Holy Trinity Church, Bothenhampton
Encyclopedia
Holy Trinity Church is a Church of England parish church
at Bothenhampton
, near Bridport
in Dorset
, England. It was designed and built by the English arts and crafts
architect
, Edward Schroeder Prior
, in 1884-9.
Holy Trinity Bothenhampton was Prior's first church. He undertook an extensive study of local churches and developed a sophisticated analytical approach to designing the building, and a philosophy that sought to build appropriately for its religious function. The roof was the most radical feature of the church, later forming the model for the great roof at Prior's masterwork at St Andrew's Church, Roker
. Elements of Richard Norman Shaw
's influence remain, particularly in the porch but Prior's knowledge and love of Early English church architecture in particular dominate. Prior was careful to use local materials, selected with skill and handled with craftsmanship. He was also able to develop furnishings and decoration to provide a holistic design for the church and its fittings.
By the late 19th Century the 15th century church at Bothenhampton had fallen into disrepair. The church was also too small for the congregation. The new church was funded by J.P.F. Grundy, one of the directors of the West Bay Building Company, by public subscription and anonymous donation.
The church is located on a promentory, on the side of the valley of the river Bride. It is directly exposed to westerly and south westerly winds and is located only a mile from the coast. It is approached through a lych gate and up a steeply climbing path from the village high street. The northern elevation nestles into the hillside.
Recognising the exposed nature of the site and in keeping with his general philosophy of building, Prior made a careful study of local vernacular
traditions and developed a systematic approach to design analysis. The analysis led Prior to define the major influences on and form of the deign as;
The design went through at least three major revisions. Initially the church was to have no aisles or transept
s, but a tower. The chancel
was to be higher than the nave
. In the second design a bellcote was substituted for the tower and the chancel became conventional. In the final design the chancel was simplified to have four small lancets, and a revised bellcote.
The church is constructed of coarse snecked Bothenhampton stone, a form of Forest Marble, from Grundy’s quarry. The stone work is rough axe faced. Prior using the largest pieces that he could obtain constructing walls 3 ft thick. The entire church sits on a plinth of blue-grey lias shale from Kimmeridge
. This material is also used for the lower off-setts of the buttresses.
The roof is of heavy Yorkshire limestone due to the exposed location. The exterior dressings and the porch are constructed of Ham stone skillfully worked and carved. The interior dressings are of Bath stone
.
The roof structure was the most radical feature of the building. It is supported by three stone arches “thrown across the nave at intervals primarily to “avoid the creaking and straining of the timbers” that was characteristic of timber roof construction in exposed locations. The arches are two centred and chamfer
ed. They spring at 2’6 above floor level and rise to a ridge 30’ high. They are buttressed externally, the buttresses rising through the eaves. The arches support 14 oak purlins to each side. The nave measures 50’ x 25’ with four bays. It is floored with pine blocks under the seating and 12” square quarry tiles with stone borders in the main floor.
The nave windows have deep inner reveals. It has one double and two single lancet windows on the south elevation and four single lancets on the north. The west end has two small lancets, now filled with commemorative glass, below a rose window. The remaining windows are filled with a forerunner of Prior’s Early English Glass.
The chancel is relatively small at 15’ x 13’, but it is sufficiently large for all its functions and to provide an open view of the altar or holy table to the congregation. It is five steps above the nave. The timber roof springs from a gallery of six blank arches on corbels to either side. The windows have deep inner reveals, as does the sedilia
. There are four lancets to the south and two to the north. The organ loft and vestry is to the north side of the chancel. The vestry
is connected directly to the pulpit through a door a pulpit level and the organ located through an arch. The sanctuary measures 10’ x 13. The chancel and sanctuary have red and yellow quarry tiled floors with stone borders. The east window has three lancets and a trefoil
with decorative stained glass.
The porch is set on the relatively sheltered south side and is lit by three trefoil windows on each side. It has a pointed entrance arch that springs from two shafts of unpolished granite and eight internal steps leading up to the door.
A small bell turret is located to the south side between the nave and chancel and is carried apart on the gable and part corbel
led out from the chancel.
Prior provided a heating system using low pressure coils throughout the church and a boiler room to the north of the chancel 3’ below the nave floor level. Electric lighting was not supplied until 1945.
Prior disliked the separation in Victorian church building between architecture and furnishings, regarding most interior furnishings as sad failures. He firmly believed in the integration of architecture and furnishings and in the need for an appropriate treatment;
"A church is a place of common assembly for worship of God. It should be reverential, simple and honest. Ornate treatment was out of place here, and students should aim at a graceful effect.... not flimsy and coarse."
At Bothenhampton Prior designed the font, the altar rails, the choir stalls, and chest, the doors. The altar table was designed with William Lethaby
and executed by Augustus Mason. All the furnishings were in English oak
. Lethaby designed the altar front in gesso
, with intertwined wild roses, leaves and stems. A wrought iron
chancel screen was added in 1895.
The font has a round alabaster
bowl supported on eight polished shafts with moulded Early English style capitals. The base is formed by a square of Keinton stone with two half circular steps.
The church took five years to complete largely because of the Incorporated Church Buildings Society’s concerns with the experimental roof structure. The Society provided grants for church construction, but could force changes on the design requested by its panel of architects, as a condition of making the grant. The panel repeatedly rejected Prior’s design. Its members included J. P. Seddon, James Brooks, Ewan Christian
and J. O. Scott
and subsequently David Brandon, William White
and Norman Shaw
. Prior provided detailed structural plans and justifications for the roof, providing information on a wide range of existing examples, including the Treasury, Merton College, Oxford, The Hall at Ightham Mote
and Shaw’s hall at Adcote
, Shropshire
. Prior made some alterations, including the omission of iron cramps and ties and had his calculations checked by leading civil engineers. As a result the design was allowed to proceed.
Prior employed a local builder called Thomas Patten to carry out the work. Construction took over two years with problems associated with damp in the interior, rising costs and annoyed parishioners. Prior himself gave a donation, in addition to giving the chancel seating, altar rails and altar, partly as a result of the difficulties.
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
at Bothenhampton
Bothenhampton
Bothenhampton is a village in south west Dorset, England, just outside the town of Bridport. It is separated from the town only by the River Asker and the A35 Bridport by-pass. The village has a population of 2,186 , of which 45.5% are retired....
, near Bridport
Bridport
Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England. Located near the coast at the western end of Chesil Beach at the confluence of the River Brit and its Asker and Simene tributaries, it originally thrived as a fishing port and rope-making centre...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England. It was designed and built by the English arts and crafts
Arts and crafts
Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional crafts" and "the rest"...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, Edward Schroeder Prior
Edward Schroeder Prior
Edward Schroeder Prior was an architect who was instrumental in establishing the arts and crafts movement. He was one of the foremost theorists of the second generation of the movement, writing extensively on architecture, art, craftsmanship and the building process and subsequently influencing...
, in 1884-9.
Holy Trinity Bothenhampton was Prior's first church. He undertook an extensive study of local churches and developed a sophisticated analytical approach to designing the building, and a philosophy that sought to build appropriately for its religious function. The roof was the most radical feature of the church, later forming the model for the great roof at Prior's masterwork at St Andrew's Church, Roker
St Andrew's Church, Roker
St Andrew's, Roker in Sunderland, England is recognised as one of the finest churches of the first half of the twentieth century and the masterpiece of Edward Schroeder Prior. The design of St Andrew's drew together many of the strings of Prior's philosophy and approach to design and building...
. Elements of Richard Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw RA , was an influential Scottish architect from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings.-Life:...
's influence remain, particularly in the porch but Prior's knowledge and love of Early English church architecture in particular dominate. Prior was careful to use local materials, selected with skill and handled with craftsmanship. He was also able to develop furnishings and decoration to provide a holistic design for the church and its fittings.
By the late 19th Century the 15th century church at Bothenhampton had fallen into disrepair. The church was also too small for the congregation. The new church was funded by J.P.F. Grundy, one of the directors of the West Bay Building Company, by public subscription and anonymous donation.
The church is located on a promentory, on the side of the valley of the river Bride. It is directly exposed to westerly and south westerly winds and is located only a mile from the coast. It is approached through a lych gate and up a steeply climbing path from the village high street. The northern elevation nestles into the hillside.
Recognising the exposed nature of the site and in keeping with his general philosophy of building, Prior made a careful study of local vernacular
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
traditions and developed a systematic approach to design analysis. The analysis led Prior to define the major influences on and form of the deign as;
- The site and its orientation provided strong northern light, therefore only small windows would be required.
- The church must be warm dictating thick walls and a sheltered position.
- Protection from the weather was needed, e.g. a lobby on the north or south sides.
- The congregation would require good seating in audible range of and with an uninterrupted view of the preacher.
The design went through at least three major revisions. Initially the church was to have no aisles or transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s, but a tower. The chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
was to be higher than the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
. In the second design a bellcote was substituted for the tower and the chancel became conventional. In the final design the chancel was simplified to have four small lancets, and a revised bellcote.
The church is constructed of coarse snecked Bothenhampton stone, a form of Forest Marble, from Grundy’s quarry. The stone work is rough axe faced. Prior using the largest pieces that he could obtain constructing walls 3 ft thick. The entire church sits on a plinth of blue-grey lias shale from Kimmeridge
Kimmeridge
Kimmeridge is a small village in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England, situated on the English Channel coast. Kimmeridge is about south of Wareham and about west of Swanage and is on the Isle of Purbeck...
. This material is also used for the lower off-setts of the buttresses.
The roof is of heavy Yorkshire limestone due to the exposed location. The exterior dressings and the porch are constructed of Ham stone skillfully worked and carved. The interior dressings are of Bath stone
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
.
The roof structure was the most radical feature of the building. It is supported by three stone arches “thrown across the nave at intervals primarily to “avoid the creaking and straining of the timbers” that was characteristic of timber roof construction in exposed locations. The arches are two centred and chamfer
Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
ed. They spring at 2’6 above floor level and rise to a ridge 30’ high. They are buttressed externally, the buttresses rising through the eaves. The arches support 14 oak purlins to each side. The nave measures 50’ x 25’ with four bays. It is floored with pine blocks under the seating and 12” square quarry tiles with stone borders in the main floor.
The nave windows have deep inner reveals. It has one double and two single lancet windows on the south elevation and four single lancets on the north. The west end has two small lancets, now filled with commemorative glass, below a rose window. The remaining windows are filled with a forerunner of Prior’s Early English Glass.
The chancel is relatively small at 15’ x 13’, but it is sufficiently large for all its functions and to provide an open view of the altar or holy table to the congregation. It is five steps above the nave. The timber roof springs from a gallery of six blank arches on corbels to either side. The windows have deep inner reveals, as does the sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
. There are four lancets to the south and two to the north. The organ loft and vestry is to the north side of the chancel. The vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
is connected directly to the pulpit through a door a pulpit level and the organ located through an arch. The sanctuary measures 10’ x 13. The chancel and sanctuary have red and yellow quarry tiled floors with stone borders. The east window has three lancets and a trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
with decorative stained glass.
The porch is set on the relatively sheltered south side and is lit by three trefoil windows on each side. It has a pointed entrance arch that springs from two shafts of unpolished granite and eight internal steps leading up to the door.
A small bell turret is located to the south side between the nave and chancel and is carried apart on the gable and part corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
led out from the chancel.
Prior provided a heating system using low pressure coils throughout the church and a boiler room to the north of the chancel 3’ below the nave floor level. Electric lighting was not supplied until 1945.
Prior disliked the separation in Victorian church building between architecture and furnishings, regarding most interior furnishings as sad failures. He firmly believed in the integration of architecture and furnishings and in the need for an appropriate treatment;
"A church is a place of common assembly for worship of God. It should be reverential, simple and honest. Ornate treatment was out of place here, and students should aim at a graceful effect.... not flimsy and coarse."
At Bothenhampton Prior designed the font, the altar rails, the choir stalls, and chest, the doors. The altar table was designed with William Lethaby
William Lethaby
William Richard Lethaby was an English architect and architectural historian whose ideas were highly influential on the late Arts and Crafts and early Modern movements in architecture, and in the fields of conservation and art education.-Early life:Lethaby was born in Barnstaple, Devon, the son of...
and executed by Augustus Mason. All the furnishings were in English oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
. Lethaby designed the altar front in gesso
Gesso
Gesso is a white paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk, gypsum, pigment, or any combination of these...
, with intertwined wild roses, leaves and stems. A wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
chancel screen was added in 1895.
The font has a round alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
bowl supported on eight polished shafts with moulded Early English style capitals. The base is formed by a square of Keinton stone with two half circular steps.
The church took five years to complete largely because of the Incorporated Church Buildings Society’s concerns with the experimental roof structure. The Society provided grants for church construction, but could force changes on the design requested by its panel of architects, as a condition of making the grant. The panel repeatedly rejected Prior’s design. Its members included J. P. Seddon, James Brooks, Ewan Christian
Ewan Christian
Ewan Christian was a British architect. He is most notable for the restoration of Carlisle Cathedral, the alterations to Christ Church, Spitalfields in 1866, and the extension to the National Gallery that created the National Portrait Gallery. He was architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners...
and J. O. Scott
John Oldrid Scott
John Oldrid Scott was an English architect.He was the son of Sir George Gilbert Scott and Caroline née Oldrid. His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, were also prominent architects. He married Mary Ann Stevens in 1868, eldest daughter of the Reverend Thomas...
and subsequently David Brandon, William White
William White (architect)
William White, F.S.A. was an English architect, famous for his part in 19th century Gothic Revival architecture and church restorations...
and Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw RA , was an influential Scottish architect from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings.-Life:...
. Prior provided detailed structural plans and justifications for the roof, providing information on a wide range of existing examples, including the Treasury, Merton College, Oxford, The Hall at Ightham Mote
Ightham Mote
Ightham Mote is a medieval moated manor house close to the village of Ightham, near Sevenoaks in Kent .The name "mote" derives from "moot", "meeting [place]", rather than referring to the body of water....
and Shaw’s hall at Adcote
Adcote
Adcote School is an independent non-selective day and boarding school for girls, located in the village of Little Ness, five miles northwest of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The school was founded in 1907, and is set in a Grade I listed country house built in 1879 for Rebecca Darby, the widow...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
. Prior made some alterations, including the omission of iron cramps and ties and had his calculations checked by leading civil engineers. As a result the design was allowed to proceed.
Prior employed a local builder called Thomas Patten to carry out the work. Construction took over two years with problems associated with damp in the interior, rising costs and annoyed parishioners. Prior himself gave a donation, in addition to giving the chancel seating, altar rails and altar, partly as a result of the difficulties.