St. John The Baptist Church in the 1800's

The 19th Century

The Church in 1875

In the county museum at Dorchester there is an early 19th century barrel organ formerly used in Bere Regis church. It was purchased second hand from the churchwardens of Puddletown in 1852, and continued in use on a gallery at the back of the church until about 1865 when a small conventional organ was installed in the chancel. Somehow or other this old barrel organ found its way to Upwey, and in 1908 it was offered to the parishioners of Bere Regis, but no one seems to have been interested in recovering it.

The organ was used by turning a handle on the front which both rotated the barrel inside and operated the bellows. Tunes were produced by a system of valves at the ends of the pipes actuated in a set order by metal projections on the revolving
wooden barrel, and the tune was changed by moving the barrer sideways. There were ten different tunes on each barrel, and three barrels survive, but originally there were probably more.

Due largely to the effects of the Industrial Revolution the early part of the 19th century saw a great decline generally in the population and prosperity of country districts, with the result that village churches no longer received the care which had been formerly given to them. Bere Regis church was no exception, and by 1870 it was in a very poor condition indeed after years of neglect. The roof leaked in many places, the woodwork was in consequence suffering badly from rot, stonework was crumbling, and most of the windows were broken.

It was therefore decided to thoroughly restore the church, and in March 1873 the Rev. Francis Warre sent out a circular letter appealing for funds, and a committee was formed to arrange the restoration of the nave and north aisle. Mrs. Lloyd Egginton as chief proprietor of the parish undertook to restore the chancel and south aisle at her own expense. Sir George E. Street, R.A., one of the foremost national architects of the day, was commissioned to prepare a scheme and supervise the work and Messrs. Hale of Salisbury were the building contractors. £2,485 was spent on the chancel and south aisle, and £2,605 was collected in subscriptions for the remainder of the work. The restored church was re-opened on Thursday, 7 October, 1875, when the Bishop preached at morning service, and lunch and tea were provided for 1,700 parishioners and guests. Another thanksgiving service was held at 6 p.m. on the same day, and for many years afterwards a combined thanksgiving and harvest service was held on the first Thursday in each October to commemorate the restoration.

Late 19th Century Floor Plan

Although Sir George Street ensured that as much as possible of the old work was retained, a large amount of rebuilding was nevertheless carried out, and as a result the church lost much of its mediaeval character, especially internally. It is fortunate, however, that two pre-1875 photographs survive, one internal and one external, and with Street's plan of the building as it existed, now housed in the Diocesan Registry at Salisbury, a good idea of the church's pre-restoration appearance can be formed. The following work was carried out in 1875:

Chancel. The unstable north wall was underpinned with a concrete foundation, and the upper part of the east window was renewed together with the apex of the gable. At the same time the whole of the chancel roof was renewed, and it is unfortunate that no record seems to exist of its form before this date, although the new roof was claimed to have been a copy of a former mediaeval roof deduced from one or two remains found at the time. The old organ which stood on the north side was removed to the east end of the north aisle, and the clergy stalls and one bay of choir stalls were put in. The altar and rail were removed and replaced, with the old pre-reformation stone altar top incorporated in the new work.

North Aisle. The whole of the north wall, except the eastern bay, was rebuilt, the original 15th century windows being repaired and re-used, and the north doorway was similarly re-used some ten feet (3m) west of its former position.

South Aisle. The 15th century square headed east window was removed and replaced by the present one (See below - click to enlarge), and the east gable was largely rebuilt.

19th Century South Aisle East window

The west gable was similarly rebuilt with a new window inserted and a very small window in the south wall at the west end was replaced (See below - click to enlarge). The whole of the south aisle roof was renewed, and the porch almost entirely rebuilt with new roof, side windows, entrance arch and angle buttresses.

Nave. Mercifully the nave roof was not renewed, but it was care-fully repaired and repainted, it was claimed, in its original colours, but some of the decorative paintwork on the tie beams and wall plates appears to have a suspiciously Victorian character. The east gable and south clerestory walls were largely rebuilt, re-using the old windows, and the south arcade columns and capitals were repaired with new stone inserts

Floors. All the floors which had been mainly stone flagged, were taken up and renewed. Those portions under the pews and to most of the north aisle were replaced with boards and joists, and the remainder were tiled with glazed tiles which were said to have been copies of tiles previously in the church and from Bindon Abbey. During the course of the work it was discovered that the floors of the nave and south aisle had been raised, to the level of the north aisle and chancel (in 1830 it is believed) and these were reduced to their original level, exposing the bases of the south arcade columns. It is not clear what type of heating system, if any, existed before this time, but in 1875, ducts were formed under the floor and a ducted hot air system installed.

A section of the Floor (click to enlarge)

Furniture and Fittings. Almost all of the previous furnishings and fittings were taken out, including the west gallery, the box pews, pulpit and vicar's desk, and replaced by new. Some of the more interesting portions were however retained as paneling and mounted on the north wall of the vestry and in the backs of pews. The new pews, pulpit and organ screen were carved by Harry Hems of Exeter, in oak, and the ends of all the pews are carved, each with a different design, said to have been copies from various west country churches. The old west gallery seems to have occupied the whole of the space under the tower and to have projected slightly into the nave, two repaired patches on either side of the tower arch marking its level. The space under the gallery seems to have been used for storage, and the village fire engine among other things was kept there. Before 1875 the font, on a roughly hewn stone base, was situated in the north aisle, and it seems to have been removed temporarily into the south aisle before being moved to its present position. There is a note in the parish register against a baptism entry for 15 April, 1875 - "last baptism in the North Aisle before removing into S. Aisle now restored".

Generally. Although the 1875 restoration regrettably caused the removal of several ancient features, others were discovered as a result. These included the pre-reformation stone altar top, the hagioscopes, the original chancel arch or recess jamb and arch stone, a carved stone capital of about 1200 (Diagram below, A) and four stones now built into the north wall of the north aisle internally (Diagram below, B, C, D and E).

Objects (l-r) A-E (click to enlarge)

Also discovered were several fragments built into the main wall within the porch (Diagram below, J, K, L and M). J and K bear carved heraldic devices known as calvary crosses, thought to have been parts of stone coffin lids, and L is a stone cross very similar to D.

Objects (from top) J-M (click to enlarge)

Several of the Turberville floor tomb slabs in the south aisle were replaced in their original positions, but others from the south aisle and other parts of the church were reset in the floor under the tower around the font. Some of these bear fragmentary inscriptions and housings for brasses now missing. In the chancel the positions of floor tombs were marked by dated and initialed tiles.

All the old timber doors were renewed, and the plain glass in all the windows was replaced by new stained glass. Most of the windows depict scenes from the gospels, but the main west window (see below - click to enlarge) shows the life of St. John Baptist the patron saint.

Main West Window

The Turberville window in the south aisle contains the names and arms of the Turberville family, together with those of earlier and subsequent owners of the manor.

The Turberville Window & Window Detail (click to enlarge)

Much of the old plasterwork was renewed and in the process the painted consecration cross was discovered and preserved. More painted wall plaster was discovered near the roof at the east end of the nave consisting of a text from Haggai (chapter 1, verse 4), very appropriate for the occasion: "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house to lie waste?"

In 1894, some twenty years after the restoration, it was found that the board and joist floors of the north aisle and under the pews in the nave were badly affected by dry rot. This was beginning to affect the pews and the organ continually required propping in order to keep it reasonably upright. The boards and joists were therefore removed and replaced with concrete finished with oak blocks, at a cost of £150.