{{Short description|Church in Dorset, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox historic site | name =Whitcombe Church | native_name = | native_language = | image =Whitcombe - parish church of lost dedication - geograph.org.uk - 533554.jpg | caption = | locmapin =Dorset | coordinates = {{coord|50|41|37|N|2|24|09|W|display=inline,title}} | location =Whitcombe, Dorset, England | area = | built =12th century | architect = | architecture = | governing_body = | designation1 =Grade I listed building | designation1_offname =Parish Church (Dedication Unknown) | designation1_date =26 July 1956<ref name="IoE"/> | designation1_number = 1119215 | designation2 = | designation2_offname = | designation2_date = | designation2_number = }}
'''Whitcombe Church''' in Whitcombe, Dorset, England was built in the 12th century. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building,<ref name="IoE">{{NHLE |num= 1119215|desc= Parish Church (Dedication Unknown)|accessdate= 12 April 2015|mode=cs2}}</ref> and is now a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.<ref name="cct">{{citation|title=The Church (no dedication), Whitcombe, Dorset|url=http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/Ourchurches/Completelistofchurches/The-Church-no-dedication-Whitcombe-Dorset/|publisher=Churches Conservation Trust|access-date=31 March 2011|archive-date=5 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705125250/http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/Ourchurches/Completelistofchurches/The-Church-no-dedication-Whitcombe-Dorset/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was declared redundant on 29 October 1971, and was vested in the Trust on 12 February 1973.<ref>{{Citation| year = 2011| title = Diocese of Salisbury: All Schemes| series = Church Commissioners/Statistics| publisher = Church of England| page = 11| format = PDF| url = http://www.churchofengland.org/media/811097/salisbury%20-%20all%20schemes.pdf| access-date = 31 March 2011| archive-date = 28 September 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130928061030/http://www.churchofengland.org/media/811097/salisbury%20-%20all%20schemes.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref>
The site of the church was used for worship in the Saxon era and there are fragments of two Saxon crosses. The nave of Whitcombe Church dates from the 12th century, with the chancel being added in the 15th. The tower was added in the late 16th century.<ref name="cct"/>
The interior includes several wall paintings, including one of St Christopher, and a 13th-century Purbeck marble font.<ref name="cct"/>
William Barnes the English writer, poet, minister, and philologist was the curate at Whitcombe from 1847 to 1852, and again from 1862 preaching his first and last sermons in the church.<ref name="cct"/> He wrote over 800 poems, some in Dorset dialect and much other work including a comprehensive English grammar quoting from more than 70 different languages.
==See also== * List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in South West England
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Church of England church buildings in Dorset Category:12th-century church buildings in England Category:Grade I listed churches in Dorset Category:Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust
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