Hermitage, Dorset

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.

Leigh ( ) is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) south-southwest of Sherborne. It is known as the site of a former Miz Maze. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 480.

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.

Glanvilles Wootton, or Wootton Glanville, is a 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, five miles (eight kilometres) south of Sherborne. In the 2011 Census the parish had a population of 196.To the north of the village is Round Chimneys Farm, which used to be a manor house and home of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. The Farm, Grade II listed since 1960, "originated c.1590s, probably added to 1632 with extensive alterations and demolitions C19". One mile (1.5 kilometres) southeast of the village is the hill fort Dungeon Hill. According to Dorset OPC, "the name of the Parish was changed in 1985, having previously been Wootton Glanville". The Parish Church is St Mary the Virgin and its register starts at the year 1546. It has been Grade I listed since 1964 as "mainly C14" modifications made in the 15th century and the early 19th century. A great deal of additional historic information about the community and its structures is provided by a document titled An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 3, Central. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1970.One of the most significant properties in the area, The Manor House, Glanvilles Wootton, is a Georgian manor house, which incorporates an earlier 17th-century house, on 88 acres of parks, pastures and gardens, according to Country Life (magazine). The original house is believed to have been built circa 1616 by George Williams, originally from Wales; the newer Georgian home was built in 1804 by Glanvilles Wootton.The "MANOR HOUSE FARMHOUSE WOOTTON GLANVILLES FARM" has been Grade-II listed since 1974. The farm house appears to have originated in the mid 1800s but was modified circa 1978.

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.

Leweston School is an independent day and boarding school near Sherborne in Dorset, England. The school is co-educational in the Nursery and Preparatory School and follows the co-educational diamond model in the Senior School and Sixth Form. The School consists of a Nursery (3 months - 4years), Prep School (4–11 years), Senior School (11–16 years) and Sixth Form (16–18 years). Leweston's values are based upon a supportive Catholic ethos. In 2017, Leweston announced that it was moving to a diamond model for the delivery of STEM subjects in Years 9 to 11 whilst becoming co-educational in all years during a four-year transitional period from 2018 to 2021. Leweston School is operated by a charitable foundation and company, 'Leweston School Trust', which is registered charity no. 295175. The Trust, registered company no. 02041443, was incorporated on 28 July 1986 to provide pre-primary education, primary education and general secondary education. Prior to 27 December 2007, the Trust's legal name was St Antony's Lewiston School Trust. The Trust's primary aim is to provide an independent Roman Catholic education. As of 2023, it listed 12 trustees and 180 employees. Ian Lucas was listed as Chairman of the Governors. The 2018 financial report stated that its strategic vision was based on providing "high quality, competitively priced education".

The Cerne Abbas Giant is a hill figure near the village of Cerne Abbas, in Dorset, England. It is currently owned by the National Trust, and listed as a scheduled monument of England. Measuring 55 metres (180 ft) in length, the hill figure depicts a bald, nude male with a prominent erection, holding his left hand out to the side and wielding a large club in his right hand. Like many other hill figures, the Cerne Giant is formed by shallow trenches cut into the turf and backfilled with chalk rubble. The origin and age of the figure are unclear, and archaeological evidence suggests that parts of it have been lost, altered, or added, over time; the earliest written record dates to the late 17th century. Early antiquarians associated it, albeit on little evidence, with a Saxon deity, while other scholars sought to identify it with a Romano-British figure of Hercules (or some syncretisation of the two). The lack of earlier descriptions, along with information given to the 18th-century antiquarian John Hutchins, has led some scholars to conclude it dates from the 17th century. Conversely, recent optically stimulated luminescence testing has suggested an origin between the years 700 CE and 1110 CE, possibly close to the 10th-century date of the founding of nearby Cerne Abbey. Regardless of its age, the Cerne Abbas Giant has become an important part of local culture and folklore, which often associates it with fertility. It is one of England's best-known hill figures and is a visitor attraction in the region. The Cerne Giant is one of two major extant human hill figures in England, the other being the Long Man of Wilmington, near Wilmington, East Sussex, which is also a scheduled monument.

Cerne Abbas () is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies in the Dorset Council administrative area in the Cerne Valley in the Dorset Downs. The village lies just east of the A352 road 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Dorchester. Dorset County Council estimate that the population of the civil parish in 2013 was 820. In the 2011 census the population of the civil parish, combined with the small neighbouring parish of Up Cerne, was 784. In 2008 it was voted Britain's "Most Desirable Village" by estate agent Savills. It is the location of the Cerne Abbas Giant, a chalk figure of a giant naked man on a hillside.

Cerne Abbey was a Benedictine monastery founded in 987 in the town now called Cerne Abbas, Dorset, by Æthelmær the Stout.

Lillington is a hamlet and civil parish in north west Dorset, England, situated 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Sherborne. Dorset County Council estimate that the population of the civil parish was 50 in 2013.The underlying geology in Lillington is Forest Marble, which has produced soil rich in clay. The parish church is small and has a 13th-century nave. In 1605 Sir Walter Raleigh's second son, Carew, was christened here. The barn next to the church has two porches and seven bays and also dates from the start of the 17th century.

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.

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.