St John's Church was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

church in

Poxwell Poxwell (; sometimes written Pokeswell) is a hamlet and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southwest England. It is located east of Weymouth. The current population of the parish is around 50. Sites of interest The name originates from ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England. It was built in 1867–68 as a replacement to an earlier church and was demolished in 1969.

History

St John's was built in 1867–68 as the replacement of an earlier church which was described in the Post Office Directory as being a "small ancient fabric" with a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

but no tower. It was demolished in 1866, prior to the construction of the new church approximately 70 yards eastwards. The new church, also dedicated to St John the Evangelist, was built at the sole expense of John Trenchard Trenchard, the patron of the living and owner of the Poxwell and Ringstead estates. It was designed by Mr. George Evans of

Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Pool ...

and built by Mr. R. Reynolds of Wimborne Minster. The carving work was carried out by Mr. Grassby of Dorchester. St John's was consecrated on 22 April 1868 by the

Bishop of Sodor and Man The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man (Manx Gaelic: ''Sodor as Mannin'') in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese only covers the Isle of Man. The Cathedral Church of St German where ...

, the Right Rev.

Horatio Powys Horatio Powys (20 November 1805 – 31 May 1877) was a priest in the Church of England and Bishop of Sodor and Man. Powys was the third son of Thomas Powys, 2nd Baron Lilford (1775–1825), by Henrietta Maria, eldest daughter of Robert Verno ...

, on behalf of the

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...

(the Right Rev.

Walter Kerr Hamilton Walter Kerr Hamilton (16 November 1808 – 1 August 1869) was a Church of England priest, Bishop of Salisbury from 1854 until his death. Biography He was born on 16 November 1808, educated at Eton College, tutored by Thomas Arnold, and then att ...

), who was unable to consecrate the church due to illness. The church was demolished in 1969, following the union of the parishes of Osmington and Poxwell. A survey of the spire concluded it was unsafe and required repairs at an estimated cost of £5,000, which was beyond the financial means of the village's 50 inhabitants. It was decided to demolish the church, with work beginning on 11 August 1969. Despite the survey's claims, the spire was much stronger than expected and the first attempt to pull it down failed. The first set of thick steel hawsers which were wrapped around the spire snapped under the strain when they were pulled by a mechanical digger. The second attempt to fell the spire was successful after thicker hawsers were attached. The contractors received payment for their demolition work by salvaging material from the building. The churchyard remains near the site of the church.

Architecture

St John's was made up of a nave, chancel with south

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

, north and south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s, north porch, and circular west tower with spire, the latter reaching a height of 90 feet. The lower part of the tower was designed to form a small

baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

. The church's font was made of

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its h ...

, with the column being supported by six detached shafts of Devonshire marble. Some of the church's fittings were transferred from the older church, including the single bell, which dated to the 15th century and was cast at

Wokingham Wokingham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 38,284 and the wider built-up area had a populati ...

. With the church's demolition, the bell was moved to St Martin's Church at

Broadmayne Broadmayne is a village in the English county of Dorset. It lies two miles south-east of the county town Dorchester. The A352 main road between Dorchester (from Sherborne) and Wareham passes through the village. In the 2001 Census the popul ...

. Fittings taken from the earlier church included a marble tablet to Joseph Kingstone Warne, 1823, and his wife Leah, 1838, another to Roger Warne, 1831, and Martha, daughter of Joseph Kingstone and Leah Warne, 1834, another to Mary Anne, daughter of Joseph Kingstone and Leah Warne, 1846, and a fourth to the former rector George Pickard, 1840, and his wife, 1828.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John's Church, Poxwell Former churches in Dorset Church of England church buildings in Dorset Demolished churches in England Churches completed in 1868 Buildings and structures demolished in 1969