Stinsford, Dorset
Historical Description
Stinsford, a parish, with four hamlets, in Dorsetshire, 1½ mile ENE of Dorchester stations on the G.W.R. and S.W.R. Post town, Dorchester. Acreage, 2071; population, 278. In 1894 that portion of Holy Trinity parish outside the borough of Dorchester, and a portion of the parish of St George's Fordington outside the said borough and E of St George's Fordington, were joined to the ancient parish of Stinsford for civil purposes. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. Stinsford House, Kingston House, and Birkin House are chief residences. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury; gross value, £138 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Ilchester. The church was well restored in 1883.
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 - |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Stinsford St. Michael | |
| Hundred | George | |
| Poor Law union | Dorchester | 1836 - |
| Registration district | Dorchester | |
| Registration sub-district | Dorchester |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1535. 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. Michael (parish church)
The parish church of St. Michael is a small but ancient building of stone, partly in the Norman style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles and a small western tower, mantled with ivy and containing 3 bells: several stained windows and a reredos of marble and Caen stone were presented by the late James Fellowes esq. of Kingston House: there are two fine monumental tablets of the Pitt family, and the font of white marble was the gift of Mrs. Pitt; the communion plate, of silver gilt, was presented by Mrs. Strangeways Horner, in 1737, and a smaller set in 1819 by the Rev. William Floyer, then vicar: the church was restored in 1883, and affords 190 sittings.
Civil Registration
Stinsford was in Dorchester Registration District from 1837 to 1949 and Weymouth Registration District from 1949 to 1974
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Stinsford from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Stinsford (St. Michael))
- 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 Stinsford 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
Higher and Lower BockhamptonKingston Marlwood
Upper Kingston (Stinsford)
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Dorset, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.