Bourton, Dorset

Last updated

Bourton
War Memorial at Bourton - geograph.org.uk - 187316.jpg
Crossroads at Bourton
Dorset UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Bourton
Location within Dorset
Population822  [1]
OS grid reference ST7630
Civil parish
  • Bourton
Unitary authority
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town GILLINGHAM
Postcode district SP8
Dialling code 01747
Police Dorset
Fire Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Dorset
51°04′20″N2°19′48″W / 51.0723°N 2.3299°W / 51.0723; -2.3299

Bourton is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated north of the A303 road on the border with Somerset and Wiltshire between Mere and Wincanton. The parish is the most northerly in Dorset and in the 2011 census had a population of 822. [1] Bourton is the most populous village in the electoral ward called Bourton and District. The District extends to Silton then south to Buckhorn Weston and Kington Magna. The total ward population at the abovementioned census was 1,905. [2] The village lies on the River Stour which passes through the historic Bourton Mill, once home to the second largest water wheel in Britain (60 feet (18 m) in diameter) .

The village has two stores, a petrol station and a public house. The White Lion Inn stands on the High Street, which leads off what was the old main London to Exeter road before the village was bypassed to the south in 1992 by the A303. St George’s Church, which stands on one of the highest points in the village, was built via public subscription in 1810 and borders the primary school of the same name.

The point at which the counties of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire meet beside the lake at the rear of Bourton Mill is marked by Egbert's Stone which once fell into the River Stour, but was rescued and re-erected. In 878 it formed the rallying point for Alfred the Great's troops before the Battle of Ethandun. His grandfather, Egbert of Wessex, was said to have placed the stone there to settle the shire boundaries. [3] Just over the county border is King Alfred's Tower.

The mill, which is mentioned in the Domesday book, has had many incarnations. As a linen mill it processed flax and supplied canvas to the Royal Navy but when industry declined it was developed into a foundry with a blast furnace and was one of the first places to make the new threshing machines in the West of England. It went on to build boilers, steam lorries and gas engines as well as gaining a reputation as a builder of water wheels. During the First World War Mills Bombs were produced here in vast quantities. After the Gasper dam burst upriver in the summer of 1917, much of the machinery was washed from the factory and it took a number of years for industry to restart on the site. When it did return in 1933 the factory entered its final phase as a dried milk processing plant and this continued up until its closure in 1998. It has now been demolished to make way for the Mill Lake development.

Chaffeymoor House, located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at Chaffeymoor, is a large 17th-century house. It is a Grade II listed building. [4] Its gardens are open to the public. [5]

The nearest railway station is in neighbouring Gillingham. Trains run on the Exeter to Waterloo line.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Stour, Dorset</span> Human settlement in England

East Stour is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Dorset in southern England. It lies within the Dorset administrative district, about two miles south of the town of Gillingham. The village is 1⁄2 mile from the east bank of the River Stour in the Blackmore Vale and two miles west of the broadly conical local landmark Duncliffe Hill. Above the west bank of the river, about one mile away, is the village of West Stour. The A30 London to Penzance road passes through the village. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 573.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mere, Wiltshire</span> Market town in Wiltshire, England

Mere is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It lies at the extreme southwestern tip of Salisbury Plain, close to the borders of Somerset and Dorset. The parish includes the hamlets of Barrow Street, Burton, Charnage, Limpers Hill, Rook Street and Southbrook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackmore Vale</span> Geographical area in north Dorset

The Blackmore Vale is a vale, or wide valley, in north Dorset, and to a lesser extent south Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gillingham, Dorset</span> Town and civil parish in Dorset, England

Gillingham is a town and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It lies on the B3095 and B3081 roads, approximately four miles south of the A303 trunk road and five miles northwest of Shaftesbury. It is the most northerly town in the county. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 11,756. The neighbouring hamlets of Peacemarsh, Bay and Wyke have become part of Gillingham as it has expanded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Somerset</span> Former non-metropolitan district in England

South Somerset was a local government district in Somerset, England, from 1974 to 2023. The district covered an area of 370 square miles (958 km2) ranging from the borders with Devon, Wiltshire and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. It had a population of approximately 158,000. The administrative centre of the district was Yeovil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeovilton</span> Village in Somerset, England

Yeovilton is a village in Somerset, England, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Ilchester and 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Yeovil. It had a population of 1,226 in the 2011 census, estimated at 1,418 in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iwerne Minster</span> Human settlement in England

Iwerne Minster is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It lies on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, approximately midway between the towns of Shaftesbury and Blandford Forum. The A350 main road between those towns passes through the edge of the village, just to the west. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had a population of 978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sturminster Marshall</span> Village and civil parish in England

Sturminster Marshall is a village and civil parish in the east of Dorset in England, situated on the River Stour between Blandford Forum and Poole. The parish had a population of 1,895 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,969 at the 2011 Census and includes the village of Almer west of Sturminster Marshall, near Winterborne Zelston and the hamlet of Henbury to the south-east of the village. The village is twinned with the French commune of Sainte-Mère-Église in Normandy. The appropriate electoral ward is called 'Stour'. From Sturminster Marshall the ward goes east to Pamphill, with a total population of 2,582.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cucklington</span> Village and parish in Somerset, England

Cucklington is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated on a hill 3 miles (4.8 km) south east of Wincanton and 4 miles (6.4 km) north west of Gillingham in the South Somerset district, near the Dorset border. The village has a population of 173.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilton</span> Village in Somerset, England

Ilton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 8 miles (12.9 km) south-east of Taunton, and 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Ilminster in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 854. The parish includes the hamlets of Ilford and Cad Green with its 16th-century almshouses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeals</span> Village in Wiltshire, England

Zeals is a village and civil parish in southwest Wiltshire, England. The village is about 2.2 miles (3.5 km) west of Mere, next to the A303 road towards Wincanton, and adjoins the villages of Bourton, Dorset and Penselwood, Somerset. Its name comes from the Old English sealh meaning a small willow or sallow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blandford St Mary</span> Human settlement in England

Blandford St Mary is a village and civil parish in the North Dorset district of Dorset, England. The village is on the south bank of the River Stour, immediately opposite the larger town of Blandford Forum. The village grew up around the Badger Brewery, owned by Hall and Woodhouse, which is based there. At the 2001 census it had a population of 1,233. The appropriate electoral ward is called 'Portman' with naturally the most populous area being south of the river. The ward includes Bryanston School and also runs south west almost to Thornicombe. The total ward population at the abovementioned census was 2,436.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rode, Somerset</span> Human settlement in England

Rode is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Somerset in England, 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Frome and 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Trowbridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Camel</span> Village in Somerset, England

West Camel is a village and civil parish in south Somerset, England, about 7 miles (11.3 km) north of the town of Yeovil. It lies either side of the River Cam, just south of the A303, and has a population of 459. The parish includes the hamlet of Urgashay. Neighbouring villages include Queen Camel, and Bridgehampton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penselwood</span> Village in Somerset, England

Penselwood is a village and civil parish in the English county of Somerset. It is located 4 miles (6.4 km) north east of Wincanton, 4 miles (6.4 km) south east of Bruton, 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Mere, and 5 miles (8.0 km) north west of Gillingham. The south-east of the parish borders Zeals and Stourhead in Wiltshire, and Bourton in Dorset. In 1991 the parish occupied 523 hectares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stourton with Gasper</span> Civil parish in Wiltshire, England

Stourton with Gasper is a civil parish in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire. Its main settlement is the village of Stourton, along with the hamlets of Bonham and Gasper. The village is about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) northwest of the small town of Mere, and is part of the Stourhead estate, which includes much of the west of the parish. The estate is in the ownership of the National Trust, and the entrance to the estate's famous house and garden is through the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sparkford</span> Village in Somerset, England

Sparkford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Weston Bampfylde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitelackington</span> Village in England

Whitelackington is a village and civil parish on the A303 one mile north east of Ilminster, in Somerset, England. The parish includes Dillington Park and the hamlets of Atherstone and Ashwell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winsham</span> Human settlement in England

Winsham is a village and civil parish 4 miles (6 km) south-east of Chard and 6 miles (10 km) from Crewkerne, in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish, which has a population of approximately 750 residents living in some 335 households, includes the hamlets of Whatley, Bridge, Purtington and Ammerham, and covers an area of approximately 12 square miles (3,100 ha).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilmington, Wiltshire</span> Human settlement in England

Kilmington is a village and civil parish in the extreme west of Wiltshire, England, about 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Warminster. The parish includes the hamlets of Kilmington Common and Norton Ferris.

References

  1. 1 2 "Area: Bourton (Parish), Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Bourton and District 2011". Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Leete-Hodge, Lornie (1985). Curiosities of Somerset. Bodmin: Bossiney Books. p. 6. ISBN   0-906456-98-3.
  4. ↑ Historic England. "Chaffeymoor House (Grade II) (1305289)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 2014-03-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Bourton, Dorset at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.