1095), half-brother of William the Conqueror, who held more land than any other Norman baron.

The landholding of Studland at the time when the church was probably built is uncertain, but a number of similarities have been identified between Studland church and Romsey Abbey, suggesting that the same master mason was employed at both.

[5] The Church of St Nicholas has a three cell plan, consisting of a nave, chancel and sanctuary with a squat central tower.

[1] On the exterior north and south walls of the nave, the roof rests on tables of carved 12th-century corbels of various designs including floral and grotesque animal heads.

Other carvings depict sexual imagery; a copulating couple, a phallic man and a sheela na gig,[6] some of which have been defaced by iconoclasts; they are believed to have been intended as a warning against immoral behaviour.