Dorsetshire Gap

Last updated February 06, 2024

The Dorsetshire Gap, also called the Dorset Gap, is an important, historic track junction - once the hub of central Dorset in southern England - and a well known beauty spot and magnet for ramblers.^[1] It is located on the northern slopes of Lyscombe Hill and not far from the village of Melcombe Bingham in the vicinity of grid reference ST743031.^[2] It is 13 km west-northwest of Bere Regis.^[3]

Five ancient tracks, now bridleways, with steep, narrow, man-made cuttings, meet at the Dorsetshire Gap at the edge of the Higher Melcombe estate. The Gap was an important road crossing from the Middle Ages until the 19th century, linking the trails of the Ridgeway with the drove roads to the north.^[4]^[5] Travellers may originally have taken advantage of slight dips in the hillside to cross over the pass (mainly from northwest to southeast) and, over the centuries, these paths became worn into deep gullies.^[6]

All around this site is evidence of prehistoric and medieval settlement: hilltop cross dykes, barrows and traces of an incomplete Iron Age hill fort at Nettlecombe Tout and the remnants of a medieval settlement in the valley below. ^[4]

Hiking

The Dorsetshire Gap is on the Wessex Ridgeway between Iwerne Courtney and Sydling St Nicholas.

Related Research Articles

The Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk ridge of the Berkshire Downs to the River Thames at the Goring Gap, part of the Icknield Way which ran, not always on the ridge, from Salisbury Plain to East Anglia. The route was adapted and extended as a National Trail, created in 1972. The Ridgeway National Trail follows the ancient Ridgeway from Overton Hill, near Avebury, to Streatley, then follows footpaths and parts of the ancient Icknield Way through the Chiltern Hills to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. The National Trail is 87 miles (140 km) long.

Stalbridge is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale, near the border with Somerset. In the 2011 census the civil parish—which includes the hamlets of Stalbridge Weston, and Thornhill—had 1,160 households and a population of 2,698. The nearest towns are Sturminster Newton, four miles southeast, Sherborne, 6 mi (10 km) west, and Shaftesbury, 7 mi (11 km) northeast. Stalbridge is situated on the A357 on a low limestone ridge, one mile west of the River Stour. It officially became a town in April 1992.

The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.

Maiden Newton is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in south-west England. It lies within the Dorset Council administrative area, about 9 miles (14 km) north-west of the county town, Dorchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckland Newton</span> Village in Dorset, England

Buckland Newton is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated beneath the scarp slope of the Dorset Downs, 7+1⁄2 miles (12.1 km) south of Sherborne. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 622. The village covers around 6000 acres.

The Dorset Downs are an area of chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger chalk formation which also includes Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, Hampshire Downs, Chiltern Hills, North Downs and South Downs.

Melcombe Horsey is a civil parish in the county of Dorset in South West England. It contains the small settlements of Melcombe Bingham, Bingham's Melcombe and Higher Melcombe, the last being the site of the deserted village of Melcombe Horsey. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 141.

Stratton is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated in the Frome valley about 3 miles (4.8 km) north-west of Dorchester. The parish includes the hamlets of Grimstone, Ash Hill and Wrackleford which, like the village, lie on or near the A37 trunk road. Ash Hill is a small estate east of the village near the railway. Wrackleford is a group of houses further east and centred about Wrackleford House and including Higher Wrackleford and Lower Wrackleford. In addition there are a number of isolated farms and houses including a few in an area called Langford near the Sydling Water in the north-west part of the parish.

Badbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort and Scheduled Monument in east Dorset, England. It was in the territory of the Durotriges. In the Roman era a temple was located immediately west of the fort, and there was a Romano-British town known as Vindocladia a short distance to the south-west.

Dorset is a rural county in south west England. Its archaeology documents much of the history of southern England.

Tyneham is a ghost village abandoned in 1943 and former civil parish, now in the parish of Steeple with Tyneham, in the Dorset district, in the south of Dorset, England, near Lulworth on the Isle of Purbeck. In 2001 the civil parish had a population of 0. The civil parish was abolished on 1 April 2014 and merged with Steeple to form Steeple with Tyneham.

Historic roads are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient trackways, long-lasting roads, important trade routes, and migration trails. Many historic routes, such as the Silk Road, the Amber Road, and the Royal Road of the Persian Empire, covered great distances and their impact on human settlements remain today.

Waddon Hill is a hill and the site of an old Roman fort near Beaminster, in the English county of Dorset. The name Waddon is from the Old English meaning wheat hill.

Weymouth is a sea-side town and civil parish in the Dorset district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, 11 km (7 mi) south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third-largest settlement in Dorset after Bournemouth and Poole. The greater Weymouth urban area has a population of 72,802.

Hardown Hill is a hill between Ryall and Morcombelake in the county of Dorset, England. It rises west of the South Dorset Downs, close to the Dorset coast, and overlooks the Marshwood Vale to the north. Its prominence qualifies it as one of Dorset's four Marilyns and it is listed as one of the "top 12 Dorset views to take your breath away" by Dorset's official tourist website.

Lyscombe Hill is a hill near Melcombe Bingham about 14 kilometres north-northeast of Dorchester in the county of Dorset, England. It is part of the Dorset Downs and is listed as a so-called HuMP.

Ridgeway Hill, also referred to as Grange Hill or Steeple Hill, is the third highest point of the Purbeck Hills in the county of Dorset standing at 199 metres (653 ft), is one of the only hills with a prominence of over a hundred metres, HuMPs, in the county. Near the top of the hill is an 18th-century folly known as Grange Arch, built by the former owner of Creech Grange, Denis Bond. On the eastern spur of the hill is Stonehill Down which is now a nature reserve. There are also good views of Swyre Head on the Jurassic Coast.

At 258 metres, Bell Hill is one of the highest hills in the county of Dorset, England and a high point on the Wessex Ridgeway.

At 251 metres, Ball Hill is one of the highest hills in the county of Dorset, England, and is on the Wessex Ridgeway.

References

↑ The Dorset Gap Archived 9 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine at www.highermelcombemanor.co.uk. Accessed on 28 Mar 2013.
↑ Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map series, no. 194.
↑ The Dorsetshire Gap at www.themodernantiquarian.com. Accessed on 28 Mar 2013.
1 2 Dorsetshire Gap at www.dorsetforyou.com. Accessed on 28 Mar 2013.
↑ Four-way signpost at the Dorsetshire Gap at www.geolocation.ws. Accessed on 28 Mar 2013.
↑ Quinlan, Ray (2003). Where the five tracks meet, for several decades there has been a waterproofed biscuit containing a notebook and pen, which generations of passers-by have signed. The Greater Ridgeway, Cicerone, p. 48, ISBN 978-1-84965-014-4.

This article related to the history of England is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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.

[HMM-1] The Dorset Gap Archived 9 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine at www.highermelcombemanor.co.uk. Accessed on 28 Mar 2013.

[OS-2] Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map series, no. 194.

[3] The Dorsetshire Gap at www.themodernantiquarian.com. Accessed on 28 Mar 2013.

[DFY-4] 1 2 Dorsetshire Gap at www.dorsetforyou.com. Accessed on 28 Mar 2013.

[5] Four-way signpost at the Dorsetshire Gap at www.geolocation.ws. Accessed on 28 Mar 2013.

[6] Quinlan, Ray (2003). Where the five tracks meet, for several decades there has been a waterproofed biscuit containing a notebook and pen, which generations of passers-by have signed. The Greater Ridgeway, Cicerone, p. 48, ISBN 978-1-84965-014-4.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]