Place:Woodsford, Dorset, England

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NameWoodsford
Alt namesWardesfordsource: Domesday Book (1985) p 96
Werdesfordsource: Domesday Book (1985) p 96
Werdesfortsource: Domesday Book (1985) p 96
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates50.7°N 2.333°W
Located inDorset, England
See alsoWinfrith 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

Woodsford (#35 on map) is a civil parish and a village in Dorset, England located beside the River Frome, about east of the county town of Dorchester. Dorset County Council's 2013 mid-year estimate of the parish population is 80.

The Domesday Book of 1086 records the manor as "Waredesford", which the 18th-century historian John Hutchins interpreted as meaning a ford across the Varia, an alternative name for the River Frome. More recent opinion is that Waredesford referred to a ford belonging to a man named Weard. Two holdings were recorded, which have been interpreted as corresponding to East Woodsford (the current village) and West Woodsford (now Woodsford Castle).

Woodsford Castle is the surviving range of a 14th-century fortified manor house. King Edward III granted William de Whitefield a licence to crenellate in 1335. The house has the largest thatched roof in the county and has been restored by the Landmark Trust. The house is a Grade I listed building.

Image:Dorchester RD 1900 small.png

The Church of England parish church of St John the Baptist was 13th-century, but was largely rebuilt in 1862–63 to designs by the Gothic Revival architect Thomas Henry Wyatt.

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Governance

Woodsford was originally a parish in the Winfrith 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. Woodsford 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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