St. Aldhelm's Chapel, St. Aldhelm's Head

About

St Aldhelm's Chapel is a Norman chapel on St Aldhelm's Head in the parish of Worth Matravers, Swanage, Dorset. It stands close to the cliffs, 108 metres (354 ft) above sea level. It is a Grade I listed building.

The square stone chapel stands within a low circular earthwork, which may be the remains of a pre-Conquest Christian enclosure. The building has several architectural features which are unusual for a chapel: the square shape, the orientation of the corners of the building towards the cardinal points, and the division and restriction of the interior space by a large central column. The lack of evidence for an altar or a piscina suggests that the building may not have been built as a chapel.

It may have originally been built as a watchtower for Corfe Castle, covering the sea approaches to the south. Its identification as a purpose-built chapel rests on records of payments to a chaplain in the reign of King Henry III (1216–1272). The interior of the chapel is approximately 7.7 metres (25 ft) square.

In the centre is a square pier supporting four square rib vaults, with the heavy ribs leading to transverse arches, all stop-chamfered. In the north-west side is a Norman round-arched...