Former Church of St. Mary, East Stoke, with war memorial (Dorset)
Newman and Pevsner note that "1828 is the date, and everything tells it" (p. 197). The original Church in this parish was located much closer to the River Frome. The ruins of this ancient Church (see photo below) still exist in a circular copse, although they are much overgrown.
The church was made redundant in 1988 when the ecclesiastical parish of East Stoke was merged with that of Wool. The church building was sold and converted into private residences. There is, therefore, no public access, except to the graveyard.
None at the present time. Dalton gives details of what happened to the bells when the church was deconsecrated.
Ruined Church at East Stoke, Dorset
The ruins of the old church of St Mary at East Stoke can be found in a clump of trees in a field south of the river, not far from the footpath leading towards Bindon Farm and Wool. They were in a fairly bad state on my last visit. This view is looking South through an old outside door in tower; there is the remains of a water stoup on the left.
Tin chapel at Highwood(now private property)
The small "tin church" at Highwood, close to the border with the parish of Coombe Keynes is a fairly typical example of a Victorian small pre-fabricated iron church. It was presumably built sometime in the nineteenth-century to serve the growing community at Highwood but is now privately owned and not open to the public.
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Maintained by Michael Day, Last updated: 11 March 2016.