Stanton St Gabriel

{{Short description|Civil parish in Dorset, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox UK place |country = England |official_name = Stanton St Gabriel |static_image_name = Stanton St. Gabriel, remains of parish church - geograph.org.uk - 464579.jpg |static_image_caption = Remains of parish church, Stanton St Gabriel |coordinates = {{coord|50.7282|-2.8501|display=inline,title}} |population = 110 |population_ref = <ref name=dcc>{{cite web|url=https://www.dorsetforyou.com/344882|title=Parish Population Data|date=20 January 2015|access-date=7 March 2015|publisher=Dorset County Council}}</ref> |unitary_england = [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset]] |lieutenancy_england = [[Dorset]] |post_town = Bridport |postcode_area = DT |postcode_district = DT6 |constituency_westminster = [[West Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|West Dorset]] |region = South West England |os_grid_reference = SY401924 }} '''Stanton St Gabriel''' is a [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in west [[Dorset]], [[England]]. It lies approximately midway between the towns of [[Lyme Regis]] and [[Bridport]] on the [[Jurassic Coast]] [[World Heritage Site]], and includes within its boundary the highest cliff on the south coast of England, [[Golden Cap]]. In 2013 the estimated population of the parish was 110.<ref name=dcc/> The population in 1921 was 54.<ref>Kelly's 1931 Directory of Dorset</ref>

In 1086 Stanton St Gabriel was described in the [[Domesday Book]] as "Stantone", a derivation from Old English meaning "farm on stoney ground".<ref name=OPC>{{cite web|url=http://www.opcdorset.org/StantonStGabrielFiles/StantonStGabriel.htm|publisher=Dorset OPC Project|title=Stanton St Gabriel with Morecombelake|year=2013|access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref> The old settlement had become virtually deserted by the 18th century; the inhabitants had moved either a short distance inland, where the new [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]] to [[Exeter]] turnpike road had been rerouted, or to Bridport, where work was available in its [[ropewalk]]s.<ref name=OPC/>

In 1856 the philanthropist and anti-catholic [[Charlotte Julia Weale]] of [[Whitchurch Canonicorum]] donated £200 to the parish church so that it could build be restored and have an extension. She was buried in the churchyard here in 1918 leaving money to build an Anglican church for the poor in Whitchurch.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-41321|title=Weale, Charlotte Julia (1829–1918), religious philanthropist|year=2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/41321|access-date=2020-03-28}}</ref>

Writing in 1906, [[Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet|Sir Frederick Treves]] described Stanton St Gabriel as "a village which was lost and forgotten centuries ago." He stated that all that remained of the settlement was "an ancient farmhouse, in a state of musty decay, and a cottage. Close to the farm and encumbered with its litter are the ruins of the village church."<ref>{{cite book|title=Highways & Byways in Dorset|author=Sir Frederick Treves|year=1906|page=262|publisher=Macmillan and Co., Ltd}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Stanton St Gabriel}}

[[Category:Villages in Dorset]]