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Compton Valence

Villages in Dorset
Compton Valence, parish church of St. Thomas à Becket geograph.org.uk 503998
Compton Valence, parish church of St. Thomas à Becket geograph.org.uk 503998

Compton Valence is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of the county town Dorchester. It is sited at the head of a narrow valley, formed by a small tributary of the River Frome, and is surrounded by the hills of the Dorset Downs, which has led to it having been described as "a pocket of habitation in the downs." Dorset County Council estimate that in 2013 the population of the parish was 50.The parish church has a 15th-century tower, but the rest of the building was rebuilt in 1838–1839 by Benjamin Ferrey. The church is a Grade II* listed building.The locality is known to geologists for the 'Compton Valence Dome', arising from the local upcoming of the chalk strata. The core of this geological structure has been eroded to reveal the older underlying Middle Jurassic mudstones. It lies astride the Wynford Fault and is thought to arise from a complex intersection of faults in the area.Compton Valence is known locally for its display of snowdrops, which fill the road verges in late winter.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Compton Valence (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Compton Valence
Church Hill Lane,

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Wikipedia: Compton ValenceContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 50.7373 ° E -2.5772 °
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Address

Church Hill Lane

Church Hill Lane
DT2 9ER , Compton Valence
England, United Kingdom
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Compton Valence, parish church of St. Thomas à Becket geograph.org.uk 503998
Compton Valence, parish church of St. Thomas à Becket geograph.org.uk 503998
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Nearby Places

Nine Stones, Winterbourne Abbas
Nine Stones, Winterbourne Abbas

The Nine Stones, also known as the Devil's Nine Stones, the Nine Ladies, or Lady Williams and her Dog, is a stone circle located near to the village of Winterbourne Abbas in the southwestern English county of Dorset. Archaeologists believe that it was likely erected during the Bronze Age. The Nine Stones is part of a tradition of stone circle construction that spread through much of Great Britain, Ireland, and Brittany between 3,300 and 900 BCE, during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. The stone circle tradition was accompanied by the construction of timber circles and earthen henges, reflecting a growing emphasis on circular monuments. The purpose of such rings is unknown, although archaeologists speculate that the stones represented supernatural entities for the circle's builders. At least nine of these stone circles are known to have been constructed near modern Dorset. They are smaller than those found elsewhere in Great Britain and are typically built from sarsen stone. Located in the bottom of a narrow valley, the Nine Stones circle has a diameter of 9.1 by 7.8 metres (29 feet 10 inches by 25 feet 7 inches). It consists of nine irregularly spaced sarsen megaliths, with a small opening on its northern side. Two of the stones on the northwestern side of the monument are considerably larger than the other seven. This architectural feature has parallels with various stone circles in southwestern Scotland, and was potentially a deliberate choice of the circle's builders, to whom it may have had symbolic meaning. Antiquarians like John Aubrey and William Stukeley first took an interest in the site during the eighteenth century. It later received archaeological attention, although it has not been excavated. Local folklore has grown up around the circle, associating it with the Devil and with children petrified into rock. The Nine Stones are regarded as a sacred site by local Druids, who perform religious ceremonies there. The circle is adjacent to the A35 road and encircled by trees. The site is owned by English Heritage and is open without charge to visitors.