Stourpaine Explained

Country:England
Official Name:Stourpaine
Coordinates:50.8847°N -2.198°W
Static Image Name:The Village of Stourpaine from Hod Hill - geograph.org.uk - 1278856.jpg
Static Image Caption:Stourpaine viewed from Hod Hill
Map Type:Dorset
Population:617
Civil Parish:Stourpaine
Unitary England:Dorset
Shire County:Dorset
Region:South West England
Constituency Westminster:North Dorset
Post Town:BLANDFORD FORUM
Postcode Area:DT
Postcode District:DT11
Dial Code:01258
Os Grid Reference:ST861093

Stourpaine is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Dorset in southern England. It is situated in the valley of the River Stour in the Dorset administrative district, 3miles northwest of Blandford Forum. The A350 road, which connects Blandford to Shaftesbury to the north, passes through the village. The chalk hills of Cranborne Chase and the Dorset Downs lie immediately northeast and southwest respectively. In the 2011 census the civil parish had 277 dwellings,[1] 265 households and a population of 617.[2]

It was the original site of the Great Dorset Steam Fair, which has been held at nearby Tarrant Hinton in more recent years.

The joint benefice of Pimperne, Stourpaine, Durweston and Bryanston is in the Church of England Diocese of Salisbury.[3]

History

A gift of land to the church is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The church of the Holy Trinity is medieval; in the 15th century the tower and nave were rebuilt in the Perpendicular style so that the nave was enlarged. Box pews were installed in the 18th century but by the 19th century the church was so dilapidated that rebuilding was undertaken (apart from the tower); the architect for the rebuilding was T. H. Wyatt.[4]

The funeral service of Major Bruce Shand, the father of Queen Camilla, was held at the Holy Trinity Church in Stourpaine on 16 June 2006, after which Major Shand's body was cremated.[5] The funeral of his son Mark was also at Stourpaine, in 2014.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Area: Stourpaine (Parish). Dwellings, Household Spaces and Accommodation Type, 2011 (KS401EW) . Office for National Statistics . Neighbourhood Statistics . 6 February 2015.
  2. Web site: Area: Stourpaine (Parish). Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics . Office for National Statistics . Neighbourhood Statistics . 6 February 2015.
  3. http://www.stourpaine.info/benefice.htm The Benefice of Pimperne, Stourpaine, Durweston and Bryanston
  4. http://www.stourpaine.info/parishchurch.htm The Parish Church of the Holy Trinity
  5. Web site: Royals support Camilla at her father's funeral. The Journal (Newcastle, England). 16 June 2006. 3 April 2012.