Buckland Newton

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Buckland Newton
Bucklandnewtonchurch.jpg
The Church of the Holy Rood, Buckland Newton
Dorset UK location map.svg
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Buckland Newton
Location within Dorset
Area6.6 sq mi (17 km2)
Population671 (2021 census)
•  Density 102/sq mi (39/km2)
OS grid reference ST692053
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Dorchester
Postcode district DT2
Dialling code 01300
Police Dorset
Fire Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Dorset
50°50′47″N2°26′24″W / 50.8463°N 2.4401°W / 50.8463; -2.4401

Buckland Newton is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated beneath the scarp slope of the Dorset Downs on the southern periphery of the Blackmore Vale, 7+1⁄2 miles (12.1 km) south of Sherborne. Approximately three quarters of the parish lies within the Dorset National Landscape area. [1]

Contents

The parish covers an area of around 4,200 acres (17 km2) and includes the hamlets of Bookham, Duntish, Henley and Sharnhill Green. [1] In the 2021 census it had a population of 671 living in 289 households.

Amenities in the village include a pub (The Gaggle of Geese), shop, primary school and village hall. [2]

History

The name 'Buckland' derives from bōc-land, Old English for 'charter land' or land with special privileges created by royal diploma, while 'Newton' is a more recent addition taken from Sturminster Newton, a nearby town. [3]

Evidence for prehistoric settlement comes from Bronze Age barrows at Gales Hill and the Iron Age hill fort of Dungeon Hill. [4]

The historic parish was larger than the modern civil parish, at around 6,000 acres (24 km2), [5] and originally had five settlements, each with their own open field system: Buckland Newton, Brockhampton, Duntish, Henley (perhaps previously known as Knoll) and Minterne Parva, the last now part of Minterne Magna parish. [5] Farms based on small mediaeval enclosures include Chaston Farm, Revels Farm, and possibly Bookham. [5]

Although the parish church of the Holy Rood was restored in the 19th century, it has a 13th-century chancel and 15th-century nave, west tower and aisles, plus fragments of 12th-century sculpture which are evidence of an earlier structure. [5] In 1980 the writer and literary director Roland Gant described Holy Rood as "a lovely church", but that the first impression it created was not favourable due to its exterior having been rendered in cement, "giving the Perpendicular square tower the look of a Foreign Legion fort". [6] The church has six bells, the oldest having been cast around 1380. [7]

Duntish Court, sited about 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) north of the main village, was a compact, classical country house built in 1764 beside the main Weymouth to Bath turnpike road. Designed by William Chambers for Fitzwalter Foy, the court — originally named Castle Hill — had notable plasterwork, grounds of 1,300 acres (530 ha) and played a role in the arrest of agricultural labourers in Dorset's 'Captain Swing' riots of 1830. It was demolished in 1965. [8]

Geography

Prominent nearby hills at the top of the escarpment to the southeast include the 820 ft (250 m) Ball Hill and the 860 ft (260 m) Lyscombe Hill near the Dorsetshire Gap. [9] The southern part of the parish is mainly chalk with an elevation ranging from 500–800 feet (150–240 m). The northern lies between 300–500 feet (90–150 m) above sea-level and is mainly clay with Gault and Corallian Limestone beds. [5]

The River Lydden rises in the numerous springs round the village, principally Buckland Bottom and Bladeley Bottom [9]

There are 11 locally recognised Sites of Nature Conservation Interest within or close to the parish, as well as areas of Ancient Woodland. The main habitat types for sites of wildlife interest are deciduous woodland and calcareous grassland (the latter is particularly significant for butterflies). There is also a small area of lowland meadows within Buckland Newton Itself. [1]

Governance

At the lower level of local government, as a civil parish Buckland Newton has a parish council of 9 members. [10]

At the upper level, Buckland Newton is in Dorset unitary district. For elections to Dorset Council, it is part of Chalk Valleys electoral ward. Historically, the village was within the Buckland Newton Hundred. With the creation of rural districts in 1894, it became part of Cerne Rural District, before moving into Dorchester Rural District in 1933. [11] From 1974 it was part of West Dorset district, until Dorset became a unitary district in 2019.

For elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Buckland Newton is in West Dorset constituency.

Demographics

Census population of Buckland Newton parish
CensusPopulationFemaleMaleHouseholdsSource
1921 572 [12]
1931 549 [12]
1951 490 [12]
1961 470 [12]
1971 410 [12]
1981 490 [12]
1991 540 [12]
2001 618318300252 [13]
2011 622316306260 [14]
2021 671342329289 [15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Neighbourhood Plan". Archived from the original on 23 November 2018.
  2. ↑ "Around the Village". Buckland Newton Community Website. bucklandnewton.com. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  3. ↑ David Mills, ed. (2011). A Dictionary of British Place Names. Oxford University Press. p. 83. ISBN   9780199609086 . Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  4. ↑ 'Buckland Newton', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 3, Central (London, 1970), pp. 48-54. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/dorset/vol3/pp48-54.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "'Buckland Newton', An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 3: Central (1970), pp. 48-54". British History Online. University of London & History of Parliament Trust. November 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Roland Gant (1980). Dorset Villages. Robert Hale Ltd. p. 72. ISBN   0-7091-8135-3.
  7. ↑ Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers, Central Council of Church Bell Ringers
  8. ↑ Jo Draper (May 2008). "Leave not a rack behind". Dorset Life Magazine. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  9. 1 2 Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series
  10. ↑ "Buckland Newton Parish Plan 2023" (PDF). Buckland Newton Parish Council.
  11. ↑ https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450147.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Past population - Parishes (A-L), 1921-2001- Census Years". Dorset County Council. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012.
  13. ↑ "Key Statistics". United Kingdom Census 2001. Office for National Statistics. Area 19UH019 in Tables KS001 (Usual resident population) and KS016 (Household spaces and accommodation type). Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "Key Statistics". United Kingdom Census 2011. Office for National Statistics. Area E04003510 in Table KS101EW (Usual resident population) and Table KS401EW (Dwellings, household spaces and accommodation type). Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "Parish Profiles". 2021 United Kingdom census. Office for National Statistics. Area E04003510 in Tables PP001 (Number of Households) and PP002 (Sex). Retrieved 5 August 2024.
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