Most nedys dye, & therefor lett us pray
As other for us may do Another day.
Qui quidem Xpoferus obiit XXIIo die mens’ M’cii ano D’ni
millmo quingentesimo vicesimo quarto.
Above this there is the kneeling figure of a man in armour, and a partial representation of the Trinity. The figure is holding a scroll, on which the following inscription is much abbreviated: “Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis et omnes iniquitates meas dele”; while before and behind the effigies are the Martyn arms. And on the floor of the church, north of the pulpit, there is a brass to the memory of Roger Cheverell.
A short staircase of thirteen steps opens out of the south aisle; this formerly led to a rood loft.
A musicians’ gallery of the seventeenth century runs across the west of the church, and there are porches on the north and south. The south door has a ring attached to the outside, which is popularly supposed to have been a sanctuary ring, though probably this tradition has no foundation.
It is an interesting fact that the church clock, which was in the tower till about 1865, was made by a village blacksmith, Lawrence Boyce by name, about 1710. This clock had a three-cornered wooden face on the north side of the tower, stone weights and one (hour) hand. It struck the hours and quarters and chimed at 8, 12, and 4, except on Sundays, when the chimes were silenced, so that they might not disturb the worshippers. A clock made by the same man, for Bere Regis Church, is now in the Dorchester Museum; but, unfortunately, the Piddletown clock was not preserved, though it was in good going order when it was removed to make room for the present one.
In 1820, and probably for long before, it was the custom of the members of the choir to write their own music; some was actually composed by them, while some was borrowed from other villages, although the rivalry which often existed between village choirs not infrequently prevented the exchange of tunes. In two vellum-covered volumes, the property of Mr. W. Gover, of Piddletown, dated 1823, the music and words of the Psalms are most beautifully written. The books were given by a certain Mrs. Price to the choir. The larger book belonged to J. Holland, a clarionet player; the smaller to W. Besant. In the latter may be found music headed, “John Besant’s Magnificat,” which was probably composed by one of his ancestors. At this time the choir consisted of two clarionets, two bass viols, a flute, and a bassoon; while before this a “serpent” was used, and the music is written apparently for all these instruments. The violin was prohibited by most clergymen as being “Devil’s music,” on account of its being played in public-houses and for dancing. The instruments were given up about 1845 on the introduction of a barrel-organ. At this time the village also possessed a band, which had been in existence for nearly two hundred years, and of which the inhabitants were justly proud.
Piddletown is perhaps better known as the “Weatherbury” of Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd. On the south-west of the church is the gargoyle (the head of some beast, with the legs of a child projecting from its mouth), which destroyed Sergeant Troy’s work at Fanny’s grave. The old malthouse mentioned in the same book stood in what are now the gardens of Ilsington House, while Bathsheba’s house stood on the site of Ilsington Lodge, although it is sketched from the house at Waterson. The latter is a fine old building about two miles from Piddletown, and was the residence of the Martyns before they went to Athelhampton, and remained their property for long after. It was much damaged by fire in 1863, but was carefully restored by the owner, Lord Ilchester, to whose family it still belongs. It is interesting to note that a certain Mr. Bainger, who lived at Ilsington Lodge, was the moving spirit in causing the lowering of Yellowham Hill, between Piddletown and Dorchester, about 1830.