Editing Winterbourne Steepleton

{{Short description|Village in Dorset, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
|static_image_name = Winterbourne Steepleton - geograph.org.uk - 402390.jpg
|static_image_caption = Winterbourne Steepleton
|country = England
|official_name = Winterbourne Steepleton
|coordinates = {{coord|50.70679|-2.53029|display=inline,title}}
|map_type = Dorset
|population = 297
|population_ref = <ref name=ons>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11130775&c=Winterbourne+Steepleton&d=16&e=62&g=6418590&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1385625127587&enc=1|publisher=Office for National Statistics|title=Neighbourhood Statistics. Area: Winterbourne Steepleton (Parish). Key figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics.|accessdate=28 November 2013}}</ref>
|unitary_england = [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset]]
|lieutenancy_england = [[Dorset]]
|region = South West England
|post_town = Dorchester
|postcode_area = DT
|postcode_district = DT2
|constituency_westminster = [[West Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|West Dorset]]
|os_grid_reference = SY628898
}}

'''Winterbourne Steepleton''' is a village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in south west [[Dorset]], [[England]], situated in a [[winterbourne (stream)|winterbourne]] [[valley]] {{convert|5|mi|km}} west of [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]], next to the village of [[Winterbourne Abbas]]. The name of the village derives from its site next to a seasonal winterbourne stream and from having a stone church [[steeple]]<ref>''Dorset'', Frank R. Heath, Methuen & Co. Ltd., London, Sixth Ed. (revised), 1922.</ref> - one of only three [[medieval]] stone spires in the county (the others being at [[Iwerne Minster]] and [[Trent, Dorset|Trent]]).<ref name=gant>{{cite book|title=Dorset Villages|author=Roland Gant|publisher=Robert Hale Ltd|page=175|year=1980|ISBN=0 7091 8135 3}}</ref> In the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] the parish had a population of 297.<ref name=ons/>

==The village==
Winterbourne Steepleton is a rural village set back from the main road. Notable buildings include Steepleton Manor, a large house built of [[Portland stone]] dating from 1870 and replacing a previous building. Close by is the thatched Manor Cottage, built in the 16th century, and Manor Farm, dating from the 17th century or earlier. Close to the east end of the  parish church is the 17th century Mill House, built of stone and brick.<ref name=WD>{{cite web |url=http://www.weymouth-dorset.co.uk/steepleton.html |title=Winterbourne Steepleton |publisher=Weymouth-Dorset.co.uk |accessdate=26 August 2016}}</ref>

==The church==
The parish church, dedicated to [[St Michael]], dates mostly from the 12th and 13th centuries, although the nave has [[Anglo-Saxon architecture|Saxon]] elements and the tower and porch are 14th-century addition.<ref name=gant/> It is a Grade I [[listed building]], having been inscribed in the register on 26 January 1956. The  west tower, nave, chancel and south porch are built of rubble-stone with dressings of stone from [[Ham Hill, Somerset]]. The roofs are slated. The tower has three stages with buttresses to the lower two, and is topped by a plain parapet. The spire was added in the 18th century and is octagonal with pinnacles at the corners. Several of the windows date from the 15th century and have pairs of cinque-foiled lights with vertical tracery between.<ref name=BLB>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-403855-church-of-st-michael-winterbourne-steepl#.V8CbAq3GD6g |title=Church of St Michael, Winterborne Steepleton |publisher=British Listed Buildings |accessdate=26 August 2016}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Winterbourne Steepleton}}
* [https://sites.google.com/site/winterbournesteepletonopc/ Winterbourne Steepleton OPC (Online Parish Clerk)]

{{Dorset}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Dorset]]