Visited with @Chloe Explores
beautiful little church in rural Dorset. I almost didn’t get in here, managed on my last try. Had difficulty getting my leg up
You have to Wade through chest high nettles to get the access point, somehow managed it without being stung. its still very nice inside with minimal goonage, the little room to the side had some lovely old bibles sat rotting away, and the pews and lecturn thing were great to see still intact. It’s a shame that the graveyard hasn’t been kept clear of vegetation other than one War grave that is still looked after and had flowers on it. I didn’t go up the ladder to the bell tower because I’m not a fan of ladders.
After my encounter with a rather large mean looking false widow and the window struggle I thoroughly enjoyed the explore. Getting out was far easier thankfully.
History -
In 1860 Sir Richard Glyn took down the old church and replaced it with what is considered to be a fairly typical estate church. Built of stone in the neo-Romanesque style, it retains the Norman chancel arch and consists of chancel, nave, transepts, south porch supporting a spire and a tower containing 4 bells. To celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, stained glass windows, a new font, lectern and chalice were presented by Sir R.G. Glyn. The Rectory, a fine 19th century building with a Sunday School room attached, sits opposite the church on the busy road between Wimborne and Cranborne, for many years the home of Carr John Glyn, England’s longest serving rector. North of St Kenelm’s, are three attractive estate cottages in the same neo-Romanesque style as the church.
Formerly there was a Norman church here, which John Hutchins in his ‘History and Antiquities of Dorset’ described dismissively as “a very small stone building, dedicated to St Kenelm, consisting of one aisle, and having one bell, but containing nothing remarkable.” What is remarkable is the dedication to St Kenelm, a Saxon boy-saint murdered at the age of seven who was venerated throughout England in medieval times and was even mentioned in the Canterbury Tales. There are only seven churches in England dedicated to him. Over the west door of Hinton Parva’s St Kenelm’s is a 12th century sculpture of an angel holding a book to his breast with his right hand, a cross in his left hand and standing next to a giant butterfly. It has been suggested that this is a representation of Kenelm himself. Sadly it cannot be viewed today as the church is locked and abandoned, and parts of the churchyard so overgrown that the monuments beneath have all but been reclaimed by Mother Nature.
beautiful little church in rural Dorset. I almost didn’t get in here, managed on my last try. Had difficulty getting my leg up
You have to Wade through chest high nettles to get the access point, somehow managed it without being stung. its still very nice inside with minimal goonage, the little room to the side had some lovely old bibles sat rotting away, and the pews and lecturn thing were great to see still intact. It’s a shame that the graveyard hasn’t been kept clear of vegetation other than one War grave that is still looked after and had flowers on it. I didn’t go up the ladder to the bell tower because I’m not a fan of ladders.
After my encounter with a rather large mean looking false widow and the window struggle I thoroughly enjoyed the explore. Getting out was far easier thankfully.
History -
In 1860 Sir Richard Glyn took down the old church and replaced it with what is considered to be a fairly typical estate church. Built of stone in the neo-Romanesque style, it retains the Norman chancel arch and consists of chancel, nave, transepts, south porch supporting a spire and a tower containing 4 bells. To celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, stained glass windows, a new font, lectern and chalice were presented by Sir R.G. Glyn. The Rectory, a fine 19th century building with a Sunday School room attached, sits opposite the church on the busy road between Wimborne and Cranborne, for many years the home of Carr John Glyn, England’s longest serving rector. North of St Kenelm’s, are three attractive estate cottages in the same neo-Romanesque style as the church.
Formerly there was a Norman church here, which John Hutchins in his ‘History and Antiquities of Dorset’ described dismissively as “a very small stone building, dedicated to St Kenelm, consisting of one aisle, and having one bell, but containing nothing remarkable.” What is remarkable is the dedication to St Kenelm, a Saxon boy-saint murdered at the age of seven who was venerated throughout England in medieval times and was even mentioned in the Canterbury Tales. There are only seven churches in England dedicated to him. Over the west door of Hinton Parva’s St Kenelm’s is a 12th century sculpture of an angel holding a book to his breast with his right hand, a cross in his left hand and standing next to a giant butterfly. It has been suggested that this is a representation of Kenelm himself. Sadly it cannot be viewed today as the church is locked and abandoned, and parts of the churchyard so overgrown that the monuments beneath have all but been reclaimed by Mother Nature.
