Place:Compton Abbas, Dorset, England

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NameCompton Abbas
Alt namesCompton-Abbassource: Family History Library Catalog
Cuntonesource: Domesday Book (1985) p 93
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates50.965°N 2.186°W
Located inDorset, England
See alsoSixpenny Handley Hundred, Dorset, Englandhundred in which it was located
Shaftesbury Rural, Dorset, Englandrural district 1894-1974
North Dorset District, Dorset, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area 1974-2019

NOTE: On the OS boundary maps for 1900 and 1935-44, this parish and another one 24 miles to the southwest are both labelled "Compton Abbas". After an hour of checking various sources it has been discovered that the current Compton Abbas is not far south of Shaftesbury and adjacent to Melbury Abbas, while the present West Compton is southwest of Dorchester and adjacent to Compton Valence. No source checked (Wikipedia, GENUKI or A Vision of Britain Through Time) mention this in their descriptions. Do be cautious when tracing ancestors in either of these parishes.


the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Compton Abbas is a civil parish and a village in Dorset, England. It was located within the North Dorset administrative district, 3 miles (5 kilometres) south of the town of Shaftesbury. It is sited on greensand strata on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, below the chalk downs of Cranborne Chase. On top of these hills is Compton Abbas Airfield. The A350 road between the county of Wiltshire and the south coast passes through the village. In the UK census of 2011 the civil parish had a population of 216. The name Compton Abbas derives from the Saxon "cumb-ton", meaning 'village in a narrow valley', plus "abbas" which refers to Shaftesbury Abbey (the land was owned by the abbess). The church, St. Mary's, was built in 1866 to replace the older structure which was more remote from the village.

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

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