Minterne Magna

incl. Gorewood (Extra Parochial)

Parish Church of St Andrew - Minterne Magna © Copyright Chris Downer and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence	Minterne Magna is a village about 2 miles north of Cerne Abbas, halfway between Dorchester and Sherborne. The village is sited near the source of the small River Cerne among the chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. The church of St Andrew's dates from the late Medieval, the north porch is of 17th Century design; in 1894 the tower was restored and heightened and in 1897 the church was reseated in oak. The church contains many memorials to the Digby, Napier and Churchill families; one to Nathaniel Napier who built the almshouses in Dorchester, another to Admiral Sir Henry Digby who commanded HMS Africa at Trafalgar and a memorial window to the Hon. Theresa Digby.
Minterne House, at times the seat of one or other of the families mentioned above, is at the centre of the village surrounded by a large park and gardens (now open to the public). The house is odd having been rebuilt on the site of a Victorian house between 1903 and 1906 in a mixture of styles, the modern looking tower on the east front actually houses a water tank. Minterne Gardens today have a chain of small lakes, waterfalls and streams, and over one and a half miles of walks, with palm trees and towering rhododendrons, framed by tall cedar and beech trees, provide a new vista at each turn. They contain an important collection of Himalayan rhododendrons and azaleas from the Wilson, Rock, Forrest, and Kingdon Ward Expeditions to the Himalayas. These are combined with spring bulbs, cherries, maples and many fine and rare trees; the garden is noted for its autumn colouring. Hartley, Lyons Gate and Middlemarsh are all tithings of Minterne Magna. Gorewood was an extra-parochial area until 1858 and a civil parish from 1858 until 1933 when it was absorbed into Minterne Magna. The population was never more than 2 in the period 1881-1931.	Minterne House: South Front © Copyright Chris Downer and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
The post of Online Parish Clerk (OPC) is currently vacant If you would like to volunteer for the role, please contact the OPC Project Co-ordinator Contributions of additional resource materials for the site are always welcome

Census	1841 [Helen Jones] 1861 1871 [Christel Muncaster] 1881 [Ralph Woolfrey]
Parish Registers	Baptisms 1718-1812, 1813-1837, 1838-1875, 1876-1906 Marriages 1718-1754, 1754 - 1812, 1813-1836, 1837-1912 Burials 1718-1812, 1813-1837, 1838-1907
Postal Directories
Other Records	St Andrews Monumental Inscription index Minterne Magna Rectors 1350-2003 Minterne Magna War Memorial
Photographs	St Andrew's Memorial Stones & Plaques (Internal) (Jan Hibberd)
Useful Links
Other information
Maps	The 1891 Ordnance Survey maps of the parish can be seen at the old-maps site, just enter 'Minterne' under place search. For modern location maps visit:- www.multimap.com
	View Larger Map

Records held at the Dorset History Centre [Ref PE-MIM]	Registers Christenings 1635/6-1704/5, 1718-1927. Marriages 1636-1704, 1718-1912. Burials 1635/6-1992.
Registration District (for the purpose of civil registration births, marriages & deaths)	1 Jul 1837-14 Jan 1838: Cerne 15 Jan 1838-30 Jun 1949: Dorchester 1 Jul 1949-30 Apr 1997: Weymouth 1 Apr 1997-30 Sep 2001: South Dorset 1 Oct 2001-17 Oct 2005: South & West Dorset Note: 25 Mar 1885: Dorchester gained part of the parish of Minterne Magna (which had formed a detached part of the parish of Queen Camel) from Wincanton registration district.

OPC PAGE

Visitors to Dorset OPC