Knowlton, Dorset

Knowlton is a hamlet in the civil parish of Woodlands, Dorset, England. It is about 6 miles north of town Wimborne Minster, and about 1 mile south of the village of Wimborne St Giles. Its most recognizable features are a ruined Norman church built within a neolithic henge monument.Knowlton CirclesThe henge enclosing Knowlton Church is only one of three henges and associated earthworks. However, Church Henge is the best preserved, and is maintained by English Heritage. Nearby is Great Barrow, the largest round barrow in Dorset. Aerial photographs reveal a large number of ploughed-out barrows in the immediate vicinity.Knowlton ChurchKnowlton Church is a ruined building of unknown dedication standing near the centre of Church Henge. The earliest parts of the building are the 12th-century chancel and nave and there are 15th and 18th century additions and alterations. The church was in use in 1550, however lack of use led to calls to demolish it in 1659. But it saw a revival after this time, and a north aisle was built in 1730. Later in the 18th century the roof fell in and the church was abandoned. The nearby Victorian built church at Woodlands has a 12th-century circular stone font originally from Knowlton Church.History of KnowltonEarly Christian activity at Knowlton is indicated by a mid-to-late Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery which was discovered to the east of Church Henge in 1958. Excavations located sixteen burials within chalk-cut graves, some aligned east-west.