Bourton, Dorset

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Bourton
War Memorial at Bourton - geograph.org.uk - 187316.jpg
Crossroads at Bourton
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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 Coordinates: 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 is now derelict with many of the oldest buildings in a state of collapse.

Chaffeymoor Lodge, located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at Chaffeymoor, is a large 17th-century house which retains original features including stone mullioned windows, large fireplaces and exposed beams. [4] The extensive grounds include mature gardens, an ornamental pond, a croquet lawn and a lake, are recommended by The Royal Horticultural Society. [5]

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

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Zeals Human settlement in England

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Bourton, Vale of White Horse Human settlement in England

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Rode, Somerset Human settlement in England

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Penselwood Human settlement in England

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Stourton with Gasper 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.

Sparkford Village in Somerset, England

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

Kilmington, Wiltshire 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. ↑ "A Beautiful Stone Manor House to rent in Dorset". Chaffeymoor Grange. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 2014-03-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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