Place:West Stafford, Dorset, England

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NameWest Stafford
Alt namesStafordsource: Domesday Book (1985) p 95
Stafortsource: Domesday Book (1985) p 95
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates50.7°N 2.383°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 Stafford (#27 on map) is a civil parish and a village in southwest Dorset, England, situated in the Frome valley 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Dorchester. In the UK census of 2011 the parish had a population of 291.

The river Winterbourne runs beside the village and 2 miles south lies the village of West Knighton. The village contains St. Andrew's Church.

The novelist, Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), when training as an architect, assisted in the design of Talbothays Lodge and the cottages opposite. The village is also accepted as the setting for part of Hardy's novel Tess or the D'Urbevilles, during the period when Tess works at the Talbothays Dairy.

Reginald Bosworth Smith, schoolmaster, author and President of the Oxford Union, was born in West Stafford on 28 June 1839. His father, Reginald Southwell Smith, was the fourth son of Sir John Wyldbore Smith, Baronet, of Sydling St. Nicholas, Dorset.

Image:Dorchester RD 1900 small.png
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Governance

West Stafford 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 Stafford 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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