imported>InternetArchiveBot: Rescuing 2 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5

2025-07-25T23:00:32Z

Rescuing 2 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5

New page

{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Dorset, England}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{infobox UK place|
|country = England
|static_image_name = The former White Horse Pub at East Stour - geograph.org.uk - 420630.jpg
|static_image_caption= East Stour
|coordinates = {{coord|51.0053|-2.2874|display=inline,title}}
|official_name = East Stour
|population = 573
|population_ref =<ref name=ons>{{cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11123015&c=East+Stour&d=16&e=62&g=6418101&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1404655004220&enc=1 |title=Area: East Stour (Parish). Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics |publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics |access-date=6 July 2014 |archive-date=14 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714215600/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11123015&c=East+Stour&d=16&e=62&g=6418101&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1404655004220&enc=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|civil_parish=
| unitary_england= [[Dorset (district)|Dorset]]
| lieutenancy_england= [[Dorset]]
|region= South West England
|constituency_westminster= [[North Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|North Dorset]]
|post_town= GILLINGHAM
|postcode_area= SP
|postcode_district= SP8
|dial_code= 01747
|os_grid_reference= ST 7993 2292
}}
[[File:Christ Church, East Stour, Dorset - geograph.org.uk - 1225339.jpg|thumb|270px|[[Christ Church, East Stour|East Stour parish church]]]]

'''East Stour''' is a village and [[civil parish]] in the ceremonial county of [[Dorset]] in southern England. It lies within the [[Dorset (district)|Dorset]] administrative district, about {{convert|2|mi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} south of the town of [[Gillingham, Dorset|Gillingham]]. The village is {{convert|1/2|mi|m|abbr=off}} from the east bank of the [[River Stour, Dorset|River Stour]] in the [[Blackmore Vale]] and {{convert|2|mi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} west of the broadly conical local landmark [[Duncliffe Hill]] (with a summit elevation of {{convert|210|m|ft|disp=or|abbr=off}}). Above the west bank of the river, about {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in|round=0.5|abbr=off}} away, is the village of [[West Stour, Dorset|West Stour]]. The [[A30 road|A30]] London to [[Penzance]] road passes through the village. In the [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 census]] the civil parish had a population of 573.<ref name=ons/>

==History==

Part of the shaft of a cross, probably dating from the late 10th or early 11th century, was found in 1939 when a house in the village was demolished. The stone fragment has a cross-section a little under {{convert|30|cm|in|abbr=off|0}} square and is about {{convert|70|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=2}} high; its faces are embellished with vine-scroll, [[Interlace (art)|interlace]] and [[palmette]] ornament. It was transferred to the [[British Museum]].<ref name=inventory>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=128130|title='East Stour', An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 4: North (1972), pp. 16–17|publisher=University of London & History of Parliament Trust|via=British History Online|date=November 2013|access-date=6 July 2014}}</ref>

In the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 East Stour and West Stour together were recorded as ''Stur'' or ''Sture'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/dorset3.html|title=Dorset S–Z|work=The Domesday Book Online|publisher=domesdaybook.co.uk|access-date=7 July 2014}}</ref> which had 73 households and administratively was in Gillingham Hundred.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/XX0000/east-and-west-stour/|title=Place: [East and West] Stour|work=Open Domesday|publisher=domesdaymap.co.uk|access-date=8 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714212754/http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/XX0000/east-and-west-stour/|archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> A 1695 map shows the village name as Stower Estover.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/documents/35024/281420/MTC029.pdf/0c7fd079-b581-c2d6-399c-53cfc16b2e3c | title=EAST STOUR VILLAGE PLAN 2012 | access-date=2024-07-20 | page=4 | website=dorsetcouncil.gov.uk}}</ref>

East Stour village was the original settlement in the parish, with study of field boundaries suggesting that encroachment on the "waste" or [[common land]] subsequently occurred eastwards, initially immediately east of the village, then further east in post-[[medieval]] times. The farms at New House and Cole Street in the northeast of the parish date from settlement in the late 18th century, and in the southeast the waste was [[Enclosure|enclosed]] in 1804.<ref name=inventory/>

The [[Christ Church, East Stour|parish church]] was rebuilt in 1841–42 near the site of its predecessor, from which the [[Normans|Norman]] stone font was retrieved.<ref>North Dorset District Council, ''North Dorset District Official Guide'', Home Publishing Co. Ltd., c.1983, p33</ref>

==Governance==

East Stour is in the [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral ward]] called The Stours, which extends southeast as far as [[East Orchard]] and in the 2011 census had a population of 1,786.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/the-stours-e05003721#sthash.gh3nYZ3u.dpbs |title=The Stours |publisher=ukcensusdata.com |access-date=1 March 2015}}</ref> The ward is part of the [[Electoral district|constituency]] of [[North Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|North Dorset]], and is currently represented in the UK parliament by the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Simon Hoare]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000839 |title=Dorset North Parliamentary constituency |work=Election 2015 |publisher=BBC |access-date=10 May 2015}}</ref>

In local government East Stour is governed by [[Dorset Council (UK)|Dorset Council]], which is a unitary authority. At the [[Parish council (England)|parish level]] East Stour is one of four parishes—the others being [[Todber]], [[Stour Provost]] and [[West Stour, Dorset|West Stour]]—under the governance of The Stours Parish Council, which is a grouped parish council.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thestoursparishcouncil.org.uk/TheStours-PC/Default.aspx |publisher=The Stours Group Parish Council |title=Welcome to The Stours Parish Council Website |access-date=15 March 2015}}</ref>

==Geography==

The underlying geology of the parish is [[Corallian Limestone]] in the west and [[Kimmeridge clay]] in the east, with [[gault|gault clay]] around the [[greensand (geology)|greensand]] of Duncliffe Hill.<ref name=inventory/> The village is on the limestone.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ralph Wightman|author-link=Ralph Wightman|title=Portrait of Dorset|publisher=Robert Hale Ltd|year=1983|page=17|edition=4|isbn=0-7090-0844-9}}</ref>

==Demography==

In the 2011 census East Stour civil parish had 267 dwellings,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=11123015&c=East+Stour&d=16&e=62&g=6418101&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1426430969066&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2481 |title=Area: East Stour (Parish). Dwellings, Household Spaces and Accommodation Type, 2011 (KS401EW) |publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics |access-date=15 March 2015 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 251 households and a population of 573.<ref name=ons/> 26.2% of residents were age 65 or over, compared to 16.4% for England as a whole.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=11123015&c=East+Stour&d=16&e=62&g=6418101&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1426431764370&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2474 |title=Area: East Stour (Parish). Age Structure, 2011 (KS102EW) |publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics |access-date=15 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402110153/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=11123015&c=East+Stour&d=16&e=62&g=6418101&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1426431764370&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2474 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Amenities==

East Stour has a [[village hall]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dorsethalls.net/content/east-stour-village-hall |title=East Stour Village Hall |publisher=Dorset Village Halls Association |work=Dorset Halls Network |date=2012 |access-date=15 March 2015}}</ref> and two [[public house]]s: The Crown Inn on the B3092 towards Gillingham and The Kings Arms at East Stour Common.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pub-explorer.com/olpg/crowninn/east_stour/index.htm |title=The Crown Inn |publisher=pub-explorer.com |access-date=15 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kingsarmseaststour.com/ |title=The Kings Arms |publisher=kingsarmseaststour.com |access-date=15 March 2015}}</ref>

==Notable residents==
The writer and magistrate [[Henry Fielding]] (1707–1754), who also founded the [[Bow Street Runners]], lived in the manor house for three years, after inheriting it. During this time he spent his fortune and consequently became a professional writer. The house, sited west of the church, was demolished in 1835, though its [[mullion]]ed windows were probably incorporated into its replacement, which previously was called Fielding's Farm but in 1919 became Church Farm.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dorset |first=John |last=Hyams |publisher=B T Batsford Ltd |year=1970 |page=201 |isbn=0-7134-0066-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2011/11/from-shaftesbury-towards-stalbridge/ |title=From Shaftesbury towards Stalbridge |first1=Steve |last1=White |first2=Clive |last2=Hannay |date=November 2011 |publisher=Dorset Life Magazine |access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons}}
{{North Dorset}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Dorset]]

East Stour, Dorset - Revision history

imported>InternetArchiveBot: Rescuing 2 sources and tagging 1 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5