Horton Heath, Dorset

Mannington and its southerly neighbour Lower Mannington are hamlets in the English county of Dorset. They are located within Holt parish 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Ferndown and 2.5 miles (4 km) south-east of Verwood in the East Dorset district. The village is home to a large electricity substation on the National Grid 400kV transmission network.

Holt Heath is a 4.88 square kilometres (1.88 sq mi) common situated four miles north-east of Wimborne Minster in east Dorset, southern England, close to the village of Holt. The reserve includes dry and wet heathland, bog and ancient woodland. The common has several nature conservation designations: national nature reserve, Special Protection Area, Special Area of Conservation and Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is owned by the National Trust and managed in association with Natural England. The heath is one of the few places where all six native British reptile species occur, and it also supports many other heathland animals, plants and birds. Rare heathland birds such as Eurasian Hobby, nightjar, Dartford warbler and woodlark have been recorded as breeding on the reserve.As a common, historically it was grazed by livestock owned by local people; as with other heathlands it was this grazing which created and maintained the open habitat. Grazing ceased in the mid-20th century, leading to long-term deterioration in the structure and composition of the habitat. Plans are under way to install cattle grids on the minor roads crossing the heath, and then to begin grazing again.

Woodlands is a village and civil parish in the East Dorset district of Dorset, South-West England. It is five miles (8 km) north of Wimborne Minster. The village is home to the Church of the Ascension which is a Grade II listed building. In 2001, the parish had a population of 544 but in 2011 the number had fallen to 522.

Three Legged Cross is an extended village within Verwood civil parish in east Dorset, England. It lies to the south of the town of Verwood and to the north of West Moors. Its population in 2014 was estimated at 2,740.

Verwood railway station served the town of Verwood, Dorset, and its hinterland, from 1866 to 1964. It was one of many casualties of the mass closure of British railway lines in the 1960s; the last train running on 2 May 1964. The village is now much larger than when the line ran as it is within reasonable travelling distance of the South East Dorset conurbation.

Horton is a village in East Dorset, England, situated on the boundary between the chalk downland of Cranborne Chase and the Dorset Heaths, and ten miles north of Poole. The village has a population of 515 (2001).

Horton Priory was a priory at Horton in Dorset, England. It was founded as a Benedictine abbey around 970 by Ordgar, Earl of Devon, or his son, Ordulph, and dedicated to Saint Olfrida, Wilfrida or Wulfthryth, the mother of Saint Edith of Wilton by King Edgar the Peaceful. In the early twelfth century it was reduced to priory status by Roger, bishop of Salisbury and made dependent on Sherborne Abbey.At the Dissolution in 1539 Sherborne Abbey was surrendered to the king, and in 1547 it was granted to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset. On Somerset's attainder it was granted to William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke. The present Horton parish church, St Olfrida, was built on the site of the priory in the 18th century. No traces of the original priory remain.

The Hub (also known as the Verwood Hub) is a multi-purpose venue based in Verwood, Dorset, England, hosting a range of live music, theatre, art, conferences, workshops, children’s activities and other community based projects. There is also a 7.1 surround sound cinema, a state-of-the-art gym and a café.

Edmondsham is a village in the county of Dorset in southern England. It is situated two miles north west of Verwood and ten miles north of Bournemouth. It is sited near the source of a small stream River Ed which flows into the River Crane, Dorset; both are SSSIs. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 200. The surrounding countryside is well-wooded. Edmondsham House was built in 1589 as marked on centre gable stone pillar, builders William Arnold and family - who later 1607-10 or 1609-13 finished off Cranborne Manor House, all three Arnolds having concentrated on Monteacute House 1590 - 1601; and in 1905 was described by Sir Frederick Treves as "grey with age" - in fact it is grey from the use of Marl "roman" Cement locally sourced from the glauconitic seam through the estate, and hence "like a mist in the wood".Edmondsham House Gardens and Park are Open to the Public - nominated days as "..by prior appointment.." (pre Finance Act 1998 amended rules). The wider Estate is public open access "..not limited to prior appointment.." (post FA 1998 rules), subject to Natural England guidelines (see their website open access conditions) - more details for both regimes in external links below. Sir John Tregonwell Knt- Proctor to Catherine of Aragon in her divorce with Henry VIII, and Sponsor (one of three sponsors, draftsman) of both the Act of Succession 1534 and Act of Supremacy 1534 - had a granddaughter Elizabeth who married (23 April 1582) Roger Hussey builder of Edmondsham House. JT's son Thomas Tregonwell (decd 1563 2 years before his father) was bypassed, for Milton Abbey Dorset "Athelstan's centre of Britain" passed by the Statute of Uses 1535 to the grandson. Sir John Kellaway first married Joan Tregarthin - her second marriage to John Wadham d.1578 - Executor and overseer of John Tregonwell Knt Will. This John Wadham's offspring included Joan Wadham ma.Giles Strangways of Melbury Sampford, and Nichols Wadham II (1531/32 - 1609; Nicholas Wadham I his grandfather d.1542) who married Dorothy Petre-Wadham d. 1618 Foundress of Wadham College as designed by William Arnold. Sir William Petre Knt d.1572 greatest of friends with Sir John Tregonwell as well as overseer and Counsel to JT's Will "especial approved good friend" words in JT's Will, and father to Dorothy. Henry Strangways daughter Anne married Sir John Kellaway of Rockbourne Hants, their daughter Elizabeth married (his AND her second marriages) Sir John Tregonwell Knt decd 1565....this the Tregonwell connection to Athlehampton - the reason for the Coat of Arms there. JT kept lodgings at Athlehampton House while writing law; for Elizabeth Kelway had firstly been married to Robert Martyn of Waterstone Manor moving to Athlehampton. Thomas Tregonwell d.1563 of Milton Abbey firstly married Anne Martyn (second marriage to Sir Oliver Wallop) sister to Nicholas Martyn of Waterstone who married secondly Margaret Wadham their daughter marrying John Young of Athlehampton House - the Arnolds of Somerset builders of features and the Gatehouse there. The Tregonwell portraits are still at Edmondsham House, the original Holbein of Sir John Tregonwell lost in a fire at Cranborne Lodge in the 19th Century, later in his life knighted by Queen Mary "first true Queen of Britain" under the Act of Succession while JT still a Catholic. Sir John was great friends with Sir John Southcote Knt Lawyer and Sir Richard Rede Knt Lawyer. Nicholas Wadham I's (d.1542) daughter Jane married a priest John Foster (possibly in secret) - this instrumental case going to Commission on which Sir John Tregonwell sat! This legal case setting legal precedent on Priest marriages, despite the calling in Clergy, marriages still law today for the Church of England - created by the same Statute Sir John co-wrote. A rare shiny-leafed form of wych elm similar to 'Nitida' was found in the village in the early 20th century, a leaf specimen prepared for the Kew Herbarium by the Rev. Augustin Ley in 1910.

West Moors is a closed railway station in Dorset. Opened in 1867, it became the junction of the Southampton and Dorchester Railway and the Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway. Although passenger services were withdrawn in 1964 as a result of the Beeching Report, the line remained open until 1974 for freight trains serving the Royal Army Ordnance Corps fuel depot at West Moors. The track was lifted in 1974.

Edmondsham House is a Tudor home with Georgian additions in Edmondsham near Wimborne Minster in Dorset, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.

West Moors is a village in Dorset, England, on the northern fringe of the Poole-Bournemouth conurbation, just outside the larger settlements of Ferndown and Verwood. The parish of West Moors had an estimated population of 7,400 in 2004, increasing to 7,561 for both the parish and electoral ward at the 2011 Census. The parish council was renamed West Moors Town Council in 2020.West Moors rose to local prominence with the building of the Southampton and Dorchester and Salisbury and Dorset Junction railway lines in the late 19th century and although main line services were later diverted via Bournemouth, West Moors railway station was served by a branch line railway until 4 May 1964. The only remnants of these lines through the village are the original level crossing gatekeeper's cottage on Station Road, and the Castleman Trailway footpath following the original trackbed leading to Ringwood to the east and Poole to the west. This however, was recently resurfaced and the central reservation was removed, rendering the southernmost of the two tracks largely unusable, and causing it to lose its former authentic look. The village expanded with the development of the military fuel depot located outside the village but within the West Moors civil parish. The depot is home to the Defence School of Petroleum, and also to the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service Training Centre. In April 2017 the Royal Air Force relocated their Fuels Training school from RAF Halton to MoD West Moors. In July 2018 it was announced that after over 80 years the Military would move from West Moors, under project Wellsley the RAF would relocate to MoD Worthy Down in January 2019 and the Army would have moved by April 2020. In the past many military families were housed in their own housing estates, however most jobs are now undertaken by civilian personnel and the military housing sold off. More recent population increases have been due to the influx of commuters, both to Bournemouth and Poole, and to more remote destinations such as Southampton, and London. West Moors has a mixed population, with a relatively high proportion of elderly people. There are two first schools, one middle school, two youth clubs; including the west moors scout group, and a skatepark. There are various shops including one butcher, one baker and two pubs. There is also the West Moors Social Club which has entertainment nights. Moors Valley Country Park is just outside the parish boundary (3 miles from the village), and is easily accessible from the Castleman Trailway. The village's sports facilities include two football pitches (Fryers Playing Field). The tennis courts have recently been refurbished into an artificial floodlit grass football facility and a multi-use area that can be used as two tennis courts (tarmacadam surface) or other sports. There is also a playpark on Fryer’s field and on the other side of the village (Shaftesbury Road) there is another slighter smaller play park.