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St Marys Church
Dinton church is dedicated to Saint Mary The Virgin. An Anglican Church, cruciform in shape, started life as an attachment to Shaftesbury Abbey.
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Much of the building, nave, crossing, transepts, north doorway and square font of purbeck marble date from the early 13th century.
The nave windows were apparently inserted in the 14th century. Later in the same century the chancel was rebuilt on a grand scale.
It is of ashlar masonry externally and on both north and south sides has three uniform windows with reticulated tracery. Two of these contain original stained glass.
The large east window has interlacing tracery of the same date. The two upper stages of the tower were added, or rebuilt, together with the vault above the crossing about the middle of the 15th century. At the same time the south wall of the south transept was rebuilt, and the north wall of the north transept repaired and a new window inserted.
An octagonal stair turret in the angle between the nave and north transept is surmounted by a conical roof below the level of the belfry and is connected to the
tower by a short passage.
A great deal of restoration work was carried out during the later 19th century under the direction of William Butterfield, the well-known church architect. In the churchyard there are the remains of the steps and socket of a medieval stone cross.
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Architectural historian Pevsner describes St. Mary's as ‘A dignified church with the crossing tower as its centre, essentially Decorated, but with older and younger parts’.
In the west transept are the organ and royal coat of arms of George II, dated 1740, both are memorials to the 17th century composer Henry Lawes, one of the outstanding composers and Court musicians of his day, and his brother William Lawes, a gifted musician, who were born in the village and have both been ‘Masters of the Kings Musick’
The church has a peal of 6 bells, rung from the crossing.
Numbers 1 to 5 are all of 17th-century date. Number 6, dating from about 1350, is the heaviest, weighing 16 hundredweight. The bells are regularly rung for services and weddings.
We are looked after by the Nadder Valley Team Clergy headed by The Reverend John Staples. Services are held weekly as well as Weddings, Christenings and funerals.
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