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West Stour, Dorset

(West Stower)

Historical Description

Stower, West, a parish in Dorsetshire, 3½ miles SW of Gillingham station on the L. & S.W.R. Post town, Gillingham. Acreage, 1040; population, 165. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to Gillingham. The church is good. There are Baptist and Primitive Methodist chapels.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyDorsetshire 
DioceseBristol1542 - 1836
DioceseSalisbury1836 -
HundredRedlane 
Poor Law unionShaftesbury1836 -
Registration districtShaftesbury1837 - 1937
Registration districtSturminster1937 - 1974
Registration sub-districtGillingham 

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Church Records

The parish register dates from the year 1654. 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 is a building of stone, consisting of Decorated chancel, modern nave, south porch, and an embattled western tower of Perpendicular date, containing 3 bells.

St. Mary, West Stour Nave of St. Mary, West Stour


Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

West Stour was in Shaftesbury Registration District from 1837 to 1937 and Sturminster Registration District from 1937 to 1974

For births, marriages, and deaths in West Stour from 1837 to 1937 you should search for the Shaftesbury Registration District.
For births, marriages, and deaths in West Stour from 1937 to 1974 you should search for the Sturminster Registration District.


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for West Stour from the following:


Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Dorset is available to browse.


Maps

Online maps of West Stour are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the Dorset County Chronicle and the Sherborne Mercury online.


Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Dorset, 1623 is available on the Heraldry page.

DistrictNorth Dorset
CountyDorset
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Postal districtSP8
Post TownGillingham

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