THE NORMANS IN DORSET. 125 



owned an " ecclesiola " at Wimborne, now lost. To Milton 

 Abbey Dorset is indebted for a church at Whitcombe, part of 

 which still stands, and a little Norman building at its cell of 

 Lyscombe (now desecrated). Remains of twelfth century 

 work at Winterborne Monkton remind us of the time when its 

 Priory belonged to the Benedictines of Cluny. The great 

 monastery of Abbotsbury was annexed (as regards its tithes) 

 by Bishop Roger, who wanted money to build his two castles 

 with, and so its abbots were crippled for a time ; but the 

 Abbotsbury manor of Tolpuddle got a church built all the 

 same, traces of which may still be seen in the existing 

 fabric. 



The greater number of Norman buildings in Dorset must, 

 however, be attributed to benefactions on the part of the 

 new landlords. For, despite the ever-recurring troubles to 

 which England was subject, the Church had a powerful hold 

 upon the hearts of the people, and a strong religious principle 

 blended with the other elements which made the great Inva- 

 sion a blessing in disguise. 



NORMAN ARCHITECTURE. 



Doors. The feature of Norman architecture which has 

 most widely survived amongst us is the familiar Romanesque 

 doorway in older Norman work the two doorways on the 

 north and south sides of the nave an arrangement traceable 

 at Maiden Newton, Studland, Worth, Frome Vauchurch, 

 Cranborne, Tolpuddle, Dewlish, Monkton, Milton St. 

 Catherine's, and Whitcombe. In a greater number of in- 

 stances the old doorway is found on the south side ; the 

 famous porch* of Bishop Roger's church at Sherborne will 

 occur to many of your minds, and a very fine specimen of 



* Norman porches are very rare. I only know of three in Dorset Sher 

 borne, Bloxworth, and Belcha'.well. 



