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Abbotsbury is a large village and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset, England; situated north-west of Weymouth. It is located from Upwey railway station and from Bournemouth International Airport. The main road running through the village is the B3157, connecting Abbotsbury to Bridport and Weymouth. The village has a population of 505 according to the 2001 census. Abbotsbury is situated on The Fleet under a steep limestone hill. The population has been relatively stable for 50 years. The village contains many old stone cottages, many of them thatched. Abbotsbury is a gateway village on the Jurassic Coast, and consequently is very popular with tourists. [edit] History
One and a half miles outside the village at the top of the limestone hill is a triangular hill fort, Abbotsbury Castle. In the 11th century King Canute rewarded the services of Orca, his steward, with land in Abbotsbury, Portesham and Hilton. It's believed there was already a religious community in Abbotsbury, and Orca and his wealthy wife Tola built an Abbey here. The Abbey dominated life in Abbotsbury for 500 years, but was destroyed in the dissolution. The barn survived and is the largest thatched building in the world. Until the dissolution, Abbotsbury would have been one of the most important villages in the county, and the settlement is laid out around a wide market area. After the decline of its monastery, Abbotsbury became the quiet village it is today. In 1664, during the English Civil War, Roundheads and Cavaliers clashed at Abbotsbury. Cavaliers besieged the Roundheads in the church tower of St. Nicholas' church, which still bears the scars of musket fire. Between 1885 and 1952, Abbotsbury was served by railway, via a branch from the main line to Weymouth. It was primarily designed for freight, in anticipation of the development of shale oil deposits and stone at Portesham, as well as iron ore at Abbotsbury which would be shipped to South Wales for processing. The Abbotsbury terminus of the line was inconveniently sited east of the village because the railway could not buy the land needed to build the station closer to the village. During the Second World War, the coastal front was fortified and defended as a part of British anti-invasion preparations of World War II. Later, the Fleet was used as a machine gun training range, and Bouncing bombs were tested there, for the Dambuster sortie (Operation Chastise). [edit] Research Tips
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