England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Winterborne KIngston St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Winterborne Kingston, one of a string of villages that take their prefix from the Winterborne that flows between them, lies in eastern central Dorset roughly 6 miles south of the market town of Blandford Forum. Winterborne Kingston is quite a substantial crossroads village which sits just under a mile north of the A31 road which links Bere Regis with Wimborne Minster. As already mentioned Winterborne Kingston sits in the valley of the Winterborne with most properties lying to its south but with a smaller set to its north, the main village centre being around a staggered crossroads of lanes immediately south of the stream. Anciently Winterborne Kingston sat on the Roman Road which crossed the area linking Dorchester with Salisbury. The area lies on chalk and the soils were in consequence rather thin and nutrient deficient, the main farming activity would have come from pastoral farming, cattle by the river but the majority of the parish would have been set to sheep with some cereals such as oats grown on favourable soils. The Winterborne, so named for its seasonality often only flowing in rain-rich winter time, drains the parish eastwards, meeting the Stour near Sturminster Marshall it then flows into the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour, Winterborne Kingston is sited at around 50 metres above the sea but chalk downs rise to its north, away from the river, reaching close to 130 metres on Whatcombe Down to the north. Winterborne Kingston parish was fairly typically sized for its area, covering just under 2,600 acres it would have supported a population of around 550 parishioners. Winterborne Kingston is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Nicholas' church sits just east of the main crossroads of the village in a corner site at the junction of Church Street with Sackville Street. The church has its origins in the early 14th century, the Decorated style of that period being well shown by the western tower, its bell-openings are typical of the style. Despite later work the style is also repeated in the southern doorway to the nave and also in the chancel so there is no doubt that originally the church was a single campaign build of the first half of the 14th century. Sporadic work in centuries between that build & the inevitable Victorian changes can be seen, a few windows show Tudor styling of the 16th century, notably 2 windows of a 4-light construction on the southern face. The Victorian work dates from 1873 when not only was the church thoroughly restored but the northern aisle and vestry were added to the fabric, the eastern window of the chancel was also a product of this campaign. Church Street is sufficiently wide to enable street parking outside the churchyard, which is surrounded by a mid-height local stone wall pierced by metal gates. There are many trees within the churchyard but, fortunately for the photographer most are gathered to the north and the favoured aspects from the southeast are available making for a straightforward building to photograph.