The name 'Sturminster' means 'large church on the river Stour' and, as such, Sturminster Marshall

is a village and civil parish, situated on the River Stour between Blandford Forum and Poole, four

miles west of Wimborne.

 

 

The word 'Marshall' was added when the village was gifted to William Marshall, Prince Regent of England

and a principal signatory of the Magna Carta.

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Sturminster Marshall is a large village with a pub, two shops including a chemist and a post office, a 1st school and several relics of past village life including the village stocks and maypole, the latter of which is still in use today.

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Just outside of the village is a medieval, eight-arched bridge which crosses the River Stour at White Mill. The bridge is believed to be the oldest in Dorset, dating from 1170. White Mill (now owned by the National Trust) has been restored and is open to the public on selected days.

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In the 1950s Bailey Gate in Sturminster Marshall was home to the largest cheese-making factory in the world; it received 52,000 gallons of milk daily and turned it into cheddar cheese. It is now home to a small industrial estate.