Church Knowle

Church Knowle is a small village on the peninsula Isle of Purbeck in Dorset in the south of England.

Church Knowle lies north of the Purbeck Hills, in the midst of the Isle of Purbeck. The village lies within the parish of Corfe. It is located about two kilometers west of the village of Corfe Castle, nine kilometers west of Swanage and seven kilometers southeast of Wareham.

The village of Church Knowle lies within the civil parish of Corfe Castle in Purbeck District and has 303 inhabitants (as of 2001).

The Saxons called the village cnolle what, top of a hill means'. The village was mentioned in the Doomsday Book in 1086 as Chenolle.

The church from the 13th century is called Saint Peter 's Church. The list of Rectors contains 40 names and dates back to 1327. Until the mid-18th century Saint Peter's was a perfect cruciform church with a choir, nave, west tower and with a north and a south transept. Between 1833 and 1841 structural changes were made.

Born in Bucknowle farm outside Church Knowle and buried in the churchyard, the two brothers, who brought the first steam locomotive to the Isle of Purbeck in 1866 are. William Joseph Pike and John William Pike were Purbeck Ball Clay dealer. They built about 1840 a ​​railway line from Ridge to Furzebrook. Later they extended it by Creech.

Not far from Church Knowle Farm Pit is Blashenwell, an area of special scientific interest, which was declared in 1985 to the site of Special Scientific Interest.