CHARMOUTH CHURCH
Before 1836
Charmouth Church was built in 1836 upon the site of its predecessor, of which some of the fabric and many of the monuments were saved and incorporated in the new structure. However many buildings have stood on the site it does not break the bond uniting us here with an unbroken stream of worshippers stretching back for many generations, nor annul the fact that Charmouth Church, even if more than once replaced, has been for centuries a local centre of village life.
The early history of Charmouth Church is linked with that of the Church of St. Wite and Holy Cross (now Whitchurch Canonicorum) which lies in the Vale of Marshwood, nearly three miles N.E. of Charmouth. It is known that several of the Churches in the neighbourhood were served by Whitchurch, and in a charter at Salisbury, dated 1240, mention is made of the 'Capella de Cernemue,' i.e., the Chapel of Charmouth. .So we know there was a place of worship there at least as early as 1240. Again, it is known from Salisbury Charters and Records that, in 1314, one 'Stephen,' a Rector of Char-mouth (with no added surname) was reprimanded by the Bishop of Salisbury for evil living. Except for him, the earliest known Rector was Richard de la Hegh, appointed in 1332 by the Abbot of Ford.
In about 1503 Charmouth Church was rebuilt; and something is known of its structure, partly from descriptions given by Hutchins in his history of Dorset, and by Roberts, Lyme's historian; partly from the model shown in the church, and made from memory by W. Hoare of Charmouth in 1511; and partly from relics incorporated or housed in the present building. The model is in now in the Pavey Room Museum at the Parish Office in the 'Elms' for all to see, and may be taken as a fair representation of the building of ca. 1503. It had nave and chancel, a southern aisle, a northern door and porch, and a western tower. The Beer stonework forming the arch of the northern porch rests upon two carved heads which are evidently medieval; and, in that case, must have been saved from the old building. Inside, a minstrels' and singers ' gallery was placed in front of the tower, and in 1817, when a growing congregation demanded more room, another gallery was added along the northern side of the nave. The tower housed three bells, which were recast in 1836, and are still in use. The large Ellesdon Memorial stood in the church, and this and the mural monuments, and those on the floor, were transferred to the present building. In addition, some relics of great interest have been retrieved notably the stone figure of an Abbot, presumably an Abbot of Ford now standing in the south east comer and backed by a cross, which was found built in to the Rectory wall. It has been identified with a 'crucifix' mentioned by Roberts as crowning the church gable, and overgrown with ivy; but it is not a crucifix, and the ivy must have obscured Roberts' vision. Probably, as now, a plain cross surmounted the gable. The figure is made of Ham stone, and there is evidence that some of that material had been used in the church.
Nothing is known of the history of the called 'font,' now placed inside the northern door. It was left in the churchyard unti11895, and then brought inside the church. This is generally assumed to have been the functional font of the former church. It is remarkable for the small bowl and disproportionately stout and composite stem .The bowl, plinth and attached parts of the stem are made of a white stone - apparently Beer stone - while between them is inserted a stout cylinder of yellow Ham stone. Its disproportion, combined with its hybrid make-up, suggest improvisation, unlikely in a church in which worship had been conducted for centuries.
The chancel was divided from the nave by an oaken screen, of which a portion was found propping a clothesline in a cottage garden. It is now incorporated in the chimney-piece of the old Manor house, opposite the church. No remnant has been found of the nine grotesque carvings in oak, mentioned by Roberts, inside the seats by the screen, or of the pictures of the twelve apostles, six on each side of an Ecce Homo, painted in 1817 by the churchwarden, Lieut. Gabriel Bray, R.N., on the front of the new northern gallery. Lost, too, is the Wadham coat of arms, which is recorded as hanging in the church in 1600. William Wadham lived at Catherston and in 1590, acquired Newlands, now known a Stonebarrow Manor, which was then part of Charmouth Manor. His kinsman, Nicholas, founded Wadham College, Oxford. The high-backed oaken pews, now replaced were transferred to the new church, as well as the old pulpit of carved oak, which was placed in the middle of the nave.
In 1835, it was decided to enlarge the church by building an aisle on the northern side. The roof, however, was found to be in a most dilapidated and dangerous state. The architect, Charles Wallis, of Dorchester, reported that 'in the course of my practice and long experience, I have never witnessed so dilapidated or unsafe a building.' On the 29th January, 1835, the Vestry resolved that it was expedient to take down the present Church, and to build a new one.'
So perished the church dedicated to St. Matthew of ca. 1503, and our present church of St. Andrew began.
THE PRESENT CHURCH
The Fabric
Among the archives of our church is a document, dated 26th December, 1835, comprising the Articles of an Agreement between Jesse Cornick, builder, of Bridport, and the Churchwardens of Charmouth, Joseph Wilson and Charles Higginson, for building the new church. Appended is a schedule giving instructions to the several artisans, and empowering the mason, among other matters, to use again some of the old material. For instance, 'the old blue lias stone, if sound and good may be used for the flooring, 'such of the old paving as may be suitable'; also masonry composed of 'Ham Hill or Beer stone remaining from the old Building may be used for some of the purposes as will be decided.' Here, then, are three local rocks (if Ham Hill, near Yeovil, is not too remote to be called local) which we know to have been used in the fabric of the old church. Two small rectangular areas of what appears to be Ham stone have been built into the porch above the arch of the northern door; otherwise none has been noticed in the present building.
The plinth on which the present building stands, raising the eastern end some 5ft. above ground-level, is made of Bothenhampton stone, a shelly limestone known to geologists as Forest Marble, and formerly quarried south of Bridport. Its weathered surface is dull, but, when polished, it presents a particularly beautiful section, as may be seen in the little tablet placed in memory of the late Rector, The Rev. C. D. Ovens, on the southern wall of the Sanctuary.
The walls of the church are of rubble covered with chert stones with their faces dressed to a level surface. Under the action of the weather their surfaces are in various stages of conversion to chalcedony. It is likely that our cherts were taken from the quarries, now abandoned, above Morcombelake. They are locally called 'flints,' which they closely resemble; but true flints (scattered freely with cherts over the surface of this district) are derived from the Chalk, which once spread over the whole of this countryside.
The rubble of the walls, which may be seen unbidden by plaster inside the higher part of the tower, is mainly composed of large, wave-worn blocks, mostly made of lias limestone, and occasionally of chert, taken from the beach, and is the material of which the old village cottages are almost invariably built.
The coigns of the building, the window frames, and much of the archway of the northern porch, as well as the porch of the tower are made of Beer stone. This is a granular rock in which the particles are irregularly shaped. A broken string-course running round the building, is made of white Oolite ( or Roestone ), presumably of Bath or Portland age. In Oolite the particles are mostly spherical, giving the rock a general resemblance to fish-roe.
The original roof was specified for covering with 'good Bos Castle Duchess slating.' Many of these old Cornish slates still roof the church, although many have been replaced by the usual Welsh kinds.
The tower was built first; and it is assumed that in order to provide more seating for the larger congregation in a growing village, it was decided not to build a chancel. The population numbered 724 in 1834.
The tower has a spacious basement with a flight of stairs leading to the organ-loft and the bell-ringers. Above the latter is a clock-chamber, and above this hang the three bells; above the bells the tower is open, and the high space is spanned by a ladder of dangerous length leading by a giddy ascent to a trapdoor in the leads. If the climber can safely squeeze through this, he emerges on the open tower-top, 15 feet square, floored with lead, on which are scored the initialled outlines of former parishioners' feet, and enclosed with a parapet of yellow stone, probably one of the lower Oolites. The parapet stands at 68 feet 6 inches from the ground, and gives a comprehensive view of the village. The tower is completed by a 35ft flagstaff with a vane.
The old church was St. Matthew's, but the present church is dedicated to St. Andrew. Why this change was maden0-0ne knows. Certainly proximity to the sea and the fishing, if not the beach-combing, activities of the villagers, point to a fisherman-saint, and doubtless inspired our fine weathervane. This wooden fish was 40 inches long, and had teeth and fins of metal. It represented no species as yet known to science; but, whenever the starlings had done jostling for perching-room on its back, most efficiently proclaimed the wind's direction. It has already originated folklore: when an east wind blows in the Spring, the villagers say that the fish has gone to Morcombe, and that it takes a south-west gale to blow it back again. This was blown down in the gales of 1986 and has since been rebuilt.
Inside the church the piers and arches supporting the roof are the most notable fabric. They are made of Beer stone; but the beauty of its natural graining is mostly obscured by smoothing, and consequently all surface irregularities are filled with powdery chalk.
Monuments in the Churchyard
In the graveyard something of the villager's philosophy of life may be read in words factual, sententious, tragic or pious. Samples of these epitaphs are written on informative 'bats' left in the church for the use of visitors. Many of the tombstones have been ranged against the church and churchyard walls, for ease in keeping the churchyard decently tidy; and, although the weather has obliterated many old inscriptions, yet all that are legible have been carefully copied. It is of interest that in August, 1832, cholera reached Charmouth from Bridport, and three local victims were buried near the N.W. corner of the tower. For many years a mound marked the spot, but this has long been levelled, and the site lost. One of the oldest tombstones is dated 1784, but most of them date from after 1836. No 'notables' lie buried here. Of the prolific West Country family, Westley (also spelt Wesley and Wesly), no fewer than eleven are recorded in our Burial Register; and strange local names, like Digory Gordge, recur.
A humble villager 'Jonas Wishcombe who died June 1st, 1859, aged 72,' was linked with diverse personalities such as Lord Enniskillen and Sir Philip Egerton, Thomas Hawkins, and Mary Anning; who were all authorities on fossils.
A loca1 doctor, H. E. Norris (1820-88), who was married four times, is buried, with his second wife, to the S.E. of the church; his third wife, Emilia Marryat, whose grave also lies nearby, was the daughter of Captain Marryat, R.N., famous for his naval stories. A very popular grave is that of James Warden, who was killed by his neighbour, Mr. Norman, in a duel over a trivial dispute. The incident is chiefly interesting for recording that mortal duelling lingered in these parts as late as 1792.
A rusty sword was unearthed in the Churchyard in 1785. This was thought to be of Danish origin but it was not proven.
Monuments in the Church
Apart from furniture given in memory of our church folk, the memorials inside the church comprise the slabs on the floor, the mural tablets, and the windows. The first were taken from the former church, and are composed of more than one kind of stone; but the surfaces are too much worn and stained for certain identification. The specifications of 1836 direct the floor to be paved with Purbeck Stone (not to be confused with Purbeck Marble), and it is possible that some of the darker original slabs may also have been cut from that rock. All that is legible of the inscriptions has been copied and preserved.
Our chief benefactor, Anthony Ellesdon (1659-1737), is justly eminent in his memorial. His arms are hung over the western door, and his benefactions are told in Latin on the large, pedimented, marble slab, flanked with Ionic pillars, which was removed from the former church, and is now placed on the northern wall of the Sanctuary. Like a typical eighteenth-century squire he enjoyed life (hoc runs angulo. ..et bene latuit et bene vixit); he also loved our church, which he 're-edifyed and beautifyed' and, in 1723 and 1732, 'restored'; and whose endowment of £400 he augmented, and under which his remains now lie. He was a member of a distinguished family, commemorated also by the brass in Lyme Regis Church.
The mural tablets of the old church, transferred to the walls of the new, and reinforced by Victorian and later additions reflect the style and language of their dates. Except for a few recent brasses, most are made of ornamental 'marbles' and, naturally, are of varying interest. On the eastern wall of the northern aisle is a particularly gracious and simple tribute, to Julia, who died at Charmouth in 1811, the wife of Robert Spiller. A group on the southern wall of the Sanctuary commemorates former Rectors. On the same wall is another memorial -a truly startling high relief; a child, lying between its helpless parents, is threatened by a crowned skeleton armed with an enormous javelin. Yet the accompanying epitaph might suggest that the parents could have regarded the dreadful visitant as but a gentle friend disguised.
The memorial windows fall clearly into two groups. Several ponderous, polychromatic, and storied windows, in crudest Victorian style, reflect the artless, but very earnest, piety of their age, and are sharply contrasted with the large, radiant, eastern light, with its circular design, and the light-giving window of modern style at the western end of the southern aisle.
The Furniture
The oak pulpit, which was transferred from the old to the nave of the new church, was found to be too cumbrous for our confined spaces, and was first moved to a new site, and then replaced by the present, smaller , stone pulpit. A still older pulpit once stood in our church and was discovered in Wesley Church, Bridport, where it was re-erected and rededicated in 1936. There is no record of how this transfer was effected.
The supposed font near the northern door has already been noticed. The large marble font, now in use, was presented in 1884. Music was supplied at first by a 'Psalmodic Barrel Organ,' at a cost of £100. The machine ground out ten psalm-tunes; but a new organ was presented in 1846. In 1993 the western space under the gallery was partitioned off to create a meeting place with kitchen. This was a result of a generous gift from Sir Michael and Lady Pauline Newton. Also the approach to the main door and gates from the street were widened and resurfaced with monies from a legacy left for churchyard improvement.
The church now possesses seven items of plate. All church plate was confiscated after the Reformation, but the Commission of 1552 allowed each parish to keep one medieval chalice. We still have an Elizabethan communion cup, dated ca. 1574. Besides this, there are a pair of Communion cups dated 1787-8; a Communion cup and paten of 1904; a paten of 1716- 7; an alms-dish of 1854; a Sheffield plate flagon of 1823; and a silver flagon of 1946. A Communion cup was given by Anthony Ellesdon; but this was sold in 1834 by the Rector and his Churchwarden of that date, to pay for another (a rather inadequate reason.)
The Rectors
It is but human that in a long line of Rectors only those who are notorious for eccentricity, or worse, are recalled by posterity; while the great body of incumbents, who quietly did their duty, helped to build up the great tradition of the 'Country Parson,' and their day formed the backbone of our church, are largely unknown and quickly forgotten. Yet the role of Rectors hanging in the church testifies to these. Among them only one is known to have been an eccentric, though perhaps he should rather be counted as insane. This was John Audain (1783-1827) He owned and handled a privateer, resigned his living, travelled to the West Indies, and played Parson to any denomination, which would accept his temporary services. More considerable was Bartholomew Wesley (circa 1600-1670) Rector of Charmouth from 1640-1662. He was put into the living by the Puritans, who had sequestrated the 'sitting' Rector Samuel Norrington. According to Proc. Wesley Hut. Soc., 1937, vol. xxi, part 2, Bartholomew and John of the Charmouth Registers must not be confused with the grandfather and the great grandfather of John and Charles Wesley, with whom before now they have been identified. An incumbent put in another's place under the Puritans was known as 'an Intruder'. At the restoration Bartholomew Wesley was extruded, and there after preached little more but rather practiced as an apothecary. He died at Lyme in 1670, and was buried there.
The information in this abbreviated account of Charmouth Church has been extracted from notes, and photograph albums, illustrating Charmouth' s history by Mr .R W. J. Pavey, of Charmouth and George Roberts 'History and Antiquities of Charmouth'.