Place:Dorset, England


NameDorset
Alt namesDORsource: Curious Fox: UK Counties and Shires [online] (2002). accessed 16 Dec 2002
Dorsetshiresource: Wikipedia
Dorsitsource: Wikipedia
TypeHistoric county, Administrative county, Modern county
Coordinates50.717°N 2.433°W
Located inEngland
Contained Places
Unknown
Holworth in Owermoigne
Ancient parish
Abbotsbury
Affpuddle
Alderholt
Allington
Almer ( - 1933 )
Alton Pancras
Anderson
Ashmore
Askerswell
Athelhampton
Axminster ( - 1844 )
Batcombe
Beer Hackett
Belchalwell ( - 1888 )
Bere Regis
Bettiscombe
Bincombe
Bishops Caundle
Blandford Forum
Blandford St. Mary
Bloxworth
Bothenhampton
Bradford Abbas
Bradford Peverell
Bradpole
Bridport
Broadmayne
Broadwindsor
Bryanston
Buckhorn Weston
Buckland Newton
Buckland Ripers
Burleston
Burstock
Burton Bradstock
Canford Magna ( - 1933 )
Cann
Catherston Leweston
Cattistock
Caundle Marsh
Cerne Abbas
Chalbury
Chardstock ( - 1896 )
Charlton Marshall
Charminster
Charmouth
Chedington
Cheselbourne
Chettle
Chickerell
Chilcombe
Childe Okeford
Chilfrome
Christchurch ( 1974 - )
Church Knowle
Clifton Maybank
Compton Abbas
Compton Valence
Coombe Keynes
Corfe Castle
Corscombe
Cranborne
Dewlish
Dorchester All Saints ( - 1927 )
Dorchester Holy Trinity ( - 1894 )
Dorchester St. Peter ( - 1927 )
Durweston
East Chelborough
East Holme
East Lulworth
East Stoke
Edmondsham
Farnham ( - 1885 )
Fifehead Magdalen ( - 1920 )
Fifehead Neville
Fleet
Folke
Fontmell Magna
Fordington
Frampton
Frome St. Quintin
Frome Vauchurch
Gillingham
Glanvilles Wootton
Goathill
Godmanstone
Gussage All Saints
Gussage St. Michael
Halstock
Hammoon
Hampreston ( 1860 - 1972 )
Hanford
Hawkchurch
Haydon
Hazelbury Bryan
Hermitage
Hilton
Hinton Martell
Hinton Parva
Hinton St. Mary
Holwell ( 1844 - )
Hooke
Horton
Ibberton
Iwerne Courtney
Iwerne Minster
Iwerne Stepleton
Kimmeridge
Kington Magna
Langton Herring
Langton Long Blandford
Langton Matravers
Lillington
Littlebredy
Litton Cheney
Loders
Long Bredy
Long Crichel
Longburton
Lydlinch
Lyme Regis
Lytchett Matravers
Maiden Newton
Manston
Mapperton
Mappowder
Marnhull
Melbury Abbas
Melbury Bubb
Melbury Osmond
Melbury Sampford
Melcombe Horsey
Milborne St. Andrew ( - 1933 )
Milton Abbas
Minterne Magna
Misterton ( 1835 - 1896 )
Morden
Moreton
Nether Cerne
Nether Compton
Netherbury
North Poorton
Oborne
Okeford Fitzpane
Osmington
Over Compton
Owermoigne
Pentridge
Piddletrenthide
Pilsdon
Pimperne
Portesham
Powerstock
Poxwell
Poyntington ( 1896 - )
Puddletown
Pulham
Puncknowle
Purse Caundle
Rampisham
Ryme Intrinseca
Sandford Orcas ( 1896 - )
Seaborough ( 1896 - )
Shaftesbury All Saints ( - 1423 )
Shaftesbury Holy Trinity ( - 1894 )
Shaftesbury St. Andrew ( - 1534 )
Shaftesbury St. Edward ( - 1423 )
Shaftesbury St. James ( - 1894 )
Shaftesbury St. John ( - 1446 )
Shaftesbury St. Lawrence ( - 1534 )
Shaftesbury St. Martin
Shaftesbury St. Peter ( - 1894 )
Shapwick
Sherborne
Shillingstone
Silton
Sixpenny Handley
South Perrott
Spetisbury
Stalbridge
Steeple ( - 2014 )
Stinsford
Stock Gaylard
Stockland ( - 1844 )
Stoke Abbott
Stoke Wake
Stourpaine
Stourton Caundle
Studland
Sturminster Marshall
Sturminster Newton
Sutton Waldron
Swanage
Swyre
Sydling St. Nicholas
Symondsbury
Tarrant Crawford
Tarrant Gunville
Tarrant Hinton
Tarrant Keyneston
Tarrant Monkton
Tarrant Rawston
Tarrant Rushton
Thorncombe ( 1844 - )
Thornford
Tincleton
Todber
Tollard Royal ( - 1880 )
Toller Fratrum
Toller Porcorum
Tolpuddle
Trent ( 1896 - )
Turners Puddle
Turnworth
Tyneham ( - 2014 )
Up Cerne
Upwey ( - 1933 )
Wambrook ( - 1895 )
Wareham Holy Trinity ( - 1894 )
Wareham Lady St. Mary
Wareham St. Martin
Warmwell
West Chelborough
West Compton
West Knighton
West Parley
West Stafford
Whitchurch Canonicorum
Whitcombe
Wimborne All Saints ( - 1732 )
Wimborne Minster
Wimborne St. Giles
Winfrith Newburgh
Winterborne Abbas
Winterborne Came
Winterborne Clenston
Winterborne Houghton
Winterborne Monkton
Winterborne St. Martin
Winterborne Steepleton
Winterborne Stickland
Winterborne Tomson ( - 1933 )
Winterborne Whitechurch
Winterborne Zelston
Witchampton
Woodsford
Woolland
Wootton Fitzpaine
Worth Matravers
Wraxall
Wyke Regis ( - 1933 )
Yetminster
Borough (county)
Bournemouth ( 1974 - )
Borough (municipal)
Blandford Forum
Bridport
Christchurch ( 1974 - )
Dorchester
Lyme Regis
Poole
Shaftesbury
Wareham
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis ( - 1974 )
Weymouth
Cemetery
St. Michael's Church Cemetery (Lyme Regis)
Chapelry
Arne
Beaminster
Castleton
Chetnole
Chideock
Corfe Mullen
East Orchard
East Stour
Evershot
Hamworthy ( - 1905 )
Hilfield
Holnest
Leigh
Lytchett Minster
Margaret Marsh
Marshwood
Melcombe Regis
Mosterton
North Wootton
Poole St. James ( - 1905 )
Shipton Gorge
Sixpenny Handley
Stanton St. Gabriel
Stratton
Tarrant Launceston
Wambrook ( - 1895 )
West Orchard
West Stour
Weymouth
Winterborne Kingston
Woodlands
Wynford Eagle
Civil parish
Abbotsbury
Affpuddle
Alcester ( - 1921 )
Alderholt
Allington
Almer ( - 1933 )
Alton Pancras
Anderson
Arne
Ashmore
Askerswell
Athelhampton
Axminster ( - 1844 )
Batcombe
Beaminster
Beer Hackett
Belchalwell ( - 1888 )
Bere Regis
Bettiscombe
Bincombe
Bishops Caundle
Blandford Forum
Blandford St. Mary
Bloxworth
Bothenhampton
Bradford Abbas
Bradford Peverell
Bradpole
Bridport
Broadmayne
Broadwey ( - 1933 )
Broadwindsor
Bryanston
Buckhorn Weston
Buckland Newton
Buckland Ripers
Burleston
Burstock
Burton Bradstock
Canford Magna ( - 1933 )
Cann
Castleton
Catherston Leweston
Cattistock
Caundle Marsh
Cerne Abbas
Chalbury
Chardstock ( - 1896 )
Charlton Marshall
Charminster
Charmouth
Chedington
Cheselbourne
Chetnole
Chettle
Chickerell
Chideock
Chilcombe
Childe Okeford
Chilfrome
Christchurch ( 1974 - )
Church Knowle
Clifton Maybank
Colehill
Compton Abbas
Compton Valence
Coombe Keynes
Corfe Castle
Corfe Mullen
Corscombe
Cranborne
Dalwood ( - 1844 )
Dewlish
Dorchester All Saints ( - 1927 )
Dorchester Holy Trinity ( - 1894 )
Dorchester St. Peter ( - 1927 )
Dorchester
Durweston
East Chelborough
East Holme
East Lulworth
East Orchard
East Stoke
East Stour
Edmondsham
Evershot
Farnham ( - 1885 )
Fifehead Magdalen ( - 1920 )
Fifehead Neville
Fleet
Folke
Fontmell Magna
Fordington
Frampton
Frome St. Quintin
Frome Vauchurch
Gillingham
Glanvilles Wootton
Goathill
Godmanstone
Gorewood
Gussage All Saints
Gussage St. Michael
Halstock
Hammoon
Hampreston ( 1860 - 1972 )
Hamworthy ( - 1905 )
Hanford
Hawkchurch
Haydon
Hazelbury Bryan
Hermitage
Highcliffe ( 1974 - )
Hilfield
Hilton
Hinton Martell
Hinton Parva
Hinton St. Mary
Holdenhurst ( 1974 - )
Holnest
Holwell ( 1844 - )
Hooke
Horton
Hurn ( 1974 - )
Ibberton
Iwerne Courtney
Iwerne Minster
Iwerne Stepleton
Kimmeridge
Kingston Russell
Kington Magna
Kinson ( 1866 - 1931 )
Langton Herring
Langton Long Blandford
Langton Matravers
Leigh
Leweston
Lillington
Littlebredy
Litton Cheney
Loders
Long Bredy
Long Crichel
Longburton
Longfleet ( - 1905 )
Lydlinch
Lyme Regis
Lytchett Matravers
Lytchett Minster
Maiden Newton
Manston
Mapperton
Mappowder
Margaret Marsh
Marnhull
Marshwood
Melbury Abbas
Melbury Bubb
Melbury Osmond
Melbury Sampford
Melcombe Horsey
Melcombe Regis
Milborne St. Andrew ( - 1933 )
Milborne Stileham ( 1866 - 1933 )
Milborne ( 1933 - 1974 )
Milton Abbas
Minterne Magna
Misterton ( 1835 - 1896 )
Moor Crichel ( - 2015 )
Morden
Moreton
Mosterton
Nether Cerne
Nether Compton
Netherbury
North Poorton
North Wootton
Oborne
Okeford Fitzpane
Osmington
Over Compton
Owermoigne
Pamphill ( 1894 - )
Parkstone ( - 1905 )
Pentridge
Piddletrenthide
Pilsdon
Pimperne
Poole St. James ( - 1905 )
Portesham
Powerstock
Poxwell
Poyntington ( 1896 - )
Preston ( - 1933 )
Puddletown
Pulham
Puncknowle
Purse Caundle
Radipole ( - 1933 )
Rampisham
Ryme Intrinseca
Sandford Orcas ( 1896 - )
Seaborough ( 1896 - )
Shaftesbury Holy Trinity ( - 1894 )
Shaftesbury St. James ( - 1894 )
Shaftesbury St. Peter ( - 1894 )
Shapwick
Sherborne
Shillingstone
Shipton Gorge
Silton
Sixpenny Handley
South Perrott
Spetisbury
St. Leonards and St. Ives ( 1974 - )
Stalbridge
Stanton St. Gabriel
Steeple ( - 2014 )
Stinsford
Stock Gaylard
Stockland ( - 1844 )
Stoke Abbott
Stoke Wake
Stourpaine
Stourton Caundle
Stratton
Studland
Sturminster Marshall
Sturminster Newton
Sutton Waldron
Swanage
Swyre
Sydling St. Nicholas
Symondsbury
Tarrant Crawford
Tarrant Gunville
Tarrant Hinton
Tarrant Keyneston
Tarrant Launceston
Tarrant Monkton
Tarrant Rawston
Tarrant Rushton
Thorncombe ( 1844 - )
Thornford
Tincleton
Todber
Tollard Royal ( - 1880 )
Toller Fratrum
Toller Porcorum
Tolpuddle
Trent ( 1896 - )
Turners Puddle
Turnworth
Tyneham ( - 2014 )
Up Cerne
Upwey ( - 1933 )
Verwood
Wambrook ( - 1895 )
Wareham Holy Trinity ( - 1894 )
Wareham Lady St. Mary
Wareham St. Martin
Warmwell
Watercombe
West Chelborough
West Compton
West Knighton
West Lulworth
West Orchard
West Parley
West Stafford
West Stour
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis ( - 1974 )
Weymouth
Whitchurch Canonicorum
Whitcombe
Wimborne All Saints ( - 1732 )
Wimborne Minster
Wimborne St. Giles
Winfrith Newburgh
Winterborne Abbas
Winterborne Came
Winterborne Clenston
Winterborne Herringstone
Winterborne Houghton
Winterborne Kingston
Winterborne Monkton
Winterborne St. Martin
Winterborne Steepleton
Winterborne Stickland
Winterborne Tomson ( - 1933 )
Winterborne Whitechurch
Winterborne Zelston
Witchampton
Woodlands
Woodsford
Woodyates ( - 1933 )
Woolland
Wootton Fitzpaine
Worth Matravers
Wraxall
Wyke Regis ( - 1933 )
Wynford Eagle
Yetminster
District municipality
Bournemouth District ( 1974 - )
Christchurch District ( 1974 - 2019 )
East Dorset District ( 1974 - )
North Dorset District ( 1974 - )
Poole District ( 1974 - 2019 )
Purbeck District ( 1974 - )
West Dorset District ( 1974 - 2019 )
Weymouth and Portland District ( 1974 - 2019 )
Extra parochial area
Gorewood
Hanford
Leweston
Parkstone ( - 1905 )
Watercombe
Woodyates ( - 1933 )
Former administrative division
Bindon
Hamlet
Acton
Dalwood ( - 1844 )
Kingston Russell
Longfleet ( - 1905 )
Mannington
Milborne Stileham ( 1866 - 1933 )
Winterborne Herringstone
Hundred
Badbury Hundred
Beaminster Forum and Redhone Hundred
Beaminster Hundred
Bere Regis Hundred
Brownshall Hundred
Buckland Newton Hundred
Cerne Totbury and Modbury Hundred
Cogdean Hundred
Coombs Ditch Hundred
Corfe Castle Hundred
Cranborne Hundred
Culliford Tree Hundred
Eggerton Hundred
George Hundred
Godderthorne Hundred
Hasilor Hundred
Hundredsbarrow Hundred
Knowlton Hundred
Loosebarrow Hundred
Monkton Up Wimborne Hundred
Pimperne Hundred
Puddletown Hundred
Redland Hundred
Rowbarrow Hundred
Rushmore Hundred
Sherborne Hundred
Sixpenny Handley Hundred
Sturminster Newton Hundred
Tollerford Hundred
Uggscombe Hundred
Whitchurch Canonicorum Hundred
Whiteway Hundred
Wimborne St. Giles Hundred
Winfrith Hundred
Yetminster Hundred
Inhabited place
Bourton
Branksome
Broadstone ( 1840 - )
Chaldon Herring
Charlestown
Crossways
Holt
Motcombe
Piddlehinton
Poole
Portland
Poundbury
Shaftesbury
Stoborough
Stour Provost
Upton
Wareham
West Moors
Wool
Island
Brownsea
Isle of Portland Liberty
Portland
Liberty (parochial)
Alton Pancras Liberty
Broadwindsor Liberty
Dewlish Liberty
Fordington Liberty
Frampton Liberty
Halstock Liberty
Isle of Portland Liberty
Liberty of Loders and Bothenhampton
Piddletrenthide Liberty
Sydling St. Nicholas Liberty
Military base
Bovington Camp ( 1889 - )
Peninsula
Purbeck
Sandbanks
Registration district
Beaminster Registration District ( 1837 - 1937 )
Blandford Registration District ( 1837 - 1956 )
Bournemouth Registration District ( 1974 - )
Bridport Registration District ( 1837 - 1997 )
Cerne Registration District ( 1837 - 1838 )
Dorchester Registration District ( 1837 - 1949 )
Dorset Registration District ( 2005 - )
East Dorset Registration District ( 1997 - 2005 )
North Dorset Registration District ( 1974 - 2005 )
Poole Registration District ( 1837 - )
Shaftesbury Registration District ( 1837 - 1937 )
Sherborne Registration District ( 1837 - 1937 )
South Dorset Registration District ( 1997 - 2001 )
South and West Dorset Registration District ( 2001 - 2005 )
Sturminster Registration District ( 1837 - 1974 )
Wareham Registration District ( 1837 - 1937 )
West Dorset Registration District ( 1997 - 2001 )
Weymouth Registration District ( 1837 - 1997 )
Wimborne Registration District ( 1837 - 1937 )
Wincanton Registration District ( 1837 - 1895 )
Rural district
Beaminster Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Blandford Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Bridport Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Cerne Rural ( 1894 - 1933 )
Dorchester Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Poole Rural ( 1894 - 1933 )
Shaftesbury Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Sherborne Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Sturminster Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Wareham and Purbeck Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Weymouth Rural ( 1894 - 1933 )
Wimborne and Cranborne Rural ( 1894 - 1974 )
Suburb
Boscombe ( 1974 - )
Branksome
Broadstone ( 1840 - )
Broadwey ( - 1933 )
Charlestown
Fordington
Highcliffe ( 1974 - )
Holdenhurst ( 1974 - )
Littlemoor
Pokesdown ( 1974 - )
Preston ( - 1933 )
Radipole ( - 1933 )
Sandbanks
Southbourne ( 1974 - )
Winton ( 1974 - )
Wyke Regis ( - 1933 )
Tything
Kingston Russell
Kinson ( 1866 - 1931 )
Leigh
Longfleet ( - 1905 )
Milborne Stileham ( 1866 - 1933 )
Pamphill ( 1894 - )
Tarrant Launceston
Unitary authority
Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole ( 2019 - )
Bournemouth District ( 1974 - )
Poole District ( 1974 - 2019 )
Unknown
Stockwood
Urban district
Axminster ( - 1844 )
Branksome
Pokesdown ( 1974 - )
Portland
Sherborne
Swanage
Wimborne Minster
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Dorset (; archaically: Dorsetshire) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, and Hampshire to the east. The county town is Dorchester, in the south. After the reorganisation of local government in 1974, the county border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch. Around half of the population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation, while the rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density.

The county has a long history of human settlement stretching back to the Neolithic era. The Romans conquered Dorset's indigenous Celtic tribe, and during the Early Middle Ages, the Saxons settled the area and made Dorset a shire in the 7th century. The first recorded Viking raid on the British Isles occurred in Dorset during the eighth century, and the Black Death entered England at Melcombe Regis in 1348. Dorset has seen much civil unrest: in the English Civil War, an uprising of vigilantes was crushed by Oliver Cromwell's forces in a pitched battle near Shaftesbury; the doomed Monmouth Rebellion began at Lyme Regis; and a group of farm labourers from Tolpuddle were instrumental in the formation of the trade union movement. During the Second World War, Dorset was heavily involved in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy, and the large harbours of Portland and Poole were two of the main embarkation points. The former was the sailing venue in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and both have clubs or hire venues for sailing, Cornish pilot gig rowing, sea kayaking and powerboating.

Dorset has a varied landscape featuring broad elevated chalk downs, steep limestone ridges and low-lying clay valleys. Over half the county is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Three-quarters of its coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast Natural World Heritage Site due to its geological and palaeontologic significance. It features notable landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door. Agriculture was traditionally the major industry of Dorset but is now in decline and tourism has become increasingly important to the economy. There are no motorways in Dorset but a network of A roads cross the county and two railway main lines connect to London. Dorset has ports at Poole, Weymouth and Portland, and an international airport near Bournemouth. The county has a variety of museums, theatres and festivals, and is host to the Great Dorset Steam Fair, one of the biggest events of its kind in Europe. It is the birthplace of Thomas Hardy, who used the county as the principal setting of his novels, and William Barnes, whose poetry celebrates the ancient Dorset dialect.

Contents

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Early history

The first human visitors to Dorset were Mesolithic hunters, from around 8000. The first permanent Neolithic settlers appeared around 3000 BC and were responsible for the creation of the Dorset Cursus, a monument for ritual or ceremonial purposes. From 2800 BC onwards Bronze Age farmers cleared Dorset's woodlands for agricultural use and Dorset's high chalk hills provided a location for numerous round barrows. During the Iron Age, the British tribe known as the Durotriges established a series of hill forts across the county—most notably Maiden Castle which is one of the largest in Europe.

The Romans arrived in Dorset during their conquest of Britain in AD 43. Maiden Castle was captured by a Roman legion under the command of Vespasian, and the Roman settlement of Durnovaria was established nearby. Bokerley Dyke, a large defensive ditch built by the county's post-Roman inhabitants near the border with modern-day Hampshire, delayed the advance of the Saxons into Dorset for almost 150 years. It appears to have been re-fortified during this period, with the former Roman Road at Ackling Dyke also being blocked by the Britons, apparently to prevent the West Saxon advance into Dorset.

However, by the end of the 7th century Dorset had fallen under Saxon control and been incorporated into the Kingdom of Wessex. The precise details of this West Saxon conquest and how it took place are not clear, but it appears to have substantially taken place by the start of the reign of Caedwalla in 685. The Saxons established a diocese at Sherborne and Dorset was made a shire—an administrative district of Wessex and predecessor to the English county system—with borders that have changed little since. In 789 the first recorded Viking attack on the British Isles took place in Dorset on the Portland coast, and they continued to raid into the county for the next two centuries.

After the Norman Conquest in 1066, feudal rule was established in Dorset and the bulk of the land was divided between the Crown and ecclesiastical institutions. The Normans consolidated their control over the area by constructing castles at Corfe, Wareham and Dorchester in the early part of the 12th century. Over the next 200 years Dorset's population grew substantially and additional land was enclosed for farming to provide the extra food required. The wool trade, the quarrying of Purbeck Marble and the busy ports of Weymouth, Melcombe Regis, Lyme Regis and Bridport brought prosperity to the county. However, Dorset was devastated by the bubonic plague in 1348 which arrived in Melcombe Regis on a ship from Gascony. The disease, more commonly known as the Black Death, created an epidemic that spread rapidly and wiped out a third of the population of the country. Dorset came under the political influence of a number of different nobles during the Middle Ages. During the Wars of the Roses, for instance, Dorset came into the area influenced by Humphrey Stafford, earl of Devon (originally of Hooke, Dorset) whose wider influence stretched from Cornwall to Wiltshire. After 1485, one of the most influential Dorset figures was Henry VII's chamberlain Giles Daubeney.

Modern history

The dissolution of the monasteries (1536–1541) met little resistance in Dorset and many of the county's abbeys, including Shaftesbury, Cerne and Milton, were sold to private owners. In 1642, at the commencement of the English Civil War, the Royalists took control of the entire county apart from Poole and Lyme Regis. However, within three years their gains had been almost entirely reversed by the Parliamentarians. An uprising of Clubmen—vigilantes weary of the depredations of the war—took place in Dorset in 1645. Some 2,000 of these rebels offered battle to Lord Fairfax's Parliamentary army at Hambledon Hill but they were easily routed. Sherborne Castle was taken by Fairfax that same year and in 1646 Corfe Castle, the last remaining Royalist stronghold in Dorset, was captured after an act of betrayal: both were subsequently slighted.[1] The Duke of Monmouth's unsuccessful attempt to overthrow James II began when he landed at Lyme Regis in 1685. A series of trials known as the Bloody Assizes took place to punish the rebels. Over a five-day period in Dorchester, Judge Jeffreys presided over 312 cases: 74 of the accused were executed, 175 were transported, and nine were publicly whipped. In 1686, at Charborough Park, a meeting took place to plot the downfall of James II of England. This meeting was effectively the start of the Glorious Revolution.

During the 18th century, much smuggling took place along the Dorset coast; its coves, caves and sandy beaches provided opportunities for gangs such as the Hawkhursts to stealthily bring smuggled goods ashore. Poole became Dorset's busiest port and established prosperous trade links with the fisheries of Newfoundland which supported cloth, rope and net manufacturing industries in the surrounding towns and villages. However, the industrial revolution largely bypassed Dorset which lacked coal resources and as a consequence the county remained predominantly agricultural. Farming has always been central to the economy of Dorset and the county became the birthplace of the modern trade union movement when, in 1834, six farm labourers formed a union to protest against falling wages. The labourers, who are now known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs, were subsequently arrested for administering "unlawful oaths" and sentenced to transportation but they were pardoned following massive protests by the working classes.

The Dorsetshire Regiment were the first British unit to face a gas attack during the First World War (1914–1918) and they sustained particularly heavy losses at the Battle of the Somme. In total some 4,500 Dorset servicemen died in the war and of the county's towns and villages, only one, Langton Herring, known as a Thankful Village, had no residents killed.[2] During the Second World War (1939–1945) Dorset was heavily involved in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy: beach landing exercises were carried out at Studland and Weymouth and the village of Tyneham was requisitioned for army training. Tens-of-thousands of troops departed Weymouth, Portland and Poole harbours during D-Day and gliders from RAF Tarrant Rushton dropped troops near Caen to begin Operation Tonga. Dorset experienced an increase in holiday-makers after the war. First popularised as a tourist destination by George III's frequent visits to Weymouth, the county's coastline, seaside resorts and its sparsely populated rural areas attract millions of visitors each year.[3] With farming declining across the country, tourism has edged ahead as the primary revenue-earning sector.[4]

Research Tips

Dorset does not have good coverage in the IGI, but the Dorset OPC (Online Parish Clerks) are working to help, by extracting data from the original parish records and from the Census. Additionally the Dorset History Centre have extensive records for those willing or able to travel. Another organization is the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society.

Dorset Research Tips

One of the many maps available on the website A Vision of Britain through Time is one from the Ordnance Survey Series of 1900 illustrating the parish boundaries of Dorset at the turn of the 20th century. This map blows up to show all parishes and many of the small villages and hamlets. The internal boundaries on this map are the rural districts which are indicated in WeRelate's "See Also" box for the place concerned (unless it is an urban parish).

The following websites have pages explaining their provisions in WeRelate's Repository Section. Some provide free online databases. Some are linked to Ancestry.

  • GENUKI makes a great many suggestions as to other websites with worthwhile information about Dorset, but it has left the 19th century descriptions of each of the ecclesiastical parishes to UK Genealogy Archives which presents facts differently. Neither GENUKI or UK Genealogy Archives deal with the more modern civil parishes.
  • FamilySearch Wiki provides a similar information service to GENUKI which may be more up-to-date, but UK Genealogy Archives may prove more helpful.
  • A Vision of Britain through Time has
  1. organization charts of the hierarchies of parishes within hundreds, registration districts and rural and urban districts up to 1974
  2. excerpts from gazetteers of the late 19th century outlining individual towns and parishes
  3. reviews of population through the time period 1800-1960
  • The contents of the Victoria County History is provided by British History Online for many English counties, but not for Dorset. Instead they have provided the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of England (RCHME Inventory Volumes) published in 1972 in five volumes covering the county in geographical areas. Thes articles describe buildings rather than towns and villages, but may be of use in researching a manor-owning family.
  • More local sources can often be found by referring to "What Links Here" in the column on the left.

Censuses

UK censuses are taken every ten years in the years ending in "1". There was no census in 1941. Details are not made available for 100 years after a census. A number of online databases (both paid and free) provide transcriptions of censuses up to 1911. Most of these provide information for an individual or a family. Many also provide images of the originals and thus allow browsing of a page or perhaps a whole enumeration district. The 1921 census was published in January 2022. It is available at FindMyPast with a charge additional to the usual subscrition to view the manuscript entries (there is no extra charge to view the index).

The Dorset Online Parish Clerks provides a good number of 19th century census transcriptions as well as lists of baptisms, marriages and burials as recorded in the parish. The formal Home Office Numbers (those starting with HO used in 1841 and 1851), the Registrar General Numbers (starting with RG in later decades, and the Enumeration District Numbers are included. There is an illustrated article to introduce each parish.

The 1841 census differed from the later ones in two different ways.

  • The question "where born" was to be answered either with the words "in county" (or "y") or "out of county" (or "n") with perhaps a more specific place in the case of those born abroad.
  • Ages for adults (usually those over 15, though some enumerators gave specific ages up to 20) were rounded down to the nearest 5 years. (i.e., for persons aged 15 years and under 20 write 15; 20 years and under 25 write 20; 25 years and under 30 write 25; and so on up to the eldest interval.

From 1851 onwards people were asked for the county and civil parish in which they were born whether in or out of the county, and ages were expressed exactly (in months for infants).

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Dorset. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.