Shapwick, Dorset

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Shapwick
Shapwick, Dorset - geograph.org.uk - 1061168.jpg
Shapwick village centre
Dorset UK location map.svg
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Shapwick
Location within Dorset
Population175 (2021 census)
OS grid reference ST939020
Civil parish
  • Shapwick
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Blandford Forum
Postcode district DT11
Dialling code 01258
Police Dorset
Fire Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Dorset
50°49′03″N2°05′16″W / 50.8175°N 2.0879°W / 50.8175; -2.0879

Shapwick is a village and civil parish in east Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour five miles south-east of Blandford Forum and eight miles north of Poole. The village had a population of 175 in 2021.

Contents

History

Within the parish, about a mile to the north-east of the village, is the Iron Age hillfort of Badbury Rings. [1]

In Roman times there was a Roman fort at Crab Farm, between Shapwick and Badbury Rings. Just to the west of the fort was a small Romano-British town, believed to be that listed in the Antonine Itinerary as Vindocladia . [2]

Shapwick lay on the important Roman Road from Old Sarum to Durnovaria (now High Street and New Road), and the river Stour was forded here, being a major crossing-point in Roman times. This was the highest navigable point on the river Stour, where boats would anchor, and is therefore the likely origin of the name of the village pub - the Anchor - which is just 200m across the meadows from the river. [3]

House numbers above 200 in the High Street contrast with the smaller number of houses there at present. As the village declined, burnt down thatched cottages were not replaced.

In 1983 Shapwick was used as one of the two real life locations for the Doctor Who story The Awakening . [4] The other village used was Martin in Hampshire.

One of its most famous residents was Charles Bennett, who won the 1500 metres at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

The Shapwick monster

Commemorative weathervane at Crab Farm The Shapwick Monster - geograph.org.uk - 49033.jpg
Commemorative weathervane at Crab Farm

A local legend tells how in the year 1706 a travelling fishmonger was one day passing through the village of Shapwick, when, unbeknownst to him, a crab fell off his cart. The fishmonger continued on his journey, but the local villagers, who had never seen a crab before, gathered around the creature, poking it with sticks, believing it to be a devil or monster. The fishmonger (according to one version of the story) eventually returned looking for his lost crab, and when he saw the commotion, picked up the crab and continued on his way to spread the story about the simple folk of Shapwick. [5]

The story was cemented in verse and pictures in 1841 by the artist Buscall Fox, and today the legend is commemorated on a story board on display at the Anchor Inn, and also in the name of Crab Farm, which has a weathervane showing the crab and villagers. [6]

Governance

In the UK national parliament, Shapwick is within the North Dorset parliamentary constituency.

At the lower level of local government, Shapwick has a group parish council shared with Pamphill, with five councillors representing Pamphill, and four for Shapwick. [7]

At the upper level, Shapwick is in the Dorset unitary district. For elections to Dorset Council, it is part of the Stour and Allen Vale ward which elects 1 member. [8]

Historically, Shapwick was in the ancient Badbury Hundred. It was part of Wimbourne and Cranborne rural district from 1894 to 1974, [9] and then in East Dorset district until Dorset became a unitary district in the 2019 structural changes to local government in England.

Demographics

Census population of Shapwick, Dorset parish
CensusPopulationFemaleMaleHouseholdsSource
1921 304 [10]
1931 282 [10]
1951 232 [10]
1961 214 [10]
1971 230 [10]
1981 180 [10]
1991 200 [10]
2001 190999179 [11]
2011 1999810183 [12]
2021 175918483 [13]

References

  1. ↑ Badbury Archived 26 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine , Castle Facts
  2. ↑ Vindocladia Badbury Rings, Dorset Archived 10 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine , www.romanmap.com
  3. ↑ "Inn With Freddie — The Anchor | Dorset Life - The Dorset Magazine".
  4. ↑ The Awakening, www.doctorwholocations.net
  5. ↑ "The Shapwick Monster". williambarnessociety.org.uk.
  6. ↑ This legend fell off the back of a lorry, www.bournemouthecho.co.uk, 10 October 2008, retrieved 30 April 2013
  7. ↑ "Pamphill and Shapwick Parish Council (Group)" . Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  8. ↑ "Area profile for Stour & Allen Vale - Dorset Council". gi.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  9. ↑ "Wimborne and Cranborne RD through time | Census tables with data for the Local Government District". www.visionofbritain.org.uk.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Past population - Parishes (M-Z), 1921-2001- Census Years". Dorset County Council. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012.
  11. ↑ "Key Statistics". Office for National Statistics. Tables KS001 (Usual resident population) and KS016 (Household spaces and accommodation type). Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  12. ↑ "Key Statistics". Office for National Statistics. Table KS101EW (Usual resident population) and Table KS105EW (Household composition). Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  13. ↑ "Parish Profiles". 2021 United Kingdom census. Office for National Statistics. GSS area E04003380 (Shapwick (Dorset)) in tables PP001 (Number of Households) and PP002 (Sex). Retrieved 5 August 2024.

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