The Church
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 apperas 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)
Below : St Michaels & All Angels Church (viewed from the road) Photo RC
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
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.
Mediaeval stone socket of a Cross (right hand side of porch doorway)
The Bath stone Font has a Purbeck marble stem and is thought to be of late Norman (C12th) date.
More details on this website by Gerald Duke :
The Pulpit is relatively modern but incorporates three Jacobean arcaded panels.
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"
Medieval Wall Frescoes :
One of the medieval wall frescoes (thought to date from C13th - 17th) (see Dorset Echo article below). Found beneath wall paint and carefully conserved in 2002. In date, these span seven periods of the 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. There is a detailed description of these wall paintings in the church booklet. (Photo - RC)
Bells : The Bell chamber within the tower has one late medieval bell (thought to be C15th) with the inscription "SS Maria SS" . The 1552 inventory listed three bells along with one "lyche", one sanctus and one little bell. These were listed in Hutchins in 1774 but the Church Wardens accounts (dating back to 1727) do not mention their removal.
The bell still has its cannons but is in a fixed position due to the ironwork in the timber headstock being badly corroded. It 30.25" in diameter with an estimated weight of 5.5cwt. It has a plain cross (7/8" across), black-letter and stops. It is thought that it was cast in or near Salisbury.
(Source : The Bells & Belfries of Dorset Part 3 by C Dalton - c1992)
Right : The remaining bell
Above : Inscription
Left : The small lancet window at the rear of the gallery giving light into the tower. A lovely example of stonemason's skill with splayed jambs and stone arch over.
Right : 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.
Altar : The stone slab Altar dates from C12/13th and has 5 consecration crosses.
Mass Clock / Scratch dial : The excellent church history booklet mentions a primitive sun dial (mass clock or scratch dial) dating from the C14th on the south westerly stone quoin of the nave. These were not very accurate, and the gnomon was a simple peg placed in the wall to indicate 9am for Mass and 2pm or 3pm for Vespers.
There is an OS bench mark carved into a quoin at low level behind a rainwater pipe to west of porch ! Nov 2020 - I have been informed that the mass clock is hidden behind a rainwater pipe and that this is going to be amended soon. To be checked
The above OS Bench mark is 91.690m above sea level (Newlyn 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 !
Below : Church Goods, Dorset in 1552 - Mem 17; Item 196 (Source : DNHAS Vol XXVI p124)
A board previously displayed showing various works on the church from 1991 - 2009
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 withon the rails.
The architect was Mr G Crickmay and the builder Mr A Green of Blandford. The cost of the restoration was about £300.
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 village stocks 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 .