Historic Churches in Dorset

St Edward's is a 13th-century church at the base of the imposing medieval fortress of Corfe Castle. The church is said to stand on the site where King Edward the Martyr's body was hidden after his murder by his mother-in-law Aelfrida in AD 978. During the Civil War, Parliamentary soldiers stabled their horses in the church.
The Square, Corfe Castle, Dorset, England, BH205EZ

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Heritage Highlight: 13th-century heart casket lid

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The wonderful Norman church of St Mary & St Bartholomew, Cranborne, was rebuilt around 1252 in Early English style. It stands beside the site occupied by a Benedictine priory as early as the late Saxon period. The imposing west tower was built with a bequest from the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester in 1440, and their arms appear by the west door.
Church Street, Cranborne, Dorset, England, BH215PP

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Heritage Highlight: 15th-century oak pulpit

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This attractive 15th-century church was rebuilt in the Victorian period with the aid of author Thomas Hardy, then an aspiring architect. Look for the 14th-century effigies of two knights, the ornate memorial to Lord Holles (d. 1699), and a memorial to Sir John Williams (d. 1628).
High Street West, Dorchester, Dorset, England, DT1 1UG

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Heritage Highlight: Memorial to Lord Holles, 1699

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A 15th-century church stands within the grounds of Lulworth Castle. The church was restored in the 19th century to the designs of Thomas Hardy, the novelist, who was training to be an architect. Look for the 15th-century Perpendicular font and a beautifully restored 18th-century royal coat of arms.
Lulworth Castle Estate, East Lulworth, Dorset, England, BH20 5QQ

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Heritage Highlight: 15th-century font

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St Nicholas church is a small 12th-century building set in the grounds of Edmondsham House. The church was heavily rebuilt in the 19th century but retains medieval arcades and a wealth of 17th and 18th-century grave slabs to lords of the manor.
Village Street, Edmondsham, Dorset, England, BH21 5RE

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Heritage Highlight: 17th-century grave slabs

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There are three Gussage villages, and the church at All Saints is the largest of them all. Much of the building is 14th and 15th century, restored in the Victorian period. The font, however, is Norman, and the 18th-century organ came from Westminster Abbey where it was used for choir practice.
Harley Lane, Gussage All Saints, Dorset, England, BH215ET

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The church of St Wolfrida in Horton is a peculiar L-shape, the legacy of a Georgian rebuilding of an earlier medieval church. The first church here was part of a medieval Horton Abbey, but in 1401 a new church was built upon the same site. That 15th-century church consisted of a nave, chancel, and north transept.
Horton, Dorset, England, BH217JA

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Heritage Highlight: 14th century effigies

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A fascinating historic site consisting of a ruined medieval church standing within the remains of a Neolithic henge earthwork. The juxtaposition of the Norman church and the prehistoric henge monument represents a quite striking combination of Christian and pre-Christian history.
Lumber Lane, Knowlton, Dorset, England

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All Saints stands in an idyllic setting beside the Tudor manor of Mapperton House. The church dates to the 12th century and boasts a series of 15th and 16th-century painted glass panels. Look for the 12th-century font and 15th-century Italian paintings and carvings.
Mapperton, Dorset, England, DT8 3NR

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Heritage Highlight: 16th-century painted glass roundels

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Christ Church is a 19th-century church in Neo-Norman style, built in 1845 by James Bandinel of Melplash Court in memory of his father, the former vicar of Netherbury. The interior is a beautiful example of Victorian style, with a font modelled after the 12th-century font at Whitchurch Canonicorum.
A3066, Melplash, Dorset, England, DT6 3UD

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