Gillingham railway station (Dorset)

Gillingham ( GHIL-ing-əm) is a town and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It lies on the B3095 and B3081 roads, approximately four miles (six kilometres) south of the A303 trunk road and five miles (eight kilometres) northwest of Shaftesbury. It is the most northerly town in the county. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 11,756. The neighbouring hamlets of Peacemarsh, Bay and Wyke have become part of Gillingham as it has expanded. Gillingham is pronounced with a hard initial "g" (), unlike Gillingham, Kent, which is pronounced with a soft "g" ().

St Mary's Church is the parish church for the town of Gillingham in the Blackmore Vale in the north of Dorset. The church is in the Diocese of Salisbury in the Church of England, and part of the Anglican Communion. There is believed to have been a Christian presence in the area since Anglo-Saxon days, evidence being a stone with a complicated interlaced pattern, now in the museum, which is believed to be the remains of a 9th-century cross – either a preaching cross or a grave marker. But most of the current building, particularly the nave, dates from an early Victorian rebuild. The chancel (choir and sanctuary) however, is older; the five great pointed windows with their trefoil heads, which stand on the south side of the chancel, show that it was built in the Decorated Gothic style popular in the 14th century. On the north wall of the chancel, only two feet above the floor, can be seen the archway of an Easter Sepulchre. Some bench ends, a screen at the east end of the north aisle, and the font, are in the Perpendicular Gothic style of the 15th and 16th centuries. The Chapel of the Good Shepherd was given by Mr and Mrs Carlton Cross in memory of their son who was killed in France during the First World War while carrying in some of the wounded men from his regiment. W. D. Caroe, the architect who designed the chapel, went on to create many other fine works, including the east end of the Lady Chapel in Sherborne Abbey. The reredos beneath the east window in the main chancel is another reminder of the tragedy of the First World War. It was given in 1925 by Mr and Mrs Matthews of Wyke House in memory of two of their sons who were both killed in the war. Further examples of the work of Nathaniel Hitch (1846–1938), the sculptor responsible for the reredos, may be seen in Westminster Abbey and Truro and Bristol Cathedrals. Memorials to those who died in the First World War can be seen hanging above the Jacobean communion table in St. Catherine's Chapel. The Book of Remembrance nearby records all those who served in the two world wars and also those who died. St. Mary's is still being enhanced as it has been over the centuries for the needs of the current worshipping community.

Gillingham School is a coeducational school situated in Gillingham in North Dorset, England. Gillingham Grammar School can trace its foundation back to 1516. It was founded as a Free School, paid for out of the proceeds of land gifted to the school by several local landowners, and was managed by twelve trustees or Feoffees. Evidence exists to prove that the Gillingham Free School persisted without a break until the present day although the format has metamorphosed to a Grammar school and then to its present Comprehensive status. Among its distinguished alumni was Edward Hyde, who became the 1st Earl of Clarendon, and Lord High Chancellor of England 1661–1667. Edward Frampton was the headmaster in 1648 and he became Bishop of Gloucester in 1680.Over the years the school further prospered, and in 1916 girls were admitted for the first time. It was in 1926 that the school came under the control of the Dorset County Council who agreed to pay the staff salaries and provide grants for most education needs. In 1940 a County "Modern School" for the less academically able was built in a field next to the Grammar School and in 1959 the two schools combined into a Comprehensive School. Over the years and particularly in recent times the buildings were modernised and eventually all were replaced. The present school now has a roll of over 1600 pupils and a high reputation for achievement.Gillingham School is divided up into 10 form tutors, each with a name which relates to the school in one way or another. They are; Baxter, Clarendon, Davenant, Fletcher, George-Butler, Hurley, Matthews, Lyndon, Seager, and Wagner. As a comprehensive school, Year 7 - 11 have these tutors, each with roughly 32 pupils in. The Gillingham School Sixth Form are sorted into tutors, however the names are different from the school. The names are the initials of the form tutor teacher themselves. The Gillingham School sixth form attracts students from a large surrounding region and the school was rated 'good' in the latest Ofsted report.

Gillingham Liberty was a liberty in the county of Dorset, England, containing the following parishes: Bourton (from 1866) Gillingham Motcombe

Peacemarsh is a section of the town of Gillingham in the north of the county of Dorset. It lies on the northern side of Gillingham, on the B3095 about 4 miles south of the A303. A neighbouring village is Milton on Stour. Other areas of Gillingham include Wyke and Bay. Peacemarsh is in the census area of Gillingham which has a population of 9,323.One of the local employers in Peacemarsh is Neal's Yard Remedies.

Gillingham Town Football Club is a football club based in Gillingham, Dorset, England. Affiliated to the Dorset FA, they are currently members of the Western League Division One and play at Woodwater Lane. The club also has a reserve side and a women's side.

Gillingham Friary was possibly a Dominican friary in the town of Gillingham, Dorset, England.

Bowridge Hill is a hamlet 1 mile north east of Gillingham in Dorset, England, including the Grade II listed Lower Bowridge Hill Farmhouse, a 17th-century building once the home of the Greene family.

Milton on Stour is a small village in North Dorset, England. It lies on the River Stour, a mile north of the town of Gillingham. The Church of St Simon and St Jude, built in 1868, is a Grade II listed building.

St George's Church is a Church of England church in Langham, Gillingham, Dorset, England. It was designed by Charles Ponting and built in 1921. It has been a Grade II listed building since 1985. Today the church is used for occasional services, and is maintained by the Manger family trust.

East Stour is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Dorset in southern England. It lies within the Dorset administrative district, about two miles (three kilometres) south of the town of Gillingham. The village is 1⁄2 mile (800 metres) from the east bank of the River Stour in the Blackmore Vale and two miles (three kilometres) west of the broadly conical local landmark Duncliffe Hill (with a summit elevation of 210 metres or 690 feet). Above the west bank of the river, about one mile (1.5 kilometres) away, is the village of West Stour. The A30 London to Penzance road passes through the village. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 573.

Christ Church is a Church of England parish church in East Stour, Dorset, England. The church, a Grade II listed building, was designed by George Alexander and built in 1841–42. Today the church forms part of the Stour Vale Benefice.