Christ Church is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

parish church in East Stour,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, England. The church, a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, was designed by George Alexander and built in 1841–42. Today the church forms part of the Stour Vale Benefice.

History

Christ Church was built in 1841–42 to replace a medieval church which, by the mid-19th century, was in a dilapidated condition and had become too small to serve the village's inhabitants. The church had seating for 140 people, but the population of East Stour had reached over 500 by 1840. The replacement of the church was initiated through the efforts of the vicar of Gillingham, Rev. Henry Deane The old church was demolished in 1839, and plans for the new church were drawn up by George Alexander of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, who would also supervise its construction. As a larger building than its predecessor, it was designed to accommodate 400 people. In October 1840, the Salisbury Diocesan Church Building Association granted £150 towards the rebuilding cost. The completed church was consecrated by the

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

, the Right Rev. Edward Denison, on 1 April 1842. The church underwent renovation in 1866, which included staining and varnishing its woodwork and improving the interior. Much of the approximate £100 cost was raised by voluntary contributions by the parishioners. The organ, built by

Henry Bevington Henry Bevington (26 July 1777''England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837'' – 8 November 1850)''London, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003'' was a prolific English organ builder, active in Lon ...

of London, was installed in 1877 and first used on 1 November. The churchyard was extended in 1908 after an adjoining plot of land was gifted by Lord Stalbridge. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Salisbury, the Right Rev.

John Wordsworth John Wordsworth (1843–1911) was an English Anglican bishop and classical scholar. He was Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford from 1883 to 1885, and Bishop of Salisbury from 1885 to 1911. Life H ...

, on 10 April 1908. The church underwent alteration and improvement work between 1934 and 1939. A south

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

and north porch were built as additions to the existing building, and the gallery at the west end of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was removed, allowing the organ to be re-sited there from the south wall of the nave. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

was opened up, new stone paving laid and electric lighting installed. The altar was rearranged and provided with a new frontal, curtains, cross and candlesticks. Two clergy stalls of oak were also added at the entrance to the chancel and two Persian rugs added to the sanctuary. The work amounted to an approximate £485 and was dedicated by the Bishop of Salisbury, the Right Rev.

Neville Lovett Ernest Neville Lovett, (16 February 1869 – 8 September 1951) served as the Bishop of Portsmouth in the Church of England from 1927 to 1936 and as the Bishop of Salisbury from 1936 to 1946. Life Lovett was born in Torquay on 16 February 1 ...

, on 26 February 1939. The church organ was restored by Geo Osmond & Co of

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

in 1972. In the early 21st century, repairs were carried on the nave and tower, and kitchen facilities and a disabled toilet were installed.

Architecture

Christ Church is built of local limestone ashlar, with Greensand dressings and slate-covered roofs. It has a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

plan, made up of a nave, north and south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

s, chancel, south vestry, north porch and a one-stage crossing tower. The galleries of the transepts are accessed by octagonal stair turrets on the west exterior of the church. Some of the old church's fittings were transferred to the new church, most notably the stone font's square bowl which is of

Purbeck Marble Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone. Geology Strat ...

and 12th-century date. It sits on a round shaft of sandstone and plain rectangular base of limestone, both of 19th-century date. The lectern depicts a carved pelican and is 18th-century on an early 20th-century base. The church also contains an oak

bible box The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a v ...

of 17th-century date and two oak chests of 18th-century date. The tower's bell dates to the 16th-century. The pulpit is of early 20th-century date, replacing an earlier one from the 1841–42 rebuild. The church has a number of round-headed single-light and two-light windows. The stained glass in the small windows of the chancel date to the church's 1841–42 rebuild. The stained glass added by Mr. T. Everett in memory of his wife in 1872 was designed by

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832� ...

and carried out by Mr. J. M. Jenkins of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. The east window, which is round-headed and of three-lights, was installed in memory of Rev. Deane, who died in 1882.

References

{{reflist Church of England church buildings in Dorset Grade II listed churches in Dorset Churches completed in 1842