Bournemouth, Dorset (St Stephen)
Bournemouth (St Stephen)
This church is described by Pevsner and Lloyd as the "finest
church in Bournemouth"; a opinion that is echoed by Betjeman who
calls it "probably the best church in Bournemouth." It was
designed by John Loughborough Pearson of 1881-98, the tower being
added later by his son F. L. Pearson in 1907-08. The church was
built as a memorial to the Reverend Alexander Morden Bennett, late vicar
of St. Peter's Church, a
Tractarian, and a major influence on the development of Bournemouth's
churches. The full story of Morden Bennett and the development of
Bournemouth's churches is told in the book by Ian McQueen cited below.
Sources:
- Betjeman, J., Sir John Betjeman's guide to English parish
churches, revised and updated by Nigel Kerr. London: HarperCollins,
1993, p. 240.
- Dorset Historic Churches Trust, Dorset Churches.
[Dorchester]: DHCT, 1988, p. 14.
- Hope, M., Hampshire. In: Humphrey, S.C., ed., Blue guide: churches
and chapels of southern England. London: Black; New York: Norton,
1991, pp. 270-271.
- Jenkins, S. England's thousand best churches. London: Allen
Lane, the Penguin Press, 1999, p. 149.
- Leachman, E.W., S. Peter's Bournemouth. Bournemouth:
Sydenham & Co., 1915.
- McQueen, I., Bournemouth St. Peter's. Milborne Port: Dorset
Publishing Co., 1971.
- Pevsner, N. and Lloyd, D., The buildings of England: Hampshire and
the Isle of Wight. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1967, p. 125.
Web pages:
St Stephen's Bournemouth Web pages: http://www.ststephensbournemouth.org/
To Dorset Churches Index Page
Maintained by Michael
Day
Last updated: 5 April 2002.