WINTERBORNE HOUGHTON &

ST. ANDREWS CHURCH

Winterborne Houghton has links with Thomas Hardy in that its villagers are called Houghton Owls, after the rustic joke made by Thomas Hardy in his novel ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’.  The owl motif appears in several places in the village, including the church altar decoration.

 

St. Andrews Church dates back to the late 13th century, but fell into disrepair over the years until it was eventually rebuilt in 1862 using some of the materials from the original church building. The oldest parts of the present structure are probably the east wall of the chancel and the south wall of the Nave.  The south aisle was walled off in the 1950’s.  The reredos was designed and carved by a past rector, the Reverend Tilney Bassett , and erected in 1909.  The present pulpit was designed and made by a Mr. Rippon of Winterborne Stickland and the present altar was designed and carved by Messrs. Dennis Sutton and Tom Allen, both of whom still reside in the valley.  This church has 3 bells in the tower inscribed as follows:

 

1.  Hen. Frampton *cw* anno domini (crown) 1717 - (2 crowns) w (fleur de lys) K.B.F. (fleur de lys) -

2. +SANTA MARI -

3. Annon Domini 1596

 

Bell number 2 is probably 14th century and so was cast at the medieval foundry in Salisbury and bells 1 and 3 replaced pre-Reformation period bells.