15th Century Church, Redesigned By Thomas Hardy
Nestled in Lulworth Castle Park is an ancient place of worship still used to this day.
St Andrew’s Church sits to the south of the Castle and the impressive C15th tower predates the Castle itself. The rest of the Church was rebuilt in 1864 and the plans for this were drawn up by a young Thomas Hardy who at the time was working for J. Hicks of Dorchester.
There was a Weld Family Vault within the church but this was removed in the 1780’s when the Church was reduced in size and the north and east sides of the nave were rebuilt.
There are three bells in the belfry of the Church, one is dated 1589, the second is pre-reformation and the third is dated to 1718-1719, there is space for a fourth bell but local tradition tells that it is at the bottom of the sea at Arish Mel, the boat carrying it having sunk there.
The font made of Purbeck marble is also C15th, although it sits on a modern base.
Parish registers have been kept since 1561 and the Church is used regularly for wedding ceremonies and Sunday worship today.