Description
Hampreston or Ham Chamberlayne, a parish in Dorsetshire and Hants, on the river Stour, 3 miles from Wimborne station on the L. & S.W.R. It includes the-hamlet of Longham, which has a post and money order office under Wimborne; telegraph office, Wimborne. Acreage,. 5351; population of the civil parish, 1608; of the ecclesiastical, 1625. The manor belonged to Aiulfus, the Conqueror's chamberlain. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Salisbury; value, £300 with residence. Patron, Lord Wimborne. The church is Decorated, with traces of earlier work, and a gallery was added in the early part of the 19th century. There are four dissenting chapels and a Roman Catholic convent.
Parish Church
The church of All Saints is an ancient edifice of stone, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisle, north porch and an embattled western tower, containing 5 bells: in 1897 the church was reseated in oak, the organ restored, the bells recast, and an aisle built at a cost of £2,500: there are 300 sittings.
The register dates from the year 1617.
Villages, Hamlets, &c.
Longham, a hamlet in Hampreston parish, Dorsetshire, adjacent to Hants, 4 miles SE by E of Wimborne Minster. It has a post office under Wimborne.
