The Church

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St Michaels and All Angels

An ancient church consisting of a Nave, a Chancel, a tower to the west end of the nave and a porch on the south side. The walls are mostly oolitic limestone (similar to Portland) coarsed rubble, possibly a local stone, with some Ham Hill dressings.

The earliest parts of the nave are thought to be the west end with the quoins at the east end dating from the 11th century Saxon period. Pevsner in his Buildings of England, Dorset, notes these long and short quoins as being one of only three such sites in Dorset - the others being at Sherborne and Wareham St Martin church. The nave appears to have been largely rebuilt in the 12th century. It was dedicated in 1401 to St Michael who cast down Satan - hence presumably the Saxon angel who appears to be flying backwards.

The Tower and Porch date from the 14th century with the chancel being 15th century. The octagonal stone spire with corner pinnacles was added to the tower in the 18th century and is one of the county's oldest stone spires. The original Lawrence family chapel on the north side o the church was pulled down in 1680 - Hutchins relates that several Lawrence grave stones were "buried in the rubbish".

Internally, the font bowl dates from the 12th century. The gallery was added in 1708. The famous stone carved angel is Saxon and was resited inside the church in the 1991. It was originally on the south wall to the west (left) of the porch. A white board which can be seen on the photo below was the original site.

Some of the glass in the Nave windows with stars, crowns and a leopard's face date from the C15th.

Listings : St Michael's Church is Listed Grade 1. The Sherring Table tomb (approx 3m south of the chancel) is Listed Grade II* and there a further four table tombs Listed Grade II. (see below)

(all photos by RC except where noted)

Below : St Michaels & All Angels Church (viewed from the road) (Photo RC 2005)

Above : Floor plan (from RCHM) showing the dating of the various parts of the building. It can be seen that the earliest walls (the gables of the main body of the building) are pre-conquest (1066) and are therefore Saxon in origin. See village name & early history

Above : Listing detail - Listed Building : Grade I

Below : My own conjectural development of the building

The Saxon Carved Stone Angel :

It is thought that this possibly represents the casting down of Lucifer by St Michael. It is has been conjectured that it may originally have been one of two rood (crucifix) supports set in the Chancel arch above the later C14th rood screen. It is thought that one angel had disappeared in the late C17th and the other was removed and set in south wall externally. In 1991, this was moved to prevent erosion and vandalism and is now set internally in the north wall of the chancel. (Photo RC). A similar angel exists in St Laurence's Church in Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire.

Sir Frederick Treves found the angel “curiously ridiculous” (Source : "Bound to the soil” - Barbara Kerr p123 - source of Treves statement not noted)

A lot more detail can be found using this link :

https://chacklepie.com/ascorpus/catvol7.php?pageNum_urls=232

Above : The stone Angel when insitu in wall to west of porch. From Rodney Legg's "Discovering Lost Dorset" pub 2006. He refers to St Michael the Archangel as commander of Heaven's army . It was resited internally in 1991.

The Font :

The West Gallery- Generally built in timber these were added to many churches in the early C18th with amateur choirs being formed and musical instruments added later.

Winterbourne Abbas had a similar gallery. Many removed again by Victorian “modernisations”

View from the chancel of the nave and the west musicians' gallery.

View from gallery looking to chancel

Right : Coat of Arms

Close up of the Coat of Arms (donated in 20002) on the front of the Musicians Gallery (constructed in 1708)

(See Dorset Echo article below)

Below : Date inscription of gallery (below Coat of Arms) "1708 GC 8"

Doors & Stone Altar

Left : The main door inside entrance porch. Probably a relatively modern reproduction of an earlier door with rear ledges and vertical wide boarding fixed with long wrought iron nails with ornamental heads clenched on the inside.

In November 2025 - the bell and framework are in poor condition and the further information shown below was taken from a couple of specialist quotations obtained for its repair. The bell has a cast-in crown staple - the part from which the clapper hangs. Bell is bronze. There are no tuning marks to the bell which makes the bell to be described as "maiden". It appears that the bell has never been turned to present new faces to the blows of the clapper. The oak headstock was previously fitted with a halfwheel which appears to have been removed to allow the ringing chamber ceiling to be fitted. This half wheel still remains in the bellchamber.

Windows, stained glass & Chancel roof

Internal memorial floor tombs and brass wall plaques :

Above : Gilbert Ironside (vicar) 31st March 1643

O S Benchmark : (below the scratch dial)

The OS Bench mark is 91.690m above sea level (based from Newlyn in Cornwall) and the precise loaction is SY 62920 89816. (Waypoint B11861). The bench mark (a bolt) at Winterbourne Abbas church was used for the first primary levelling of England & Wales in 1840-60 and it is some 7 metres higher than Steepleton at 98.3520 above sea level. Martinstown Church does not have a benchmark but is some 6 metres lower than Steepleton. It is not certain when the bench mark was inscribed on Steepleton church.

For real anoraks !! https://www.bench-marks.org.uk

(Anglo-Saxon ??) Inscription :

An early Inscription . (photo by Gill Vickery 2020)

This piece of limestone is approximately 105mm high and 630mm long (4.25" x 25") and appears to have been trimmed to size before being built into the south facing external wall during the C12th phase of alteration to the church. It therefore, most likely, pre-dates this time and may be contemporary with the carved stone angel (ie late C10th to C11th).

I would like to thank Elisabeth Okasha, (Professor emerita, University College Cork, Ireland) for her expert guidance on this inscription. She viewed it in 2016 but unfortunately, together with previous researchers, has had to conclude that it is uninterpretable. She has published information about it in her "Fourth supplement to Hand-List of Anglo-Saxon Non-Runic Inscriptions" Anglo-Saxon England 47 (2019) 365-423 page391.

Not even the language is certain, the text is thought to read : - N: [.] EAL [.] V [M] HA - The first letter may be I or T

The top of the letters themselves appear to have been cut each letter being about 90mm ( 3.5") high

More details can be found using this link : https://chacklepie.com/ascorpus/catvol7.php?pageNum_urls=233

An intriguing stone in our village ! If only it could talk !

Right : Location of stone inscription under window to left (west) of porch

The Churchyard : (see below for actual listings)

Not sure where these items are now kept or if they were sold in the past ?

Below : Church Goods, Dorset in 1552 - Mem 17; Item 196 (Source : DNHAS Vol XXVI p124)

Transcription of above record (work in progress !).

Note : This record is dated 1552 so this was shortly before the accession of Queen Mary in July 1553.

First , 1 chalice of silver parcell guilt; 1 pyx (a small round container which contained the Eucharist or consecrated bread) of litten (metal -usually brass), 3 vestments with

Display board in church showing works up to 2006 :

A board previously displayed showing various works on the church from 1991 - 2009

The 1880 Restoration

Notes extracted from Steepleton Baptismal register detailing a "restoration" carried out in 1880 :

The Chancel of Steepleton church with the exception of the outer walls was completely restored by the Rector (Rev Canon Green) in the spring of 1880. The chief features of this restoration were an open deal roof, a new perpendicular east window to correspond with the windows in the nave, oak seatings, prayer desk and lectern and a tiled pavement within the rails. A new heating apparatus was put in.

The architect was Mr G Crickmay and the builder Mr A Green of Blandford. The cost of the restoration was about £300.

Five lamps with standards, an Amercian organ and vases and candlesticks for the altar were given at the same time by friends and parishioners. The Alat was givenin 1883 by the Rectors family.

transcription of page below in progress March 2012

(all photos RC)

Notes and extracts from the archives relating to the Church :

(from Dorset History Centre PE/WS1)

CW 1/1

1730 - "Pd for the weather-cock 15s" (how did they get up there ? !!)

1730 - "Pd for a gimmey for the stocks and setting on 1s 0d" (the stocks in the tower for the bell(s) presumably - what is a gimmey ?)

1743 - "A stone for dyrections" and carrig of the stone from Parsam" 13s (from Portesham ??)

1757 - "Pd Joss Best for stoping the Pegens out Church" 1s 6d

CW/1/2

1897 - "Paid Klitz and Son for repairing Harmonium in Church".

List of Rectors (from church - photo RC)

Listed Tombs in Churchyard :

Meech - 1659

White - 1728

Unidentified C17th

Sherring - 1733 & 1757

Hodder - 1690 & 1701

Trees in Churchyard :

Winterbourne Steepleton - St Michael - SY6289

The church was rebuilt in the 12th century and refurbished in the 19th century.

Two female yews grow in the church grounds. The largest, west of the church, has a girth of 11' 2" at 3'. This height was selected to avoid the remains of a removed side limb. The second has a girth of 9' 3" at 2' and grows east of the church .

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