In Kelly's Directory
Transcribed and donated to the Dorset OPC Project by Kim Parker
1848
EAST STOKE, a parish in the Hundred of Winfrith, and Union of Wareham and Purbeck, and Wareham division of the county, situated 4 miles west-by-south from Wareham, and on the river Frome. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Salisbury, and incumbency of the Rev. Charles Fox. The church is a small modern structure, with nave, chancel and square embattled tower. The parish comprises about 5,800 acres of cultivated and heath land; the population, in 1841, was 590. The London and South Western railway passes through this parish.
FOX Rev. Charles
FYLER James Chamness, esq., Haffleton
SEYMOUR James, esq., Binegar
TRADERS
COBB Samuel, shopkeeper
FOOKS Henry, farmer, Bellhuish
GARRATT Robert, blacksmith
HOPKINS William, farmer
JARVIS John, farmer, Woolbridge
PITT William, farmer
RAWLINGS Joseph, farmer, West Holme
SMITH Thomas, 'Black Dog'
Letters are received through the Wareham office
1880
EAST STOKE is a parish in the hundred of Winfrith, union of Wareham and Purbeck, county court district and petty sessional division of Wareham, diocese of Salisbury, archdeaconry of Dorset and rural deaconry of Dorchester third portion, 3 miles west-by-south from Wareham, 2-1/2 east from Wool station on the South Western railway and 128 from London, situated on the river Frome, which is here crossed by two bridges. The church of St. Mary was erected in 1830, and consists of chancel, nave, and west tower: in the south aisle is place a handsome marble tablet to the Rev. William Buller, sometime curate of the parish, and of Leonora Sophia, his wife. The register dates from the year 1743. The living is a rectory, the commuted rent-charge is £386, in the gift of Lady Oglander, and held by the Rev. Octavius Arthur Hodgson M.A. of Magdalen College, Oxford. Heffleton House, the seat of John William Townsend Fyler esq. D.L., J.P. occupies a commanding situation in beautifully wooded grounds of about 1,100 acres, the timber and plantations of which are considered exceptionally fine, and are very varied in character, including some fine specimens of the Cedar of Lebanon. Binnegar Hall is a large and elegant mansion in the Elizabethan style, the property of Oliver Cooke Farrer esq. J.P. Lady Oglander is lady of the manor. Nathaniel Bond esq. D.L., J.P. is lord of the manor of Stokeford, Rushton and Binnegar. The principal landowners are John W. T. Fyler esq., D.L. N. Bond esq., the Earl Eldon and Lady Oglander. The soil is sand and chalky loam; subsoil, chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley and oats. A great part of the parish is heath and plantations. The parish comprises about 3,233 acres of cultivated and heath land; rateable value, £3,188; the population in 1871 was 613.
WEST HOLME is a tithing, 1-1/2 miles south-east; Highwood, 1 mile south; STOKEFORD, half a mile east; BESTWALL, 3 miles east, and RUSHTON, half a mile south-east, are hamlets here.
BINNEGAR is a quarter of a mile north-east.
Parish Clerk, John Hibbs.
Letters through Wareham, which is the nearest money order & telegraph office
Parochial School, Miss Bertha Hunt, mistress
FARRER Oliver Cooke J.P., Binnegar hall
FARRER Mrs., Binnegar hall
FYLER John William Townsend J.P., D.L., Heffleton house
HAWKESWORTH Capt. John William Bain, J.P., Stokeford
HODGSON Rev. Octavius Arthur M.A., The Rectory
BAKER Aaron, farmer, Heffleton
BENNETT Henry, farmer, West Holme
BENNETT Stephen, farmer, Rushton
BRADFIELD John, miller
DOREY Thomas, carpenter & wheelwright
GARRATT Robert, blacksmith
HIBBS John, grocer & postmaster
LONGMAN William, farmer, Bellhuish
MARSH Robert, shoe maker
MILLER Isaac, farmer
MILLER John, farmer
MILLER Walter, The Black Dog, carpenter etc.
RANDALL William, farmer, Woolbridge
SMITH Samuel, farmer
STICKLAND James, grocer & baker
VINCENT Charles, shoe maker
VINCENT Martha (Mrs.), shopkeeper
WHITE Henry, farmer, Highwood
1898
EAST STOKE is a parish on the River Frome, which is here crossed by two bridges, 3 miles west-by-south from Wareham, 2-1/2 east from Wool station on the South Western railway, and 128 from London, in the Eastern division of the county, hundred of Winfrith, county court district and petty sessional division of Wareham, union of Wareham and Purbeck, rural deanery of Dorchester (Purbeck portion), archdeaconry of Dorset and diocese of Salisbury. The church of St. Mary, erected in 1828, is of stone, in the Perpendicular style, and consists of chancel, nave and an embattled western tower, containing 2 bells; in the south porch is placed a marble tablet to the Rev. William Buller, sometime curate of the parish, and of Leonora Sophia, his wife; the chancel and organ chamber were built and the church reseated in 1885, at a cost of £1,056; in the chancel is a stained window to the Fyler family of Hethfelton; the font, which belonged to the old church, has a hexagonal basin and was reset on a new shafted base by the Rev. Octavius Arthur Hodgson M.A. rector here 1874-98: there are 250 sittings. The register dates from the year 1743. The living is a rectory, net income £206, including 6 acres of glebe, with residence, in the joint gift of the Misses Fitzroy and the trustees of the late Admiral Fitzroy, and held since 1898 by the Rev. Pierce Armar Butler. Hethfelton, the seat of John William Townsend Fyler esq. D.L., J.P. occupies a commanding situation in beautifully wooded grounds of 20 acres, the timber and plantations of which are considered exceptionally fine, and are varied in character, including some fine specimens of the cedar of Lebanon. Binnegar Hall, the property and residence of Mrs. Farrer, is a large and elegant mansion in the Early Jacobean style. Wilfrid H. Hudlestone esq. of 8, Stanhope Gardens, London S.W. is lord of the manor of East Stoke and Nathaniel Bond esq. D.L., J.P. of Creech Grange, Steeple, lord of the manor of Stokeford and Binnegar. The principal landowners are John W. T. Fyleresq., Nathaniel Bond esq., the Earl of Eldon, W. H. Hudleston esq. and Mrs. Ernle-Erle-Drax, of Charlborough Park. The soil is sand and gravel; subsoil, mostly gravel. The chief crops are wheat, barley and oats. A great part of the parish is heath and plantations. The parish comprises 4,593 acres of cultivated and heath land and 38 of water; rateable value, £2,116; the population in 1891 was 499 in the civil and 581 in the ecclesiastical parish.
West Holme is a tithing, 1-1/2 miles south-east; Highwood, 1 mile south, Stokeford 1/2 mile north-east, and Rushton, 1/2 mile south-east, are hamlets here.
Binnegar is a half of a mile north-east.
Bellhuish Farm and Cottages and St. Andrew's Farm and Cottages, with a population of 49 was, in 1888, by Local Government Board Order, transferred from this parish to West Lulworth, and at the same date Swinehame and North and South Bestwell was transferred to St. Martin (Wareham) parish.
Post Office – William Grant, sub-postmaster. Letters through Wareham arrive at 7.15 a.m.; dispatched at 6.45 p.m. Wool, 3 miles distant, is the nearest money order and telegraph office.
Parochial School (mixed), with residence for the mistress adjoining, built about 1855, for 100 children; average attendance, 59; Miss Marion Buck, mistress.
Wall Letter Boxes, Holme Bridge, cleared at 7.40 p.m. & sundays 1 p.m.; Binnegar, 6.55 p.m.; sundays 11.30 a.m.
PRIVATE RESIDENTS
BUTLER Rev. Pierce Arman (rector)
FARRER Mrs., Binnegar hall
FARRER Oliver Cooke J.P., Binnegar hall
FYLER John William Townsend D.L., J.P., Hethfelton
HAWKESWORTH Major John William Bain (late R.A.) J.P., Stokeford
HAWKINS George Henry (retired warrant officer Royal Navy), Serapis Cottage
HUDDLESTONE W. H., West Holme
COMMERCIAL
BARNES Ambrose, farmer
BASKET William Henry, Black Dog P. H.
BRADFIELD Thomas, miller (water)
BURDEN John, farmer
BURT James, farmer
DOREY George, carpenter
GARRATT Robert, blacksmith
GRANT R. & Son, market gardeners & florists, Longthorns
GRANT Richard, boot maker
HIBBS Alfred, farmer
MARSH Robert, shoe maker
MILLER John, farmer
MORRIS Henry, farmer, Woolbridge
NEWBURY John, farm bailiff to Oliver Cooke FARRER esq. J.P.
READER George, farmer
SELBY Henry, market gardener
STICKLAND James, farmer, Rushton
TETT Robert, farmer
VINCENT Martha (Mrs.), shopkeeper