All Saints, Piddletrenthide, Dorset

From Alton Pancras we followed a steady ever-widening stream of Piddle (sorry, couldn't resist it) and arrived at the stunningly pretty village centre around the equally handsome church at Piddletrenthide but still not having seen a pub (but reassured by the lady at Alton Priors that this next village had not one but three pubs to satisfy us!)

The tower bristles with 16 pinnacles, and has many carved beasts and gargoyles placed high up making appreciation of them a little difficult. Easier to appreciate the little animals on the set-offs of the buttresses almost at head height. All seemingly Perp, but entering the porch there is a Norman doorway of unusual design, and then the chancel arch responds are also Norman although well disguised. After all the show outside, the interior was a tad disappointing with Victorian roofs and nothing much of note apart from a large number of sentimental Georgian tablets with distraught women, and one early C18 cartouche; its neighbour mentioned in Pevsner seems to have been removed leaving an outline and a small skull embedded in the wall which supported it (both flank the tower arch).