Great news! First Class Coffee is back! We’re at the Village Hall every Wednesday between 10am and 12noon to coincide with the Post Office service. All are welcome so please come along for coffee/tea and chat. Stay for 10 minutes or two hours! Social distancing applies. Hope to see you soon.
Welcome to the East Stour Village website, a community website designed to provide information about the village and village activities to all readers.
East Stour is a small ancient Dorset village it has an area of 1,786 acres and a population of approximately 500 situated around 5 miles west of Shaftesbury. The River Stour runs along the border of the village with its neighbouring village of West Stour.
Over the centuries agriculture has provided employment for men, women, children and itinerant workers until the advent of tractors and mechanisation. In 1085 the Domesday Book recorded and taxed 17 hides in East Stour and West Stour. With mills, pasture and meadow it was already an established village.
A century ago, to supplement meagre incomes, women of East Stour made gloves for companies in neighbouring Gillingham and buttons for suppliers in Shaftesbury.
The parish church of Christ Church was rebuilt in 1841-42, it is one of eight churches in the Benefice of Stour Vale. The village has several farms, two public houses, farm shop, garage and hairdressing salon. In addition, there are a number of trades and services offered by villagers. These can be found listed on the Local Contacts page of this site.
For GPS to find the Village Hall (in the centre of the village) use postcode: SP8 5JY