Purbeck District

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Purbeck
Purbeck District
Purbeck UK locator map.svg
Purbeck shown within Dorset
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region South West England
Non-metropolitan county Dorset
StatusAbolished
Admin HQ Wareham
Incorporated1 April 1974 until 1 April 2019
Government
  TypeNon-metropolitan district council
  BodyPurbeck District Council
  Leadership Leader and Cabinet ( )
   MPs Michael Tomlinson
Richard Drax
Area
  Total156.1 sq mi (404.4 km2)
Population
 (2018)
  Total46,800
  Density300/sq mi (120/km2)
  Ethnicity
98.8% White
Time zone UTC0 (GMT)
  Summer (DST) UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code 19UG
GSS code E07000051
OS grid reference SY9223587441
Website www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk

Purbeck was a local government district in Dorset, England. The district was named after the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula that forms a large proportion of the district's area. However, it extended significantly further north and west than the traditional boundary of the Isle of Purbeck which is the River Frome. The district council was based in the town of Wareham, which is itself north of the Frome.

Contents

The district was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, from the former municipal borough of Wareham, Swanage urban district and Wareham and Purbeck Rural District. The district and its council were abolished on 1 April 2019, together with the other four districts outside the greater Bournemouth area, to form a new Dorset unitary authority. [1]

Its name is recorded in 948 AD as Anglo-Saxon Purbicinga, meaning "of the people of Purbic", where Purbic may be a former Celtic name, or may contain a supposed Anglo-Saxon word *pur or "male lamb".

Settlements

Settlements with a population over 2,500 are in bold.

Places of interest

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corfe Castle (village)</span> Village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset

Corfe Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It is the site of a ruined castle of the same name. The village and castle stand over a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The village lies in the gap below the castle and is around four miles (6.4 km) south-east of Wareham, and four miles (6.4 km) north-northwest of Swanage. Both the main A351 road from Lytchett Minster to Swanage and the Swanage Railway thread their way through the gap and the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Studland and Godlingston Heath National Nature Reserve</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swanage</span> Town in England

Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately 6+14 miles (10 km) south of Poole and 25 miles (40 km) east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 9,601. Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks, with Studland Bay and Poole Harbour to the north. Within the parish are Durlston Bay and Durlston Country Park to the south of the town. The parish also includes the areas of Herston, just to the west of the town, and Durlston, just to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Purbeck</span> Peninsula in Dorset, England

The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well defined, with some medieval sources placing it at Flower's Barrow above Worbarrow Bay. John Hutchins, author of The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset, defined Purbeck's western boundary as the Luckford Lake steam, which runs south from the Frome. According to writer and broadcaster Ralph Wightman, Purbeck "is only an island if you accept the barren heaths between Arish Mell and Wareham as cutting off this corner of Dorset as effectively as the sea." The most southerly point is St Alban's Head.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wareham, Dorset</span> Human settlement in England

Wareham is a historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles (13 km) southwest of Poole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upton, Dorset</span> Human settlement in England

Upton is a town in south-east Dorset, England. Upton is to the east of Holton Heath and Upton Heath, and to the north of the Poole suburb of Hamworthy. It is the second largest town in the Purbeck Hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wytch Farm</span> Oil field and processing site in Dorset, England

Wytch Farm is an oil field and processing facility in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. It is the largest onshore oil field in western Europe. The facility, taken over by Perenco in 2011, was previously operated by BP. It is located in a coniferous forest on Wytch Heath on the southern shore of Poole Harbour, two miles (3.2 km) north of Corfe Castle. Oil and natural gas (methane) are both exported by pipeline; liquefied petroleum gas is exported by road tanker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Dorset</span> Aspect of history

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885 onwards

South Dorset is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Richard Drax, a Conservative. The constituency was created as a consequence of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, although the area covered has changed since then.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid Dorset and North Poole (UK Parliament constituency)</span>

Mid Dorset and North Poole is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Michael Tomlinson, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Dorset</span>

Dorset is a county located in the middle of the south coast of England. It lies between the latitudes 50.512°N and 51.081°N and the longitudes 1.682°W and 2.958°W, and occupies an area of 2,653 km2. It spans 90 kilometres (56 mi) from east to west and 63 kilometres (39 mi) from north to south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorset Heaths</span>

The Dorset Heaths form an important area of heathland within the Poole Basin in southern England. Much of the area is protected.

References

  1. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (25 May 2018). "The Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole (Structural Changes) Order 2018". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2018.

50°41′9.60″N2°6′35.71″W / 50.6860000°N 2.1099194°W / 50.6860000; -2.1099194