St Peter and St Paul
Blandford Forum

The town of Blandford Forum was destroyed by a major fire on 4th June 1731 and with it the town’s medieval church. Rebuilt after the fire to a design by John and William Bastard the church was opened in 1739. The Grade I Listed Building is the centre-piece of one of the most complete early Georgian townscapes in England and the church is one of the finest Georgian churches outside London.

The first quinquennial inspection and report was completed in December 2012. The report identified a multitude of urgent fabric repairs and it is estimated that £3million is required to return the building to good condition. The first £250,000 of HLF funded repairs to the tower were completed in 2016 and comprised: the repair of the cupola; high level masonry repairs, gutter repairs; the re-installation of the weathervane; the re-gilding of the clock and the rehanging of the apprentice bell. In parallel we have assisted the PCC in the preparation of their Conservation Management Plan. The project was shortlisted for the 2017 King of Prussia Gold Medal and was Highly Commended at the 2017 Georgian Group Awards.

The west entrance steps were modified in 2017 and access for all is now through the west doors.

In 2019, the PCC received an HLF grant to prepare proposals to repair the roofs, undertake high level masonry repairs, insulation the roof spaces and to carry out urgent plaster repairs and conservation to the nave and apse ceilings. The £800,000 project is currently nearing the completion of the Development Phase.