History

A C14 church almost entirely rebuilt, and slightly enlarged, in the mid- to late C19: the tower by T.H.Wyatt in 1846; the S wall, porch and chancel, new windows in the N wall, and added N transept all by Richard Creed in 1887-8.

Exterior

A very attractively sited parish church of modest proportions which, although now mostly of C19 construction, retains something of its irregular medieval character. Built of sandstone and conglomerate ("pudding-stone") rubble brought to courses, except the tower which is regularly-coursed; with freestone dressings and graduated stone slate roofs. It consists of a relatively low nave with a S porch and an added transept to the E end of its N side; a lower chancel; and a 3-stage W tower. This has diagonal buttresses, a cornice with sunk moulding, and stepped battlements; a large 2-centred arched and double-chamfered W doorway with a hollow-moulded hoodmould; a trefoil-headed 1-light window to the 2nd stage; and a slightly set-back belfry stage defined by string-courses, with a 2-centred arched belfry window of 2 trefoil lights with a quatrefoil in the head. The S side has a square-headed window of 2 trefoil lights to the 1st stage, but is otherwise the same; and the N and E sides have only cusped lancet belfry windows.
The nave has on its S side a Victorian gabled porch with medieval-style timber-framed superstructure including arch-bracing to a brattished tie-beam; cusped bargeboarding; and a 2-centred arched inner doorway. To the left is a 1-light window with Perpendicular tracery; to the right, a small 2-centred arched window of 2 trefoil lights with a quatrefoil in the head; further right, a large square-headed 3-light window with cusped ogee-headed lights and shallow Perpendicular-style tracery in the head; and at a high level to the right of this is a very small cusped-ogee arched window (reproducing the lighting of a former rood loft). The chancel has a C19 2-centred arched priest door and a window of 2 trefoil lights; and a large 3-light E window with tracery.
On the N side the nave has 3 Victorian lancet windows with trefoil tracery; the transept at its E end has a 2-centred arched N window with intersecting tracery, and in it W wall a very small 2-centred arched doorway.

Interior

Simple nave with good medieval-style 5-bay crown-post collar-rafter roof, the rafters of the two W bays exposed but the others with wagon-roof board ceiling; a moulded 2-centred tower arch, and a similar chancel arch. The chancel has scored stucco lining to the walls, and 2 arch-braced roof trusses. The N transept (effectively the Bosanquet chapel) contains 4 benches with poppy-head bench-ends, and its E and W walls are lined with 7 monuments commemorating various members of the Bosanquet family of Dingestow Court, from 1806 to 1975, those of principal historical interest being: (1) a white marble tablet on the W wall, in a Gothick frame, with a long inscription commemorating Samuel Bosanquet of Forest House in Essex and Dingestow Court, d.1806; (2) a large Gothic arch in the E wall containing a standing monument with a seated figure of Faith comforting a grieving woman collapsed across her lap, commemorating the Rt Hon. Sir John Bernard Bosanquet (of the same), d.1847; (3) Samuel John Anson Bosanquet, Lieut.RNVR, only son of Sir Ronald and Lady Bosanquet, killed on active service 1944, aged 33 (father of the present owner of Dingestow Court). On the S wall of the nave there is also a monument to Samuel Richard Bosanquet, d.1882.

Reasons for Listing

Included as the principal architectural feature in the village of Dingestow, as an intelligent Victorian rebuild of the medieval original; and for its historical associations with the Bosanquet family of Dingestow Court (q.v.), expressed in a fine series of memorials.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• St Dingat's Church at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17744311

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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