Kimmeridge (St. Nicholas)

St. Nicholas, Kimmeridge from the South East, September 2015

The Parish Church of Kimmeridge, whose historical dedication is unknown, (but which has recently been dedicated to St. Nicholas), is situated towards the north end of the main village street. The church is rectangular in shape with a single bell hung in a 15th century bellcote over the west gable. The oldest parts of the existing church date from Norman times but the building was extensively rebuilt in 1872. The south porch dates from the 13th century. The interior contains a 12th century font which Arthur Mee reports was found in an hedge in the 1920s and various memorials of the Clavell family from Smedmore house.

Hutchins (3rd ed., by Shipp and Hodson, 1861-74) describes the pre-1870s church and its organisation in the following way:

The church is situated at the north end of the village of Kimmeridge, and consists of a nave, chancel, and south porch. At the summit of the western gable, which is strengthened by a large central buttress, is a small open arch in which a bell is suspended. The whole structure is small and plain. The doorway within the porch is Norman. It has a semicircular head and slightly ornamented imposts. The arch of the porch may be of the fourteenth century. The windows are all modern, having been inserted a few years since in the place of small square ones, with wooden frames. This church in 1774 [when the 1st ed. of Hutchins was published] was served once a fortnight by some neighbouring minister appointed by the Clavells. It was commonly held with the rectory of Church Knoll [i.e. Church Knowle]. Now there is a resident clergyman, whose stipend is voluntarily augmented by the owners of the manor, and divine service is regularly performed twice on Sundays. The incumbent pleads exemption from episcopal or archdiaconal jurisdiction (p. 568).

Sources:

• Hutchins, J. The history and antiquities of the County of Dorset, 3rd ed., edited by W. Shipp and J.W. Hodson, Westminster: J.B. Nichols, 1861-1873, Vol 1, 1861, pp. 568, 577.
• Mansel, J.C., Kimmeridge and Smedmore: guide and history with footpath map. Dorchester: Friary Press, [1967], esp. pp. 5-6.
• Mee, A., ed., Dorset: Thomas Hardy's country. The King's England. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1939, pp. 121-122.
• Newman, J. and Pevsner, N., The buildings of England: Dorset. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972, p. 242.
• Pitfield, F.P., Purbeck parish churches. Milborne Port: Dorset Publishing Company, 1985, pp. 35-37.
• Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset, Vol. 2, South-East Dorset. London: HMSO, 1970, pt. 1, p. 133.

Current church guide (available 1998):

St. Nicholas' Church, Kimmeridge. Wareham: Anglebury Levey Print Parnership (printers), no date.
A four page leaflet, containing a brief architectural description of the church building and a history of the parish. On the cover is a drawing of the church building and churchyard from the south east. There is also a plan of the church taken from the RCHME Inventory.

Bells:

• One bell (Diameter, 17 in.; height, 13 in.; note B), inscribed "+ ave maria" (Raven, 1904, p. 119)
• One bell, inscribed "ave g[racia plena], 15th century (RCHME, 1970a, p. 133)

Other Kimmeridge links

Dorset Coastlink and Bournemouth University, Kimmeridge Bay information.
<URL:http://csweb.bournemouth.ac.uk/consci/coastlink/purbeck.htm

To Dorset Churches Index Page

Maintained by Michael Day, Last updated: 7 September 2015.