St Mary the Virgin, Lytchett Matravers

here are no known records giving the date of the foundation of the church at Lytchett Matravers. At Domesday, the manor of Lytchett Matravers was held by Sir John Maltravers.[1] Sir John Matravers who was buried in the church, was Edward II's gaoler and possibly murderer.[2]
A Sir Walter Maltravers went on a crusade to the Holy Land and it is possible that he ordered the church to be built beside the manor house in his absence about the year 1200. The west tower, the nave and the chancel were built at this time, followed by the North aisle in the 14th century.
It is possible that the Black Death, which ravaged Dorset in the second half of the 14th century left few people. The villagers forsook their cottages near the church and moved to the higher ground leaving the church to fall into decay. Sir John Maltravers’ heir, his granddaughter Alianor carried the manor and title to her husband’s family, th

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