Church Knowle

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Church Knowle is a village in Dorset, England, situated near Corfe Castle on the Isle of Purbeck, two miles south of Wareham and five miles west of Swanage. The village has a population of 303 (2001), 9.7% of dwellings are second homes.

Buried in the Churchyard at Church Knowle are the two brothers who brought the first steam locomotive (Primus) to Purbeck in 1866 - The Pike Brothers - John and William Pike (Ball Clay Merchants). They are buried together with their relatives. John is buried with his mother-in-law Charlotte Bridges Mayer, who was the daughter of the great Staffordshire potter - William Adams and wife of the potter Thomas Mayer. John lived at Westport House in Wareham, now the home of Purbeck District Council. William lived nearby at Bucknowle House.

Warburton Pike was born at Church Knowle and was the son of Wiliam Pike He was educated at University College London and went on to the Middle Temple where he was certified as a Special Pleader. In 1879 Pike published "Translations from Dante, Petrarch, Michael Angelo and Vittoria Colonna" Pike then went on to be the first person to translate Dante's Inferno into English in 1881