St Andrew's Church
St Andrew's Church is a ruined church on the east side of the island, above Church Ope Cove and near Wakeham. Portland's first and only parish church until the mid-18th century, St Andrew's has origins dating back to the 12th century and was built on the site of an Anglo-Saxon church.
St Andrew's became a scheduled monument in October 1924 and it continues to hold this status to date, under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. In January 1951, it also became a Grade II* listed monument. The southern retaining wall of the churchyard has been Grade II listed since September 1978, while three surviving churchyard monuments, approximately seven metres south of the church, have been Grade II listed since May 1993. This comprises two chest tombs and a headstone, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.
History
Establishment of St Andrew's and use as parish church
The history of St Andrew's stems back to the Anglo-Saxon period, when a church was first established at the site. Excavation work indicates the Saxon church was later demolished and replaced with a new one, erected at a time when the manor of Portland was held by the Benedictine Monks of St. Swithin of Winchester. These monks had an "elaborately built" church, including a central tower, constructed on the foundations of the old Saxon church sometime during the first half of the 12th century. The first known rector of Portland's parish church was John Golde of Wareham, who served from 1302-24.
The church underwent repairs and rebuilding after foreign raiders landed at the cove below and torched the building in 1340. The Nonarum Inquisitions recorded that the church was "burned and destroyed by enemies of England, and sheep with other cattle carried away". During the first half of the 14th century, the church was extended and went on to reach its largest size around 1500. A detached tower was added during the 15th century and the church dedicated to St Andrew in 1475.
St Andrew's suffered from the unstable land it was built on. Frequent repairs were needed, such as those carried out during 1625, which included the construction of a wall in the attempt to stabilise the land following a landslip. Not only had the landslip damaged the church, it left half of the cemetery in risk of collapsing onto the beach below. A section of the nave wall also had to be rebuilt on a supportive platform. Thomas Gerard of Trent described the church in 1625: "On the South Point stands the onlie Church, soe near the sea, that for safetie of it they have been forced to wall the Church Yarde Bankes almost of an incredible height, soe that it even afrighte one to look downe."
The church suffered further damage after a major landslip in 1665. Another occurred around 1734-35, which became known as the Great Southwell Landslip and remains Britain's second largest recorded historical landslide. A large section of the churchyard had vanished down the cliff, while the church itself was left in danger of collapsing. Although St Andrew's continued its religious role, it continued to require frequent repair work, alongside stabilisation and repair work of the churchyard wall. Meanwhile, as more space was required to comfortably serve Portland's congregation, a gallery was added to the church during the 1740s.
Replacement of St Andrew's
Having fallen into considerable disrepair by the 1750s, a meeting was held by the parish vestry on 30 August 1753 over the church's future. A committee was formed to determine whether St Andrew's should be repaired or replaced with a new church. The elected members of the committee were the rector of Portland, Rev John Cooth, the churchwardens Edward Pearce and Colpass Attwooll, the builder/architect Thomas Gilbert, and two prominent landowners and quarry merchants, John and Richard Tucker.
The committee's report, which was submitted during a vestry meeting on 2 November, determined that the existing church was so ruinous that it would be "extremely imprudent for the inhabitants to put themselves to the expense of a thorough repair of the same, since it appears to us that such repairs must cost more than half the expense of building a new Church". Furthermore, the precarious site was described as "dangerous", while the church itself was considered too small and ill-suited to serve Portland's residents. Thomas Gilbert's plans for an "extensive and well defined church", which was to be built at the west end of Reforne, was adopted and the scheme approved on 8 November 1753. Having been appointed to carry out and oversee the new church's construction, Gilbert was also required to establish a tabernacle to provide Portland with a temporary place of worship until the new church was completed.
Construction of St George's commenced in 1754, while St Andrew's continued to hold general services until July 1756, when the proposed tabernacle was opened at Wakeham, "in or near [a] dwelling" owned by Mr Cooper. Despite this, the last marriage to be performed at St Andrew's was on 13 November 1757. The last recorded burial at the church took place in 1752. During the tabernacle's following decade of use, the communion table of St Andrew's was moved from and back to the church as required.
With its closure, much of St Andrew's was soon demolished. As part of his agreement with the parish vestry, Gilbert was free to reuse or sell materials and fittings from St Andrew's for the benefit of the new church. Much of the stonework and other fittings were sold to provide funds for the construction of its successor, with some of the stone being reused in local dwellings. St George's was completed in 1764 and consecrated in 1766.
Later history of St Andrew's
During the early 19th century, the church was enclosed by John Penn, the politician, writer and governor of Portland. Having built his Gothic Revival mansion, Pennsylvania Castle, overlooking Church Ope Cove, between 1797-1800, Penn then decided to expand his grounds. In addition to purchasing a number of surrounding stone cottages at Wakeham, he also incorporated the surrounding undercliff land into his grounds, which included St Andrew's and Rufus Castle. The closure of these two open sites sparked outcry from local residents, while the local governing Court Leet protested against Penn's decision for a number of years. The legal battle was not settled until 1822 when it was agreed that Penn could keep the land enclosed in return for the annual payment of five shillings. The two historical sites remained part of the castle's grounds into the 20th century. During World War II, the remaining ruins of the church were damaged in a German air raid.
Excavations
19th-century Excavations
During the 1880s and 1890s, J. Merrick Head, the then-owner of Pennsylvania Castle, excavated the site. Reporting to the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club in 1891, he revealed that: "...an examination of the ruins appears to disclose the existence of the earlier church and that the present ruined church was built within the site of the older building." Referring to some of the remaining headstones at the time, he added: "From the shape and general description some of them appear to be of the 12th century. On close examination one of them showed a floriated cross upon the face of it, and on another there is a plain cross." Head's excavations also discovered the bases and portions of the columns of the previously-built 12th century church.
Head concluded in his report: "The result of the excavations discloses the first church to have been one of considerable beauty and importance and the second church to have been one of the rudest description. They both together form romantic ruins at the foot of a peaceful dell. It has been suggested that a portion of the walls remaining on the north-east side are of Saxon origin. There are some of the characteristics of that time but opinion is ventured on this matter."
In the Portland Year Book of 1905, Head's excavations were further detailed: "In the excavations that were made a number of the stones of the chancel arch were discovered, as also corbels with fantastic heads, portions of a corbel table, and a small piece of carved work of a capital, all of the same period as the column bases that were found. The main wall of the second church on the south side is built within the first church. In the stall of the second church are arched stones of an older date, built into the form of a zig-zag moulding. It is strange that the workmanship in connection with the first church should have been so much better than that of the second, the workmanship of which seems to have been very indifferent. There are indications at the east end and within the aisle that the first church was destroyed by fire. The pavement and part of the walls are red and blackened."
The book further reported: "It was found that the doorstep of the chancel consisted of gravestone turned upside down and partly broken. It is made of Portland stone and on the face there is a cross, well preserved and of good workmanship. Portions of two other grave-stones were found, each having crosses. Mr Head holds that they belong to the 12th century. It is a most interesting fact that two stones forming the arch of one of the first churches of St Andrew were found in a garden in Easton Square. Upon the arch the following is engraved: Psalm 122. I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go into the House of the Lord'."
20th-century Excavations
The ruins were cleared and consolidated by the Portland Field Research Group between 1968-73. Major excavation and consolidation work was then carried out during 1978-82, at a time when the site was very overgrown. The Manpower Services were involved in the work between 1979-80. The excavation covered most of the nave, the aisle and two small areas to the north of the church. Various fragments and pieces were donated to Portland Museum during this time, and these were put on display in the museum's garden where they remain to date.
The archeologists also discovered statues that were similar to the ones found at Old Sarum, a Bronze Age hill fort in Salisbury. Another discovery found was that the original church was of very high quality construction as there were remaining columns of a Purbeck marble. An old well, believed to be of Saxon origin, was found outside the west wall, filled with old masonry rubble with several human skeletons above it.
Design
In the book History and Antiquities of Dorset, based on John Hutchins' survey of the county during the mid-18th century, he described the church as a "large, ancient, but, rude fabric, situated at the Southern extremity of the Island, so near the sea that, to prevent it from encroachments, the islanders were obliged to wall the banks to an incredible height. It consisted of a chancel and body very low and tiled, which seemed to have been built at different times. The tower was plain and moderately high, but had no bell in it and was detached nearly a yard from the body. The inconvenience of its situation was owing to a pretended want of depth of earth elsewhere."
English Heritage have commented: "Rufus Castle and the Church of St Andrew survive comparatively well and although much is already known of the church through excavation, these two structures, with their early medieval foundations, indicate the importance and social and religious significance attached to this area in this period." There are no longer any remains of the "steppes of stone" that were referred to in Grose's Antiquities and Coker's Dorset, which connected the castle to the church.
A few gravestones and tombstones remain at the church site. Before most of the monuments were lost, crossbones, skulls, hour-glasses, trumpets, the rose, and the thistle, were favourite ornamentations, and some of the epitaphs often very quaint. In one area south of the church ruins are three remaining monuments. One particular tombstone has a skull and crossbones emblem. It is often mistaken as having a connection to pirates (hence the churchyard often being called the pirates' graveyard). However, the symbol was once commonly used on tombstones to represent death.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Ancestry.com - Genealogy - Portland Churches, Buildings and Views - St Andrew's Church - Paul Benyon - website page
2) Exploring Portland - Church Ope Cove and the Pennsylvania Castle Area - Geoff Kirby - website page
3) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - 3 Churchyard Monuments, Approximately 7 Metres South of Church of St Andrew - website page
4) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Retaining Wall to Churchyard to South of Church of St Andrew - website page
5) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Rufus Castle - website page
6) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Ruins of Church of St Andrew - website page
7) Isle of Portland Official Guide - Portland Urban District Council - Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd, Chelternham and London - circa 1955 - page 21 - book
8) Portland Year Book 1905 - Churches and Chapels etc - St George's Church - Paul Benyon - website page
9) Portland: A Topographical and Historical Gazetteer - Roy Mackenzie - 1999 - page 33 - book
10) Strolling Guides - Church Ope Cove and St Andrew's Church - website page
11) Strolling Guides - St Andrew's Church & Rufus Castle - Photo of on-site information board - website page
12) The Book of Portland: Gibraltar of Wessex - Rodney Legg - Halsgrove - 2006 - ISBN: 978-1841144979 - pages 19, 46 - book
13) The Island and Royal Manor of Portland 1750-1851 - J. H. Bettey - University of Bristol - 1970 - ISBN: 978-0901047052 - pages 74-78 - book
14) Visit Weymouth - History and Heritage of Portland in Dorset - website page
15) Web Archive: Dorset for You - members.multimania.co.uk - John Penn - Archived from the original in 2011 - website page
St Andrew's became a scheduled monument in October 1924 and it continues to hold this status to date, under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. In January 1951, it also became a Grade II* listed monument. The southern retaining wall of the churchyard has been Grade II listed since September 1978, while three surviving churchyard monuments, approximately seven metres south of the church, have been Grade II listed since May 1993. This comprises two chest tombs and a headstone, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.
History
Establishment of St Andrew's and use as parish church
The history of St Andrew's stems back to the Anglo-Saxon period, when a church was first established at the site. Excavation work indicates the Saxon church was later demolished and replaced with a new one, erected at a time when the manor of Portland was held by the Benedictine Monks of St. Swithin of Winchester. These monks had an "elaborately built" church, including a central tower, constructed on the foundations of the old Saxon church sometime during the first half of the 12th century. The first known rector of Portland's parish church was John Golde of Wareham, who served from 1302-24.
The church underwent repairs and rebuilding after foreign raiders landed at the cove below and torched the building in 1340. The Nonarum Inquisitions recorded that the church was "burned and destroyed by enemies of England, and sheep with other cattle carried away". During the first half of the 14th century, the church was extended and went on to reach its largest size around 1500. A detached tower was added during the 15th century and the church dedicated to St Andrew in 1475.
St Andrew's suffered from the unstable land it was built on. Frequent repairs were needed, such as those carried out during 1625, which included the construction of a wall in the attempt to stabilise the land following a landslip. Not only had the landslip damaged the church, it left half of the cemetery in risk of collapsing onto the beach below. A section of the nave wall also had to be rebuilt on a supportive platform. Thomas Gerard of Trent described the church in 1625: "On the South Point stands the onlie Church, soe near the sea, that for safetie of it they have been forced to wall the Church Yarde Bankes almost of an incredible height, soe that it even afrighte one to look downe."
The church suffered further damage after a major landslip in 1665. Another occurred around 1734-35, which became known as the Great Southwell Landslip and remains Britain's second largest recorded historical landslide. A large section of the churchyard had vanished down the cliff, while the church itself was left in danger of collapsing. Although St Andrew's continued its religious role, it continued to require frequent repair work, alongside stabilisation and repair work of the churchyard wall. Meanwhile, as more space was required to comfortably serve Portland's congregation, a gallery was added to the church during the 1740s.
Replacement of St Andrew's
Having fallen into considerable disrepair by the 1750s, a meeting was held by the parish vestry on 30 August 1753 over the church's future. A committee was formed to determine whether St Andrew's should be repaired or replaced with a new church. The elected members of the committee were the rector of Portland, Rev John Cooth, the churchwardens Edward Pearce and Colpass Attwooll, the builder/architect Thomas Gilbert, and two prominent landowners and quarry merchants, John and Richard Tucker.
The committee's report, which was submitted during a vestry meeting on 2 November, determined that the existing church was so ruinous that it would be "extremely imprudent for the inhabitants to put themselves to the expense of a thorough repair of the same, since it appears to us that such repairs must cost more than half the expense of building a new Church". Furthermore, the precarious site was described as "dangerous", while the church itself was considered too small and ill-suited to serve Portland's residents. Thomas Gilbert's plans for an "extensive and well defined church", which was to be built at the west end of Reforne, was adopted and the scheme approved on 8 November 1753. Having been appointed to carry out and oversee the new church's construction, Gilbert was also required to establish a tabernacle to provide Portland with a temporary place of worship until the new church was completed.
Construction of St George's commenced in 1754, while St Andrew's continued to hold general services until July 1756, when the proposed tabernacle was opened at Wakeham, "in or near [a] dwelling" owned by Mr Cooper. Despite this, the last marriage to be performed at St Andrew's was on 13 November 1757. The last recorded burial at the church took place in 1752. During the tabernacle's following decade of use, the communion table of St Andrew's was moved from and back to the church as required.
With its closure, much of St Andrew's was soon demolished. As part of his agreement with the parish vestry, Gilbert was free to reuse or sell materials and fittings from St Andrew's for the benefit of the new church. Much of the stonework and other fittings were sold to provide funds for the construction of its successor, with some of the stone being reused in local dwellings. St George's was completed in 1764 and consecrated in 1766.
Later history of St Andrew's
During the early 19th century, the church was enclosed by John Penn, the politician, writer and governor of Portland. Having built his Gothic Revival mansion, Pennsylvania Castle, overlooking Church Ope Cove, between 1797-1800, Penn then decided to expand his grounds. In addition to purchasing a number of surrounding stone cottages at Wakeham, he also incorporated the surrounding undercliff land into his grounds, which included St Andrew's and Rufus Castle. The closure of these two open sites sparked outcry from local residents, while the local governing Court Leet protested against Penn's decision for a number of years. The legal battle was not settled until 1822 when it was agreed that Penn could keep the land enclosed in return for the annual payment of five shillings. The two historical sites remained part of the castle's grounds into the 20th century. During World War II, the remaining ruins of the church were damaged in a German air raid.
Excavations
19th-century Excavations
During the 1880s and 1890s, J. Merrick Head, the then-owner of Pennsylvania Castle, excavated the site. Reporting to the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club in 1891, he revealed that: "...an examination of the ruins appears to disclose the existence of the earlier church and that the present ruined church was built within the site of the older building." Referring to some of the remaining headstones at the time, he added: "From the shape and general description some of them appear to be of the 12th century. On close examination one of them showed a floriated cross upon the face of it, and on another there is a plain cross." Head's excavations also discovered the bases and portions of the columns of the previously-built 12th century church.
Head concluded in his report: "The result of the excavations discloses the first church to have been one of considerable beauty and importance and the second church to have been one of the rudest description. They both together form romantic ruins at the foot of a peaceful dell. It has been suggested that a portion of the walls remaining on the north-east side are of Saxon origin. There are some of the characteristics of that time but opinion is ventured on this matter."
In the Portland Year Book of 1905, Head's excavations were further detailed: "In the excavations that were made a number of the stones of the chancel arch were discovered, as also corbels with fantastic heads, portions of a corbel table, and a small piece of carved work of a capital, all of the same period as the column bases that were found. The main wall of the second church on the south side is built within the first church. In the stall of the second church are arched stones of an older date, built into the form of a zig-zag moulding. It is strange that the workmanship in connection with the first church should have been so much better than that of the second, the workmanship of which seems to have been very indifferent. There are indications at the east end and within the aisle that the first church was destroyed by fire. The pavement and part of the walls are red and blackened."
The book further reported: "It was found that the doorstep of the chancel consisted of gravestone turned upside down and partly broken. It is made of Portland stone and on the face there is a cross, well preserved and of good workmanship. Portions of two other grave-stones were found, each having crosses. Mr Head holds that they belong to the 12th century. It is a most interesting fact that two stones forming the arch of one of the first churches of St Andrew were found in a garden in Easton Square. Upon the arch the following is engraved: Psalm 122. I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go into the House of the Lord'."
20th-century Excavations
The ruins were cleared and consolidated by the Portland Field Research Group between 1968-73. Major excavation and consolidation work was then carried out during 1978-82, at a time when the site was very overgrown. The Manpower Services were involved in the work between 1979-80. The excavation covered most of the nave, the aisle and two small areas to the north of the church. Various fragments and pieces were donated to Portland Museum during this time, and these were put on display in the museum's garden where they remain to date.
The archeologists also discovered statues that were similar to the ones found at Old Sarum, a Bronze Age hill fort in Salisbury. Another discovery found was that the original church was of very high quality construction as there were remaining columns of a Purbeck marble. An old well, believed to be of Saxon origin, was found outside the west wall, filled with old masonry rubble with several human skeletons above it.
Design
In the book History and Antiquities of Dorset, based on John Hutchins' survey of the county during the mid-18th century, he described the church as a "large, ancient, but, rude fabric, situated at the Southern extremity of the Island, so near the sea that, to prevent it from encroachments, the islanders were obliged to wall the banks to an incredible height. It consisted of a chancel and body very low and tiled, which seemed to have been built at different times. The tower was plain and moderately high, but had no bell in it and was detached nearly a yard from the body. The inconvenience of its situation was owing to a pretended want of depth of earth elsewhere."
English Heritage have commented: "Rufus Castle and the Church of St Andrew survive comparatively well and although much is already known of the church through excavation, these two structures, with their early medieval foundations, indicate the importance and social and religious significance attached to this area in this period." There are no longer any remains of the "steppes of stone" that were referred to in Grose's Antiquities and Coker's Dorset, which connected the castle to the church.
A few gravestones and tombstones remain at the church site. Before most of the monuments were lost, crossbones, skulls, hour-glasses, trumpets, the rose, and the thistle, were favourite ornamentations, and some of the epitaphs often very quaint. In one area south of the church ruins are three remaining monuments. One particular tombstone has a skull and crossbones emblem. It is often mistaken as having a connection to pirates (hence the churchyard often being called the pirates' graveyard). However, the symbol was once commonly used on tombstones to represent death.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Ancestry.com - Genealogy - Portland Churches, Buildings and Views - St Andrew's Church - Paul Benyon - website page
2) Exploring Portland - Church Ope Cove and the Pennsylvania Castle Area - Geoff Kirby - website page
3) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - 3 Churchyard Monuments, Approximately 7 Metres South of Church of St Andrew - website page
4) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Retaining Wall to Churchyard to South of Church of St Andrew - website page
5) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Rufus Castle - website page
6) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Ruins of Church of St Andrew - website page
7) Isle of Portland Official Guide - Portland Urban District Council - Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd, Chelternham and London - circa 1955 - page 21 - book
8) Portland Year Book 1905 - Churches and Chapels etc - St George's Church - Paul Benyon - website page
9) Portland: A Topographical and Historical Gazetteer - Roy Mackenzie - 1999 - page 33 - book
10) Strolling Guides - Church Ope Cove and St Andrew's Church - website page
11) Strolling Guides - St Andrew's Church & Rufus Castle - Photo of on-site information board - website page
12) The Book of Portland: Gibraltar of Wessex - Rodney Legg - Halsgrove - 2006 - ISBN: 978-1841144979 - pages 19, 46 - book
13) The Island and Royal Manor of Portland 1750-1851 - J. H. Bettey - University of Bristol - 1970 - ISBN: 978-0901047052 - pages 74-78 - book
14) Visit Weymouth - History and Heritage of Portland in Dorset - website page
15) Web Archive: Dorset for You - members.multimania.co.uk - John Penn - Archived from the original in 2011 - website page
Gallery
These images can be enlarged by clicking on them. Some images have information attached to them, and to view this you can either enlarge the image or hover the mouse over each thumbnail.
The majority of these images were taken during the Summer of 2015.
The majority of these images were taken during the Summer of 2015.
