[1] Most of the church dates to a rebuild of 1876–77 to the designs of Thomas Henry Wyatt, but the chancel is 15th-century.

[2] The earlier church at West Orchard was described in the 1859 Post Office Directory of Dorsetshire as a "small Gothic structure".

Lady Westminster also donated an adjoining plot of land for an extension of the churchyard.

R Lowndes, the Canon of Salisbury Cathedral and rector of Sturminster Newton, and the Archbishop of York, William Thomson, preached during the morning service.

The roofs are covered with Donhead tiles and embellished with stone copings and finials.

The chancel is paved with encaustic tiles from Maw & Co of London and contains a reredos of mosiac work.