The best walks and hikes around Stoke Wake

All Saints Church in Hilton, Dorset, is a remarkable Grade I listed building, primarily dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. Its unique architecture features masonry, windows, and carved corbels (including a bagpipe player) salvaged and reused from the nearby Milton Abbey after the Dissolution. The church also houses two beautiful panels of early 16th-century paintings of the Apostles, which were also transferred from the Abbey. It retains a square 12th-century font in Purbeck marble.

* It lies southeast of the deserted medieval village of Bingham's Melcombe, the remains of which can still be seen in the surrounding fields.

* Architectural Features: The church exhibits features typical of the 14th and 15th centuries, including reticulated tracery in some windows, ogee-headed lights, and a tower with an embattled parapet. The south chapel has panel tracery. * Interior Elements: Inside, you can find a Norman font (brought from a nearby chapel in 1951), a pulpit bought in 1723, and 17th-century communion rails. A unique feature is a stuffed owl intended to deter bats! * Horsey Chapel Screen: The oak screen separating the Horsey Chapel from the nave is particularly interesting, featuring the initials S.T.F. (for Sir Thomas Freke) and the date 1619 on the reverse. Location and Setting: * The church is situated in the grounds of Bingham's Melcombe, a significant medieval manor house.

A church has stood on this site since at least 1150 AD, with records dating back to that time held in the County Museum Library. * 14th Century Core: The present stone and flint building largely dates back to the mid-14th century. This includes the nave and the lower stage of the west tower. * 15th Century Additions: The upper stage of the tower and the rebuilding of the south (Horsey) chapel occurred in the 15th century. The Horsey Chapel is separated from the nave by a notable oak screen. * 19th Century Chancel: The chancel was added in 1844 and features a window with reticulated tracery, in keeping with some of the earlier styles.

* Dissolution: Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the Abbey and estate were acquired by Sir John Tregonwell, a lawyer for Henry VIII. The Abbey church was allowed to become the parish church. * 18th Century Changes: In the late 18th century, Joseph Damer, Lord Milton (later Earl of Dorchester), decided the nearby market town of Milton (or Middleton) disturbed his ideal of rural peace. He had the entire town demolished and created the planned village of Milton Abbas. He also commissioned the landscape gardener Capability Brown to design the parkland around a new mansion he built on the site of the old Abbey buildings, keeping only part of the church. * Restoration: The church was restored around 1790 by James Wyatt and again in 1865 by Sir George Gilbert Scott.

The first church on the site was founded around 934 AD by the Saxon King Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great. It is said he had a vision of defeating the Danes while camping nearby and built the church in gratitude. * Benedictine Abbey: About thirty years later, King Edgar established a Benedictine monastery there. * Fire and Rebuilding: A fire caused by lightning destroyed the Norman church in 1309. The current Abbey Church of Saint Mary, Saint Sansom and Saint Branwalader largely dates from the 14th century, with some 15th-century additions like the north transept and tower extension. The nave as originally planned was never built.

notable for being one of the first planned settlements in England. In the 1770s, the owner of Milton Abbey, Joseph Damer (later Lord Milton and Earl of Dorchester), decided the original village of Middleton was spoiling his view and commissioned architect Sir William Chambers and landscape gardener Capability Brown to design a new village in a nearby wooded valley. The old village was demolished, and most of its residents were relocated to this new model village, now known as Milton Abbas. The village is characterized by its single, sinuous main street lined with 36 almost identical whitewashed and thatched cottages. These were originally designed to house two families each.

The church was built in 1786. This was during the creation of the new village of Milton Abbas by Joseph Damer, the Earl of Dorchester. He had the original market town of Milton (or Middleton), which was too close to his mansion (now Milton Abbey School), demolished and a new model village constructed to house his estate workers. * Replacing an Older Church: There was an earlier St James' Church serving the parish before the new village was built. Its exact location is uncertain, though some speculate it might have been near the south door of Milton Abbey. Registers of this earlier church date back to 1650. * Materials from the Abbey: It is believed that some of the materials used to build St James' Church came from the demolished abbey barn. * Victorian Enhancements: In 1886, the church underwent significant alterations. The chancel was enlarged, the chancel and tower arches were rebuilt, and a south aisle was added.