of Alfred the Great's elder brothers, both of whome ruled Wessex before him and were buried at the Abbey.
No trace remains of whatever building the West saxons had erected here but it seems clear that from 970 until the dissolution of Sherborne Abbey by Henry VIII in 1539 Oborne was a 'chapel of ease ' served by the monks of the Abbey. It was the last of these, John Dunster (then sacrist at the Abbey), who built the chancel which we now see in 1533 - the shadow of the storm between monarch and Rome is reflected in the arms of King Henry VIII, surmounted by a crown, which are seen over the east window.
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After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, John Dunster remained as vicar of Oborne with a pension from the Abbey. Later he was also appointed curate of North Wootton.
In common with many parish churches, St Cuthbert's at Oborne appears to have have been greviously neglected during the 18th and early 19th centuries, so much so that by 1860, the archdeacon reported that nothing could be done with the church save for its complete rebuilding. On the advice of the bishop, the parishioners erected a new church half a mile to the north on land donated by caius College, Cambridge, designed by William Slater, in 1862 and St Cuthbert's was dismantled save for the chancel.
The chancel lay neglected for some 70 years until the early 1930s when the new incumbent set about restoring it with the advice of of the antiquary and architect A.R. Powys. The Bishop of Sherborne celebrated Holy Communion in the chancel as we see it today on Trinity Sunday in 1936 and a service has been held here annualy on that day ever since.
In 1975, the chancel was transferred to the Redundant Churches Fund and further work to restore it was carried out, particularly on the roof and the bell-cote.
THE EXTERIOR
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The framed reproduction of a drawing of the church made by John Buckler in 1802 gives an excellent impression of the church which the chancel once formed part of before the destruction of 1862. |
Nothing remains of the medieval nave but the footing can be traced for some 35 feet to the west of the present chancel and experts consider that these suggest that there may have been a western tower here at some time.
THE WEST FRONT
The west front
of the chancel was walled up in the restoration of 1930 and the 15th century doorway
which was inserted was probably the north doorway of the vanished nave.
The wooden beam which supported the ancient rood-loft was preserved and the two 15th century window heads which were inserted into the new walling were originally part of the demolished nave.
THE EAST WINDOW
Over the lintel of the east window are the remains of a Latin inscription;-
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Orate pro bono statu do(m)pni Johis. M. abbatis de Schirborn ano. Domini MCCCCCXXXIII |
.....John Myer was the last abbot of Sherborne but one. Flanking the inscription are shields, one bearing the arms of the Abbey, the other bearing a crozier between the initials I.M. Above the window are the Tudor royal arms and the gable bears a cross with a weathered crucifixion.
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The lintel of the blocked-up north window bears a similar inscription;-
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Orate pre bono statu dompni Johis Dunster sacriste de Schirborn qui hoc opus fieri fecit ano. Domini |
To either side of the inscription are two shields; one bears the initials
I.D.
, the other the arms of Horsey
.
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THE INTERIOR
The chancel retains its 16th century roof and moulded wall-plates. The rustic pulpit, with its panels containing flowers set in diamonds, dates from 1639. The heavy communion rails are good examples of early 17th century rustic work. The coffin rest is even more rustic and bears the date 1790 fashioned upon it in nails. The 17th century font, fashioned from Ham Hill stone, came here from the vanished medieval parish church of North Wootton, 3.2 km (2 miles) to the south - as the crow flies. Beneath the square opening in the south wall of the sanctuary lies another relic of the vanished church - a medieval piscina; the mouldings on one side are of the 14th century but the scalloped mouldings on the other indicate that it dates from the 12th century.
Floor tiles from the 14th and 15th centuries may be found re-set on the west wall. The small bell in the cote is not inscribed but has been identified by Mr George Elphick as casting of the early 14th century, possibly from the foundary at Worcester.
The 17th century communion table which stood in the chancel was sadly stolen in 1988 and has been replaced with a simple pine-wood table.
INTERIOR
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MONUMENTS
ROBERT GOADBY
The tomb of Robert Goadby stands a little to the south of the present churchyard, protected by iron railings but
largely destroyed by an elm tree. The inscription upon it is now illegible but read;-
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In Memory of Mr. Robert Goadby, late of Sherborne, Printer, who |
Having wreaked its damage on Robert Goadby's monument, now the elm tree is dead as well. The Sherborne Mercury, which Mr Goadby published weekly, in the 18th century, became the modern Western Gazette.
INCUMBENTS
John Dunster, then sacrist at the Sherborne Abbey, built the chancel in 1533 and remained here as vicar with a pension from the Abbey after the dissolution of Abbey (Later he was also appointed curate of North Wootton). John Shuttleworth was the incumbent here for 57 years, from 1693 to 1750.
Old St Cuthbert's Chancel is still a consecrated in the care of The The Churches Conservation Trust which preserves over three hundred redundant Church of England churches in its care throughout the country.
The Trust main income is provided by the Church of England and the State but the constantly increasing number of redundant CoE churches which are entrusted to its care means that its resources are severely stretched. Contributions from members of the public to help in the preservation of these important buildings for future generations to enjoy, as many have done in the past, are therefore gratefully recieved. if there is no money-box in the church, or the keyholder is not available, please send any contribution which you would like to make to the address shown below;-
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The Redundant Churches Fund 89 Fleet Street London EC4Y 1DH Registered Charity No. 258612 |
THE ENGLISH PARISH
CHURCHWARDENS
PARISH CHURCHES OF DORSET
THE ROYAL ARMS IN PARISH CHURCHES
The history and antiquities of the County of Dorset
by John Hutchins, (3rd ed. - edited by William Shipp and James Whitworth Hodson) J.B. Nichols and Sons, Westminster, 1861-1873
The buildings of England: Dorset
by John Newman and Nikolaus Pevsner, Penguin (Harmondsworth), 1972, pp. 306
An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset, Vol. 1, West Dorset
Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), HMSO (London), 1952, p. 63
