St Stephen's Church, Bournemouth

St Stephen's Church
St Stephen's Church
	50°43′24″N1°52′51″W / 50.7232°N 1.8807°W
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Anglo-Catholic
Website	Official website
History
Dedication	Saint Stephen
Administration
Province	Canterbury
Diocese	Winchester
Parish	Bournemouth Town Centre
Clergy
Vicar(s)	The Reverend Canon Nicholas Jepson-Biddle
Chaplain(s)	The Reverend Dr Rob Sawdy

Last updated February 06, 2025

St Stephen's Church is a Church of England parish church in Bournemouth, Dorset (formerly in Hampshire), England. The liturgical life of the church is rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, and the building features a noted lady chapel.

History

The church was designed by the architect John Loughborough Pearson as a memorial to Alexander Morden Bennett, first vicar of St Peter's Church, Bournemouth. It is constructed with Purbeck stone and Bath stone. Its nave was built from 1881 to 1883 and the chancel from 1896 to 1897. The tower was built from 1907 to 1908. It is a Grade I listed building.^[1]

It was in here, on 15 March 1888, that the wedding between Oscar Bernadotte of Sweden, son of King Oscar II, and Ebba Munck af Fulkila, took place.^[2]

Vicars

1881–1911 Alexander Sykes Bennett
1911–28 George Philip Trevelyan
1928–44 Philip Harold Rogers
1944–52 Geoffrey Heald
1952–58 Francis John Michael Dean
1958–62 Charles Edward Burnett Neate
1962–70 George Percy Wilkins
1970–73 Anthony Douglas Caesar
1974–83 John David Corbett
1983–87 John Catlin
1987–94 Paul Hastrop
1994–2012 Robin Harger
2009–2023 Ian Terry
2024– Nicholas Lawrence Jepson-Biddle

Music

The church has an organ by William Hill dating from 1898. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register. There is also a small five-stop chamber organ dating from 1870. The specification of the chamber organ can also be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

List of organists

1881–93 T. J. Baker
1894–1930 Henry Holloway
1930–35 Percy Whitlock
1936–66 Cyril Knight
1967–75 Spencer Fackerell
1976 Roger Hill
1976–82 Cyril Knight
1982–88 Ian Harrison
1988–94 Anthony Wood
1994–2019 Ian Harrison
2019–2024 Sean Tucker

Gallery

Viewed from the Bournemouth Eye
Main entrance
Behind the altar
View from the street
Front door view
Viewed from Meyrick Park
Snow covered church
Winter scene
View from the southeast

References

↑ Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST STEPHEN (1324756)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 25 July 2014.
↑ Lindqvist, Herman (2022). Oscar II: den konungsligaste av alla kungar (in Swedish). Stockholm: Albert Bonniers förlag AB. p. 199. ISBN 978-91-0-018884-9. OCLC 1371246021.

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[1] Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST STEPHEN (1324756)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 25 July 2014.

[2] Lindqvist, Herman (2022). Oscar II: den konungsligaste av alla kungar (in Swedish). Stockholm: Albert Bonniers förlag AB. p. 199. ISBN 978-91-0-018884-9. OCLC 1371246021.

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