West Stour

Ship Inn West Stour © Wes Eggins 2010	West Stour is a small parish and one of a collection of three Stour villages situated on the Stour River. The parish is bound by Gillingham to the north, East Stour and Stour Provost to the east, Fifehead Magdalen to the south, and Kington Magna to the west. The soil is sand and clay and the land is chiefly used as pasture. The area is 998 acres. The population in 1861 was 215, in 1871, 197; and in 1891, 158. Today there are about 50 to 60 houses clustered around the only street in town, Church Street.
The church of St. Mary dates from the 13th century. It is an ancient stone structure, principally Early English, having an ancient decorated chancel, a modern nave, south porch, and a square embattled tower containing 3 bells. It has an organ and a gallery at the western end. According to the SOG's Index of Parish Registers, the original Parish Register consisted of: Christenings 1813-1981, Marriages 1754-1990, Burials 1678/9-1730, 1813-1981, Banns 1823-1970. Bishop's Transcripts date from only 1731 due to the Great Fire at Blandford.	© OPC Project 2010
The Online Parish Clerk (OPC) for West Stour is Cassandra Gotham Please place the words 'OPC West Stour' as your subject for e-mails
Census	The 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871 are on line .
Parish Registers	The Bishops Transcripts have been transcribed: Baptisms from 1731-1879 Marriages from 1732-1848 Burials from 1731-1879
Monumental Inscriptions	St Mary's Monumental Inscriptions index
Directories	Extracts from Directories for 1865, 1880 & 1895
Maps	The 1891 Ordnance Survey maps of the parish can be seen at the old-maps site, just enter 'West Stour' under place search.
	For modern location maps visit: http://www.multimap.com/ For a 1920s map click on the thumbnail opposite for a larger version.
© OPC Project 2010	© OPC Project 2010

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