Glanvilles Wootton

Holnest SSSI, Dorset (grid reference ST667106) is a 54.83 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dorset, notified in 2004.The site has a large population of Great Crested Newts.

Holnest is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies in the Blackmore Vale 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Sherborne. It is a scattered village, sited on Oxford clay which is drained by a small stream called The Cam. The A352 main road passes through the village. Dorset County Council's 2013 mid-year estimate of the population of the parish is 220. In the 2011 national census the population of Holnest parish combined with the small parish of Lillington to the north was 342; figures have so far not been published for Holnest parish alone. Holnest parish church stands behind a wall and large gates close to the main road. The gates are the result of a mausoleum which used to stand in the churchyard. This had been built in 1872 by John Samuel Wanley Sawbridge Erle-Drax as part of his preparations for his own funeral, but no provision was made for its upkeep and after his death and interment in 1887 it fell into disrepair and was later demolished. A description of the building was given in 1906 by Sir Frederick Treves, who said it was "almost as large as the humble church" and "a gaudy building, in the Byzantine style, made up of grey and yellow stone, worried by much carving and enlivened by highly polished granite pillars. The rounded roof, which to be consistent should be of corrugated iron, is of lead.".The church, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, dates largely to the 14th and 15th centuries. Largely left untouched by the Victorian restorers, it contains a number of interesting features, including a Jacobean pulpit, rare examples of Georgian box pews with curved candle sconces above, an original medieval barrel-vaulted roof in the south aisle. In June 2016, the Friends of Holnest Church was set up to support the Parochial Church Council in their efforts to maintain and restore the building and its grounds. In October 2016, author and historian, Adrian Tinniswood, was announced as their patron. Holnest Park House is an 18th-century listed building which has more recently been divided into flats. It was badly damaged by a fire in 2010.

Pulham is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in south-west England. It is situated in the Blackmore Vale, 7 miles (11 kilometres) southeast of Sherborne. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had 105 dwellings, 103 households and a population of 269.Pulham was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and was once owned by Cirencester Abbey, a connection remembered in the name of Cannings Court Farm (the "Court of the Canons"). Priests from nearby Milton Abbey also used to visit the village church; they resided above the porch in a priests' room, accessed via a staircase within the wall.

Holwell is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) south-east of Sherborne. It is sited on Oxford clay in the Blackmore Vale. Its name derives from the Old English hol and walu, meaning a bank or ridge in a hollow. The parish includes the hamlets of Sandhills, Westrow, Barnes Cross, The Borough, and Woodbridge. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 369 and is part of the Cam Vale electoral ward. Until 1844 Holwell was an exclave of Somerset, being part of the parish of Milborne Port.Holwell parish church is situated with a few houses at the end of a cul-de-sac in a small settlement called The Borough. This is the original medieval part of the village, sited next to the Caundle Brook in the north of the parish. Secondary settlements were established later to the south, east and west; these were outside The Borough's open field system and had their own enclosures. The most southerly part of the parish was enclosed in 1797. The church, dedicated to St Lawrence, largely dates from the late 15th century, though it was restored in 1885. The biblical scholar Henry Adeney Redpath was rector at Holwell between 1883 and 1890.A short distance north of the church the Caundle Brook is crossed by a packhorse bridge, probably of medieval origin. About 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the west and also crossing the Caundle Brook is Cornford Bridge, dating from the 15th and 18th centuries and designated a grade II* listed building and a scheduled monument. Also grade II* listed is Naish Farm, situated approximately 0.5 miles (0.80 km) southeast of The Borough and a good example of a medieval domestic farmhouse. At Barnes Cross—between The Borough and Cornford Bridge—is a pillar box which is the oldest still in everyday use in Britain. It is hexagonal with a vertical letter slot and was made between 1853 and 1856 by the Gloucester firm John N. Butt & Co. It is also grade II* listed.

St Peter and St Paul's Church is a Church of England parish church in Caundle Marsh, Dorset, England. It was designed by Robert Howard Shout and built in 1856–57. The church is a Grade II listed building.

Hermitage is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It is situated in the Blackmore Vale under the scarp of the Dorset Downs, 6 miles (9.7 km) south of the town of Sherborne. Dorset County Council's latest (2013) estimate of the parish population is 70.Augustinian monks once had a hermitage here (also known as the Blackmoor Priory Hermitage), whence the name of the village, but they abandoned the site in the 14th or 15th century. The Lady's Well which they used still remains, on the edge of woodland a short distance from the village.

Caundle Marsh is a village and civil parish in northwest Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale, 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Sherborne. The parish includes the hamlet of Tut Hill and the Dorset County Council estimate that in 2013 the population of the parish was 70.

Bishop's Caundle is a village and civil parish in Dorset, South West England. It is situated 6 miles (9.7 km) south-east of Sherborne. The local travel links are located 4 miles (6.4 km) from the village to Sherborne railway station and 28 miles (45 km) to Bournemouth International Airport. The main road running through the village is the A3030, connecting Bishop's Caundle to Sherborne. Dorset County Council's 2013 mid-year estimate of the population of the civil parish is 390.

Alweston is a village in Dorset, England, situated roughly 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southeast of Sherborne. Historically it belonged to the Parish of Folke, in the Hundred of Sherborne. It lies just off the A3030 road, with Haydon to the north, North Wootton to the west, Caundle Marsh to the southeast and Folke to the south.The village is known for its baking, and bread is delivered to Sherborne, Blandford, Canford Cliffs and Westbourne from the village.

Folke is a parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated in the Blackmore Vale, approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-east of Sherborne. The parish has an area of 2,120 acres (8.6 km2) and is made of the villages of Folke and Alweston, and the hamlet of Bishops Down. Dorset County Council's 2013 estimate of the population of Folke parish is 270. In the 2011 census figures have been published for the population of Folke parish combined with the small parish of North Wootton to the north; this was 339.The Manor House in the hamlet of Folke dates from about 1500 and adjoins the early 17th-century parish church. The house of Font le Roi, sited by the road towards Sturminster Newton, was built as a gatehouse in the 15th century. Folke Wood is nearby.

Folke Wood is a wood near Folke in Dorset, England. It was planted by the Woodland Trust in 1985. It consists of native broadleaved trees as well as apple and ash trees. The apple trees are the remains of an orchard which existed in the 19th century.

Longburton or Long Burton is a village in Dorset, England, three miles (5 km) south of Sherborne. It is sited on a narrow outcrop of Cornbrash limestone, at the western end of Blackmore Vale. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 470.