Winterborne Zelston
| Winterborne Zelston | |
| Dorset | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's Church, Winterborne Zelston | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SY898976 |
| Location: | 50°46’39"N, 2°8’46"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 90 |
| Post town: | Blandford Forum |
| Postcode: | DT11 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Dorset |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
North Dorset |
Winterborne Zelston is a village in northern Dorset, standing the valley of a winterbourne known as the River Winterborne, by the A31 road eight miles south of Blandford Forum and ten miles north-west of Poole. The parish had a population of 141 in 2001 and a 2013 estimate put the population at 90.
The first element of the village's name, 'Winterborne', comes from the River Winterborne, which flows from west to east through the village.[1] The suffix 'Zelstone' is probably from the name of the Zeals family.[2] The river only flows overground during the winter, hence the name.
To the west is Winterborne Tomson and to the north-east is Almer. The river flows through both these villages too.
The church
The parish church is dedicated to St Mary and is a Grade II listed building, being inscribed in the register on 14 July 1955. The tower dates to the fifteenth century but the rest of the building was rebuilt by the architect Thomas Henry Wyatt in 1866, using some materials from an earlier building.
Although the main fabric dates from this rebuild, the building has several older features such as a fourteenth century doorway in the south vestry wall, and some of the windows in the chancel, which are thirteenth century. The tower is of rubble stone while the rest of the church is banded with flint and stone and the roofs are slated. The plan consists of nave, chancel, north aisle, south vestry, south porch and west tower. The tower has three stages, the parapet being battlemented and there being a gargoyle on the west wall. Internally, the nave has an arch-braced collar beam roof while the chancel has a wagon roof with plaster panels and moulded ribs.[3]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Winterborne Zelston) |
References
- ↑ "Walking the River Winterborne". Dorset: Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Dorset AONB Partnership, UK. 2011. http://www.dorsetaonb.org.uk/assets/downloads/Winterbournes_Wetlands/Winterborne_Leaflet_final_copy.pdf. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ↑ Ekwall, Eilert, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 4th edition, 1960. ISBN 0198691033
- ↑ National Heritage List 1118552: Church of St Mary, Winterborne Zelston
