Donhead St Mary | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Location within Wiltshire | |
Population | 1,155 (in 2011) [1] |
OS grid reference | ST907244 |
Civil parish |
|
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Shaftesbury |
Postcode district | SP7 |
Dialling code | 01747 |
Police | Wiltshire |
Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Website | Parish Council |
Donhead St Mary is a village and civil parish in southwest Wiltshire, England, on the county border with Dorset. The village lies about 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) east of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury and stands on high ground above the River Nadder, which rises in the parish.
In the south of the parish, on the A30 Salisbury-Shaftesbury road, are the village of Ludwell and its neighbouring hamlet of Birdbush; Charlton hamlet is south of the road. To the north are the hamlets of Coombe, comprising Higher Coombe, Middle Coombe and Lower Coombe. In the north-west of the parish, near Shaftesbury, is the hamlet of Higher Wincombe.
Castle Rings, an Iron Age hillfort, is in the far north of the parish. A Roman road between Bath and Badbury Rings ran north–south through the parish, past the future sites of St Mary's church and Ludwell village.
Donhead St Mary and its neighbour Donhead St Andrew were once part of a single Donhead estate which belonged to Shaftesbury Abbey. In the 11th century the boundary between the two parishes was drawn, and in the 12th century each had a church. [2]
Donhead Hall, a Grade II* listed country house south of the village, [3] was built in 1724 [4] for Godfrey Huckle (later Kneller; died 1781), [2] a grandson of the portrait painter Sir Godfrey Kneller. The Baroque curves of its design are similar to those of Thomas Archer's Chettle House, not far away in Dorset. [4]
In 1842 a National School was built close to St John's church, replacing an earlier school; it closed in 1876 [5] after the opening of a new school at Ludwell, which continues in use as Ludwell Community Primary School. [6]
In 1875 another National School was built near St Mary's Church, replacing an earlier school of 1840. This school closed in 1922 and its pupils transferred to Ludwell. [7] The building became the village hall. [8]
In 1945 a private Roman Catholic day and boarding school for girls, known as St Mary's School, Shaftesbury, opened at Coombe House, Higher Coombe. [2] It closed in 2020. [9]
In the 12th century the Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin was small and without aisles. [10] Later in that century the south aisle was added, and in the 13th the nave gained a clerestory. In the 14th century the south porch was added, and most of the tower is from the 15th century. In 1966 the church was designated as Grade I listed. [11] In 1980 the benefice was united with Donhead St Andrew and Charlton; [12] today the parish is part of the Benefice of St Bartholomew. [13]
The former rectory, now named Shute House, is a Grade II listed building,. [14] The gardens surrounding the house were designed by Geoffrey Jellicoe and are Grade II* listed on the Historic England's Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. [15]
There was a chapel at Charlton from the 14th century. [2] In 1839 it was replaced by the church of St John the Baptist, built near the main road to be accessible from Ludwell and the Coombes. The church is in Neo-Norman style with a two-tower west facade. [16]
A Wesleyan Methodist church was built in the south of Donhead St Mary village in 1837, and rebuilt in 1868. [17] This was part of the Shaftesbury and Gillingham Wesleyan Methodist Circuit, and later the North Dorset Circuit. The church closed in 2007 and is now a private home. [18] Primitive Methodists built a chapel at Ludwell in or before 1861, which closed c. 1965. [19]
Donhead St Mary is a civil parish with an elected parish council. It is in the area of the Wiltshire Council unitary authority, responsible for most significant local government functions.
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.
Bromham is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is 3+1⁄2 miles (6 km) northwest of Devizes and the same distance east of Melksham.
Coombe Bissett is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire in the River Ebble valley, 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Salisbury on the A354 road that goes south towards Blandford Forum. The parish includes the village of Homington, to the east towards the village of Odstock.
Tollard Royal is a village and civil parish on Cranborne Chase, Wiltshire, England. The parish is on Wiltshire's southern boundary with Dorset and the village is 6 miles (10 km) southeast of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury, on the B3081 road between Shaftesbury and Sixpenny Handley.
Alvediston is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 7 miles (11 km) east of Shaftesbury and 11 miles (18 km) southwest of Salisbury. The area is the source of the River Ebble and is within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Berwick St John is a village and civil parish in southwest Wiltshire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) east of Shaftesbury in Dorset.
Tisbury is a large village and civil parish approximately 13 miles (21 km) west of Salisbury in the English county of Wiltshire. With a population at the 2011 census of 2,253 it is a centre for communities around the upper River Nadder and Vale of Wardour. The parish includes the hamlets of Upper Chicksgrove and Wardour.
Lea is a village in Wiltshire, England, lying approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Malmesbury. It is part of the civil parish of Lea and Cleverton which includes the village of Garsdon and the hamlet of Cleverton. Garsdon was a separate parish until 1934.
Chitterne is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, in the south west of England. The village lies in the middle of Salisbury Plain, about 7 miles (11 km) east of the town of Warminster.
Keevil is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 4 miles (6 km) east of the centre of Trowbridge and a similar distance south of Melksham. The village lies on a slope between Great Hinton and Bulkington. Semington Brook forms much of the northeast boundary of the parish.
St Mary's School was a private Roman Catholic day and boarding school for girls, founded in 1945 in a rural setting near Shaftesbury, England. The school had a sixth form and was a member of the Girls' Schools Association. After operating at a loss for some time, the school closed in July 2020.
Donhead St Andrew is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the River Nadder. It lies 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the Dorset market town of Shaftesbury. The parish includes the hamlets of West End, Milkwell and Brook Waters.
Sedgehill is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sedgehill and Semley, in the southwest of the county of Wiltshire, England. It lies to the west of the A350 primary route, about 3+1⁄4 miles (5 km) north of Shaftesbury, Dorset.
Downton is a village and civil parish on the River Avon in southern Wiltshire, England, about 6 miles (10 km) southeast of the city of Salisbury. The parish is on the county boundary with Hampshire and is close to the New Forest; it includes the villages of Wick and Charlton-All-Saints, and the small ancient settlement of Witherington. The Trafalgar Park estate erased the former settlement of Standlynch. The parish church, Trafalgar House, and two more houses are Grade I listed.
Charlton-All-Saints is a hamlet in the civil parish of Downton, in South Wiltshire, England. It lies immediately west of the River Avon, about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) north of Downton village and 4 mi (6 km) south-east of the city of Salisbury.
East Knoyle is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, in the south-west of England, just west of the A350 and about 9 miles (14 km) south of Warminster and 5 miles (8 km) north of Shaftesbury, Dorset. It was the birthplace of the architect Sir Christopher Wren. The parish includes the hamlets of Holloway, Milton, The Green, Underhill and Upton.
Alderbury is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the south of the county around 3 miles (5 km) southeast of Salisbury.
Shrewton is a village and civil parish on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, around 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Amesbury and 14 miles (23 km) north of Salisbury. It lies on the A360 road between Stonehenge and Tilshead. It is close to the source of the River Till, which flows south to Stapleford.
Semley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sedgehill and Semley, in Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of Shaftesbury in neighbouring Dorset. The hamlet of Sem Hill lies about a quarter of a mile west of the village. In 1961 the parish had a population of 477.
Ludwell is a small village in south Wiltshire, England, approximately 3 miles (5 km) east of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury. It lies within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the A30 Salisbury-Shaftesbury road. For the purposes of local government, Ludwell is part of Donhead St Mary civil parish.
Media related to Donhead St Mary at Wikimedia Commons