St Aldhelm's Church, Lytchett Heath

St Aldhelm's Church is a private church in Lytchett Heath, Dorset, England. It was designed by George Crickmay for Lord Eustace Cecil and built in 1898. It has been a Grade II* listed building since 1984.[1] The lychgate of the churchyard is also Grade II listed.[2]

St Aldhelm's Church
Religion
AffiliationChurch of England
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusActive
Location
LocationLytchett Heath, Dorset, England
Geographic coordinates50.7502°N 2.0449°W / 50.7502; -2.0449
Architecture
Architect(s)George Crickmay
TypeChurch
Completed1898

History

St Aldhelm's was built in 1898 at the sole expense of Lord Eustace Cecil for use as a private church and to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.[3] It was designed by George Crickmay and dedicated by the Bishop of Salisbury, the Right Rev. John Wordsworth, on 31 May 1898.[4] Lord Cecil first purchased a large area of land at Lytchett Heath in 1874 and built a residence, Lytchett Heath House, there in 1875.[3]

Architecture

St Aldhelm's is built of rock-faced and smooth ashlar stone in the Early English style.[1] Designed to accommodate 60 persons, it is made up of a nave, chancel, north vestry and south porch.[5] The west turret contains eight bells, which were added to commemorate Lord Cecil's 80th birthday in 1914.[3] The interior uses a mixture of Purbeck, Ham and Tisbury stone. Many of the internal fittings are of oak, carved by Harry Hems of Exeter. The font is of Caen stone with a Purbeck shaft.[6] In 2001, five stained glass windows based on Saint Aldhelm were designed and made for the church by Jude Tarrant.[7]

References
  1. "SAINT ALDHELM'S CHURCH, Lytchett Minster and Upton - 1120333". Historic England. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  2. "LYCH GATE TO SAINT ALDHELM'S CHURCH, Lytchett Minster and Upton - 1303628". Historic England. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  3. "Death of Lord Eustace Cecil". The Western Gazette. 8 July 1921. Retrieved 3 November 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Dedication of a new church". The Bournemouth Guardian. 4 June 1898. Retrieved 3 November 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Contentdm". Specialcollections.le.ac.uk. 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  6. "Church notes and news". The Morning Post. 6 June 1898. Retrieved 3 November 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "St Aldhelm". Artiststainedglass.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
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