St Aldhelm

St Aldhelm's came into being when the small rural church of St Ann's became too small for the local population and, from 1936 a great effort was made to fund and build a new church. The site was a generous gift from Mr A Hayward and was formerly his market garden although the site was a small spa in Georgian times with a deep well which lies under the current church kitchen. The Foundation Stone was laid by the Bishop of Salisbury on 15 March 1941, during the early days of of the Second World War. Due to the difficulties of building during the war the church was designed to be extended at the southern end when the time was right and this took place in 1969. Within 10 years the church became inadequate for the growing population and the vision of Reverend Dick Luther turned the church around so that the congregation now sat with their backs to Spa Road and not only was extra seating added but also toilets, a kitchen and a welcoming lounge were created. This was also when a new Baptistry was formed to allow for total immersion baptisms.

A highlight of any visit here will always be the brilliantly coloured Christ the King window in the Chancel illustrating the vision of St John in Revelation Ch 1. It was designed and made by Jon Callan of Dorchester using very thick glass and constructed in the Dalle-de-verre method, This glorious window was the gift of a very generous anonymous donor.

You will also find here, in the West Aisle, known as the Weymouth College Chapel, memorial stained glass windows and Books of Remembrance from Weymouth College, a Boys Public School which closed in 1939. At the south end of the church you will see carved panels with the names of 180 Old Weymouthians killed in the 1914-18 war.

A beautiful modern Font, made by Peter Kirby has a marvellous pottery bowl from the Christian Industrial Training Centre, Kenya, an organisation founded by Revd Charles Tett, with his wife Helen, who were both from this parish.