Sturminster Marshall
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Sturminster Marshall is a village and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the east of
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
in England, situated on the River Stour between
Blandford Forum Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...
and
Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...
. The parish had a
population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of 1,895 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,969 at the 2011 Census and includes the village of Almer () west of Sturminster Marshall, near Winterborne Zelston and the hamlet of Henbury to the south-east of the village. The village is twinned with the French commune of
Sainte-Mère-Église Sainte-Mère-Église () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern French Departments of France, department of Manche, in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy. On 1 January 2016, the former communes of Beuzeville-au-Plain, Chef-d ...
in
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
. The appropriate
electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
is called 'Stour'. From ''Sturminster Marshall'' the ward goes east to Pamphill, with a total population of 2,582.
King Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alf ...
, in his will of 899, a copy of which can be seen at the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
, left the village to his youngest son
Æthelweard Æthelweard, also spelled Ethelweard, Aethelweard, Athelweard, etc., is an Anglo-Saxon male name. It may refer to: * King Æthelweard of the Hwicce (''fl''. 7/8th century) * King Æthelweard of East Anglia (''fl.'' mid-9th century) * Æthelweard ( ...
(c.880-922). Sturminster Marshall has a 13th-century church, St Mary's. Its predecessor contributed to the village's name; 'Sturminster' meaning "church on the River Stour". The second part of the name came from William Marshall. Until 1857, St. Hubert's Church in Corfe Mullen acted as a
chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
to Sturminster Marshall. St. Mary's pre-Reformation chalice, dating to 1536, has survived although the stem has been replaced. It is on loan to
Dorset Museum The Dorset Museum (also known as the Dorset Museum & Art Gallery) is located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. It was known as the Dorset County Museum until 2021. Founded in 1846, the museum covers the county of Dorset's history and environment. ...
in
Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome to the south of the Dorset Dow ...
.


Village amenities

Sturminster Marshall has a playing field with a children's playground in one corner. Nearby is the Memorial Hall which offers a meeting-space for many village societies. There is also an old school hall which is also used as a meeting-space. There are many walks around the village including the Stour Valley Way, which follows the Stour right from the source to the sea. The village has two pubs: the Red Lion within the village and the Golden Fox on the outskirts. The village has a cricket club with a side in Dorset division 3. There is also a football club with a senior side and several junior teams.


Landmarks


Church of St Mary the Virgin

The earliest parts of the
Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...
date from the 12th century, with 13th, 14th and 15th century additions. The three-stage west tower was rebuilt in 1805 and the whole building was heavily restored in 1859. The monuments and brasses inside the church are mainly 19th century, but there is a 17th-century funeral helm and a 14th-century coffin slab with a Latin inscription: ''Quisquis ades qui morte cades, sta, perlege, plora. Sum quod eris, fueram quod es. Pro me precor, ora''. It is a Grade II*
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.


White Mill Bridge

Crossing the River Stour to the east of the village is a 16th-century stone bridge of eight arches. The later
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
overhangs the bridge sides on
corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...
s. An early 19th-century iron plaque threatens anyone damaging the bridge with
penal transportation Penal transportation (or simply transportation) was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies bec ...
. It is a Grade I listed building. File:Inside St Mary, Sturminster Marshall (II) - geograph.org.uk - 2962424.jpg, Interior of St Mary's Church, looking east File:14th century coffin lid, Sturminster Marshall.jpg, 14th-century coffin lid in the south porch of the church File:White Mill bridge at Sturminster Marshall - geograph.org.uk - 2890892.jpg, The 16th-century White Mill Bridge crossing the River Stour File:Warning notice on White Mill Bridge, Sturminster Marshal - Transportation for Life Penalty.jpg, Old iron warning sign on the bridge parapet


Notes


References


External links


2001 Census dataSMYFC
Villages in Dorset {{Dorset-geo-stub