Place:West Knighton, Dorset, England

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NameWest Knighton
Alt namesChenistetonesource: Domesday Book (1985) p 96
Friarmaynesource: deserted settlement in parish
Lewellsource: settlement in parish
Parva Maenesource: deserted settlement in parish
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates50.683°N 2.367°W
Located inDorset, England
See alsoCulliford Tree Hundred, Dorset, Englandhundred in which it was located
Dorchester Rural, Dorset, Englandrural district 1894-1974
West Dorset District, Dorset, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area 1974-2019
the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

West Knighton (#26 on map) is a civil parish and a village in south Dorset, England, situated 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the county town of Dorchester. It has an 11th-century church. In the UK census of 2011 the civil parish had a population of 375.

The village name derives from the Old English cniht and tūn, meaning the village or farmstead of the young men or retainers. At Little Mayne Farm southwest of the village is the site of a deserted medieval village, which was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Maine" and in 1201 was known as Parva [=Little] Maene.

West Knighton parish historically developed out of the amalgamation of four medieval settlements within the ancient hundred of Cullifordtree: the existing main village, the previously mentioned Parva Maene, another medieval settlement at Friarmayne to the south-—also deserted and now within the neighbouring civil parish of Broadmayne (#3)—-and the fourth at Lewell to the north (now just a farmhouse).

Image:Dorchester RD 1900 small.png
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Governance

West Knighton was originally a parish in the Culliford Tree Hundred, one of the hundreds or early subdivisions of the county of Dorset. From 1894 until 1974 it was part of the Dorchester Rural District.

In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, all urban and rural districts across England were abolished and counties were reorganized into metropolitan and non-metropolitan districts. West Knighton joined the non-metropolitan West Dorset District.

Under another set of local government reforms adopted on 1 April 2019, West Dorset District was abolished, and the county of Dorset (excluding Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole) became a single unitary authority. The area is now administered by Dorset Council.

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