Moor Crichel, Dorset
Historical Description
Critchell-Moore, a parish in Dorsetshire, on the Roman road from Old Sarum, 6 miles SW of Cranbome, and 6 from Wimborne station on the L. & S.W.R. It includes the hamlet of Manswood, and has a post office under Wimbome; money order and telegraph office, Witchampton. Acreage, 1991; population, 407. Critchell-Moore House is the seat of Lord Alington. The living is a rectory, united with the rectory of Long Critchell, in the diocese of Salisbury; joint aet value, £174: with residence. Patron, Lord Alington. The church has monuments of the Uredales and others, and is good.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Dorsetshire | |
| Diocese | Bristol | 1542 - 1836 |
| Diocese | Salisbury | 1836 - |
| Hundred | Badbury | |
| Poor Law union | Cranborne | 1835 - 1836 |
| Poor Law union | Wimborne and Cranborne | 1836 - |
| Registration district | Wimborne | |
| Registration sub-district | Cranborne |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1664. 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).
Churches
Church of England
St. Mary (parish church)
The parish church of St. Mary, situated in the north-east corner of Critchel House, is of stone in the Italian style, and was entirely rebuilt in 1850 by the late H.C. Sturt esq. at a cost of upwards of £10,000: it consists of chancel, nave and transepts, the north transept being occupied by Lord Alington's household; adjoining the vestry is the family vault of the Sturt family; there are some ancient tombs, one of which, on the north side of the chancel, is to William Cyfrewast, d. May 26, 1581: there is also a fine brass, removed from the old church, some modern brasses, stained windows, a brass choir screen, Caen stone pulpit, and a reredos of carved and gilded mahogany: the church was decorated and furnished by Lord Alington at a cost of £2,000, and affords 200 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Moor Crichel was in Wimborne Registration District from 1837 to 1937, Blandford Registration District from 1937 to 1956, and Poole Registration District from 1956 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Moor Crichel from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Critchill, More (All Saints))
- Hunt & Co.'s Directory of Dorsetshire, Hampshire, & Wiltshire 1851
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Dorset is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Moor Crichel are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the Dorset County Chronicle and the Sherborne Mercury online.
Villages, Hamlets, &c
ManswoodVisitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Dorset, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.