The rest of the church has been much reworked over the years, often reusing original materials, with the tower being added in the 14th century. The construction is mainly of flint and rubble, dressed with Purbeck stone and roofed with stone slates.
The church received a major restoration during the 1880s at a cost of some £2000.
There are four bells in the tower but they are no longer rung as the frame is in poor condition.
In the photographs we see: The church from the south-east (above), the nave, the handle on the south door and the rather unusual font cover of 1884 (in memory of two girls drowned in the Stour).
Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin - Sturminster Marshall.
On a Saxon site, the Normans built the first stone church here in the 12 century. Extended in the 13th century, and agin in the 14th, the church then stood largely unaltered until the tower fell down in 1802. The tower was rebuilt in 1805 but by 1859 the church was in such a poor state or repair that extensive repairs, alterations and reinforcements were required. The tower was heightened and embellished in 1860.
The tower carries 6 bells, which are frequently rung. Three of these are reputed to be the "oldest mediaeval bells in Dorset", with two of them dating from around 1350 and the third from 1400.
In the photographs we see: The church from the south-east (above), the nave and two of the stained glass windows.
Parish Church of St. Stephen - Pamphill.
In 1904 Walter Ralph Bankes left £5000 in his will for the purpose of "buliding and endowing a Church at Kingston Lacy". At this time the parish of Pamphill had been without a church for over 300 years - even the site of the previous church having been forgotten.
The present church was built at the instigation of his widow, Henrietta Bankes, between 1906-07 by C.E.Ponting in the Late Decorated style.
Perhaps oddly, for what could be seen as an overgrown family chapel, the church faces away from Kingston Lacy house towards the Village Green and along the oak avenue towards Little Pamphill. The family's private entrance from the park is tucked away round the back on the north side.
In the photographs we see: The church from the south-east (above), and the gargoyles on the tower along with the Nave and the inside of the roof.
It is interesting to note that Shapwick and Sturminster Marshall churches have very similar lecterns, in the form of an Eagle. The church of Saint Nicholas at Studland (part of the Bankes' Purbeck estates, is similarly provided). Pamphill, however, breaks with this pattern having a comparatively spartan wooden fixture, though we see it here in all its Christmas finery.
From left to right: Pamphill, Shapwick, Studland & Sturminster Marshall.
