Gussage is a series of three villages in north Dorset, England, situated along the Gussage Stream, a tributary of the River Allen on Cranborne Chase, 8 mi (13 km) north east of Blandford Forum and 10 mi (16 km) north of Wimborne. The stream runs through all three parishes: Gussage All Saints, population 192, Gussage St Michael, pop. 219 and Gussage St Andrew, population unknown, but smaller than the other two villages.
Sixpenny Handley or Handley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sixpenny Handley and Pentridge, in north east Dorset, England, situated on Cranborne Chase ten miles (16 km) north east of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 1,233. The civil parish was abolished on 1 April 2015 and merged with Pentridge to form Sixpenny Handley and Pentridge.
Tarrant Gunville is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated at the head of the Tarrant Valley on Cranborne Chase five miles northeast of Blandford Forum. The parish covers 3,469 acres at an elevation of 70 to 170 metres. In the 2011 census the parish—which includes the settlement of Stubhampton to the north—had 119 dwellings, 108 households and a population of 233.
Tarrant Hinton is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It is situated in the Tarrant Valley, approximately five miles northeast of Blandford Forum. In 2013 the estimated population of the civil parish was 160.
Tarrant Keyneston is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated in the Tarrant Valley, five miles southeast of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had 152 dwellings, 145 households and a population of 310.
Tarrant Launceston is a small village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated in the Tarrant Valley 5 miles northeast of Blandford Forum. The parish includes part of Blandford Camp to the west and a few buildings on the northern edge of neighbouring Tarrant Monkton to the south. In the 2011 census the parish had 156 households and a population of 498.
Tarrant Monkton is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated in the Tarrant Valley about four miles east-northeast of Blandford Forum. Within the parish boundary, 1+1⁄2 miles over hills to the west, lies the major part of Blandford Camp army base. In the 2011 census the parish—including the army base—had a population of 1,986. The village is centred on the All Saints Parish Church, opposite which is the Langton Arms, a public house and restaurant.
Farnham is a village and civil parish in North Dorset, in the south of England, on Cranborne Chase, seven miles northeast of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 183.
The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England, within the ecclesiastical Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the historic county of Dorset, and most of Wiltshire. The diocese is led by Stephen Lake, Bishop of Salisbury, and by the diocesan synod. The bishop's seat is at Salisbury Cathedral.
The River Tarrant is a 12 km long tributary of the River Stour in Dorset. The valley lies to the east of Blandford Forum. The river rises near Cranborne Chase, an area of chalk downland, and flows broadly from north to south before joining the river Stour. The eight Tarrant Valley villages/hamlets all bear the name of the river. Listed in order from the river's source they are:
Tarrant Crawford is a small village and civil parish at the lower end of the Tarrant Valley in Dorset, England. The River Tarrant joins the larger River Stour here. The village consists of two small settlements: Crawford Farm and a few houses in the Stour Valley, and Tarrant Abbey Farm, a church, and a few houses in the Tarrant Valley about 1⁄2 mile to the north. Locals regard the two settlements as separate villages. In 2013 the estimated population of the civil parish was 20.
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.
Gussage Saint Michael is a small village in East Dorset, in the south of England. At the 2001 census, the village had a population of 219. Gussage St Michael is tucked off the main A354 as it runs through the Cranborne Chase, ten miles from Blandford Forum and fourteen miles from Salisbury. The village has no local shops, with the nearest store being in Cranborne, some 6 miles (10 km) away. The nearest public house is the Drovers Inn, a mile down a country lane in the sister village of Gussage All Saints.
Geoffrey John Wainwright, was a British archaeologist specialising in prehistory. He was the Chief Archaeologist of English Heritage from 1989 to 1999, and visiting professor to a number of universities. He served as president of the Prehistoric Society from 1981 to 1985 and the Society of Antiquaries of London from 2007 to 2010.
Buzbury Rings is an Iron Age hillfort about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Blandford Forum and 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of the village of Tarrant Keyneston, in Dorset, England.
Harries Collin Bowen, was a Welsh archaeologist and landscape historian. He served in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, British Army during the Second World War, and then studied history at Merton College, Oxford. From 1949 to his retirement in 1980, he worked for the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England.
Cranborne Chase is an electoral ward in Dorset. Since 2019, the ward has elected 1 councillor to Dorset Council.
