St Martin's Church, Wareham
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St Martin's Church, Wareham, sometimes St Martin's-on-the-walls, is an
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
church in the town of Wareham in
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 is the most complete example of an Anglo-Saxon church in Dorset. It is a
Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
and a
scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
.


History and features

The church is reputed to have been founded by Saint
Aldhelm Aldhelm (, ; 25 May 709), Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey, Bishop of Sherborne, and a writer and scholar of Latin poetry, was born before the middle of the 7th century. He is said to have been the son of Kenten, who was of the royal house of Wessex ...
in the 7th century. It is thought that this earlier building was destroyed by
King Canute Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...
in 1015. The present building dates from about AD 1020. Anglo-Saxon features include a tall, narrow
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 ...
, late Anglo-Saxon wall-arcading in the north west aisle and traces of a Saxon door. The building has been altered and expanded over the years but the nave and a tiny window in the north side of the chancel are original features. On the north wall of the chancel are 12th-century
frescoes Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
depicting
Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to: People * Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France * Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal) * Pope Martin I (c. 595–655), bishop of R ...
on horseback, escorted by attendants, dividing his cloak and giving one half to a naked beggar. On one of the walls a number of red stars have been painted, possibly representing plague deaths in the 17th century. During the Great Fire of Wareham in 1762, the church was used as a temporary refuge for those who had lost their homes. Later the church fell into disuse but at the beginning of the 20th century a programme of restoration began and the church was rededicated on 23 November 1936. In the north aisle sits a stone
tomb effigy A tomb effigy (French language, French: ''gisant'' ("lying")) is a sculpted effigy of a deceased person usually shown lying recumbent on a rectangular slab, presented in full ceremonial dress or wrapped in a shroud, and shown either dying or sh ...
of
T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First W ...
(Lawrence of Arabia), created by his friend
Eric Kennington Eric Henri Kennington (12 March 1888 – 13 April 1960) was an English sculptor, artist and illustrator, and an official British official war artists, war artist in both of the world wars. As a war artist, Kennington specialised in depictions ...
. Lawrence was buried at
Moreton, Dorset Moreton is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated on the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome about east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester. In the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census the civil parish had 158 households and a pop ...
in 1935. The church is still in use, with a regular weekly communion on Wednesdays.


References


External links


Wareham Churches


{{DEFAULTSORT:Wareham, Saint Martin Standing Anglo-Saxon churches Church of England church buildings in Dorset Grade I listed churches in Dorset Scheduled monuments in Dorset Saint Martin's Church