St Aldhelm, Weymouth
St Aldhelm, Weymouth
St Aldhelm’s is a Church of England church on Spa Road in Radipole, Weymouth, Dorset, built in 1939–41 as a daughter church to St Ann’s when the parish outgrew the older building. It is in the Diocese of Salisbury.
- Location
- Weymouth, Dorset
- Country
- England
- County
- Dorset
- City / town
- Weymouth
- Address
- Spa Road, Weymouth, Dorset, DT3 5EW
- Postcode
- DT3 5EW
- Built
- 1939–41; porch and vestries 1969; west extension 1979–83
- Consecrated
- 15 March 1941 (dedicated)
- Architect
- W H Randoll Blacking; builder Ralph Fry of Kingsbury Episcopi
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- Aldhelm
- Diocese
- Salisbury
- Parish
- Radipole
- Style
- Inter-war Gothic
- Materials
- Poole bricks with purple-grey Sussex facing bricks and Box Ground Bath stone dressings; Purbeck stone sanctuary steps; pine-block nave floor
- Opening hours
- Access outside regular events can be made by contacting Reception in the Church Centre at the rear of the church.
- Access
- Accessible toilets in church. Level access throughout. Level access to the main areas. Ramp or level access available on request
Overview
Wikipedia records that by 1937 Radipole had more than 6,000 inhabitants and St Ann’s seated only 250. Alfred A. Hayward gave the Spa Road site in 1936. W. H. Randoll Blacking designed the church; Ralph Fry of Kingsbury Episcopi was the builder. The Bishop of Salisbury laid the foundation stone on 17 October 1939. The first phase — three bays of the nave, aisles and chancel, with temporary west walls — cost about £4,700. The Bishop of Sherborne dedicated the church on 15 March 1941.
The fabric is Poole bricks with purple-grey Sussex facing bricks and Box Ground Bath stone dressings; engineering bricks strengthen the piers. The interior is painted white under a five-sided barrel ceiling with moulded pine ribs. Sanctuary steps are Purbeck stone; the nave floor is pine blocks. Furniture from the closed Christ Church, Weymouth, and stalls and First World War memorials from Weymouth College chapel were brought here (the Christ Church fittings have since gone elsewhere). A porch and vestries were dedicated in 1969; K. C. White and Partners designed a west extension dedicated on 21 January 1983. Stained glass of 1985 by Jon Callan of Dorchester depicts John’s vision of the Son of Man. The church is not listed.