St Stephen the Protomartyr, Kingston Lacy
From the south, the approach to this is along a magnificent and very beautiful avenue of trees originally planted in 1846.
The building was the product of a co-operation between Mrs. Henrietta Bankes of nearby Kingston Lacy House, whose husband had left £5,000 "for the purpose of building and endowing a church at Kingston Lacy" and the eminent architect C. E. Ponting of Marlborough. The foundation stone of the Arts and Crafts Gothic style structure was laid by Mrs Bankes on 15th February 1906 and the church was dedicated by the Bishop of Salisbury on 27th July 1907
Externally, the proportions of the present building are pleasing and the forty foot tower adds a gentle grandeur. The walls, constructed from a mixture of Studland sandstone and Purbeck stone, have prompted some to suggest a tweed appearance. Attached to the tower and above the left side of the porch, with its Arts and Crafts leaf surround, is a niche containing a statue by Palmer of St Stephen with his hand on the head of a small boy. The boy was modelled in the likeness of Ralph, Mrs Bankes' son, who was to be the last squire of Kingston Lacy.
Inside, the building is delightfully simple. The woodwork is constructed from oak grown on the Kingston Lacy Estate. The pews at each end are exquisitely carved with a Bankes' family fleur-de-lys.
Immediately below the organ and attached to the wooden panelling is a simple, but moving record of the sixteen men who did not return from the First World War; which was unveiled on 2nd April 1921.
The eight Bankes' family pews are at the back of the church. Standing over the pew, is a copy of the Wimborne Minster astronomical clock.
The stone cross in front of the church is a memorial to Walter Bankes, Mrs Bankes' husband and benefactor.
To find the cache read the date at the bottom of the memorial facing towards the church ABCD – EFGH
The cache can be found at: N50 48.(B-H)(C+H)C W002 01.(C-H)G(C+D)
Cache placed with the kind permission of the National Trust
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If anybody would like to expand this series please do. We would just ask that you contact sadexploration first so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names and to avoid duplication.
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