Tyneham Rectory

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Please be aware the ruined shell of Tyneham Rectory has now been fenced off for safety reasons but can be viewed from a short distance.


Shell of Tyneham Rectory

Brief history

  • Tyneham Rectory was built in 1853 by the Rector Revd. Nathaniel Bond to the west of Tyneham Church.
  • For the first 32 years of its life, the Rectory was home to the Curate Revd. William Truell – the Rector lived over at Creech Grange
  • Tyneham Rectory was an impressive building with a large barn, enclosed cobbled courtyard, formal garden, greenhouse and a tennis court.
  • In 1891, the Rectory was home to eleven members of the Wordsworth family and four servants
  • Originally the Rectory had a curving driveway but this was later converted to a substantial rectangular gravelled parking area.
  • The Rectory was exposed to the elements especially when a line of trees blocking its views were removed.
  • In 1966 it suffered major fire damage
  • Today it is just a single-storey shell cordoned off from public access.

The Rectory over the years …

The new parson’s house begun in April 1853 at Tyneham to the west of the church, about a gun shot from the church.

Henry Rolls, Shoemaker & Diarist, East Lulworth
Tyneham Rectory from the south-east with curving driveway
The Rectory with curving driveway

My husband’s grandfather, Nathaniel Bond of Grange, who built the rectory on succeeding to the property, was patron of the living and its holder too. During his long incumbency his brother-in-law, the Reverend William Truell, served as his curate and was resident at Tyneham. The parson’s wife and the curate’s were twin Hawkesworth sisters. Another assistant priest was housed at Steeple in the later years of “Uncle Nat’s” long life.

Lilian Bond

The following advertisement gives a flavour of the contents of the Rectory in 1889 when the late Revd. William Truell’s daughter Eleanor was looking to move with her elderly widowed mother Jane to Wimborne Minster.

Western Gazette, 13 September 1889
Tyneham Rectory 1926 with Evelyn De Labilliere, daughter Ruth and Nell the retriever
Evelyn De Labilliere with daughter Ruth and Nell the retriever

The rectory roof was built with too shallow a pitch, giving rise to perpetual trouble. The rain poured into the house after storms and hundreds of pounds were spent on repairs with no lasting improvement.

Lilian Bond
Tyneham Rectory 1930 with Rev, Sharpe's car parked outside
Rev. Sharpe’s car is parked outside

‘It is a square house, very large for the village, with a tennis court, and looks as if it must have been very jolly in peacetime.

2nd Lt David Greville-Heygate, attached to the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment

In 1966, the Rectory suffered major fire damage.

Tyneham Rectory 1973

When Tyneham was reopened to the public, many buildings were made safe by removing roof structures and reducing the height of remaining walls where necessary. The Rectory was reduced to a single storey.

Tyneham Rectory 2012

More recently, the remaining structure has become unsafe and has now been cordoned off from public access.


Location

Tyneham Rectory - location

What Three Words location = locked.action.comforted

List of Rectors


1936 – Tyneham Rectory Roof / Garden Fete

TYNEHAM RECTORY ROOF – URGENT NEED OF REPAIR – GARDEN FETE WITH TWO-FOLD OBJECT The raising of funds towards meeting the cost of urgently-necessary repairs to the roof of the Rectory, the residence of the Rev. and Mrs. G. Clifford Frend, was the primary object of a fete held on… Continue reading

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Page last updated: 15 August 2022