St. Mary, East Stoke, Dorset

Description

The parish church of St. Mary, erected in 1828, is of stone, in the Perpendicular style, and consists of chancel, nave and an embattled western tower, containing 2 bells; in the south porch is placed a marble tablet to the Rev. William Buller, sometime curate of the parish, and of Leonora Sophia, his wife: the chancel and organ chamber were built and the church reseated in 1885, at a cost of £1,056; in the chancel are memorial windows to the Fyler family of Hethfelton, and to the Rev. Charles Fox, a former rector; the font, which belonged to the old church, has a hexagonal basin and was reset on a new shafted base by the Rev. Octavius Arthur Hodgson M.A. rector here 1874-98: there are 250 sittings.

Church Records

The parish register of baptisms, marriages and burials begins in 1742. The original register books are now deposited with the Dorset Archives Service, but have been digitised by Ancestry.co.uk and made available on their site (subscription required).