Dewlish (liberty)

Dewlish is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, and is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) north-east of the county town Dorchester. The village is sited in the valley of the small Devil's Brook among the chalk hills of the Dorset Downs; the parish covers about 2,100 acres (850 ha) and extends west to include part of the valley of the small Cheselbourne stream, and east to include a dry valley at Dennet's Bottom. The surrounding area is part of the Dorset National Landscape area. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 284. Dewlish was also the main part of the Liberty of the same name, including Dewlish itself and a part of Milborne St Andrew.

Dewlish House is a country house near Dewlish in Dorset. It is a Grade I Listed building.

The Devils Brook is a Dorset watercourse of that rises near Higher Ansty (on Pleck Farm, in Pleck or Little Ansty), near to the source of the River Divelish. It flows past Dewlish (to which it lent its name) and joins the River Piddle at Athelhampton, which in turn flows into Poole Harbour. Its length is given variously from 6 miles (9.7 km) to 9.16 miles (14.74 km). The river has a catchment area of 3,364.34 hectares (8,313.5 acres).

Athelhampton (also known as Admiston or Adminston) is a settlement and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated approximately 5 miles (8 km) east of Dorchester. It consists of a manor house and a former Church of England parish church. Dorset County Council's 2013 mid-year estimate of the population of the civil parish is 30.

Milborne St Andrew is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It is situated on the A354 road, 9 miles (14 kilometres) northeast of the county town Dorchester, in a winterbourne valley on the dip slope of the Dorset Downs. In the 2011 census the parish had 472 dwellings, 453 households and a population of 1,062.

The Church of Saint John the Evangelist is a Church of England parish church in Tolpuddle, Dorset. The church is a Grade I listed building.

Tolpuddle ( ) is a village in the civil parish of Burleston and Tolpuddle, in Dorset, England, on the River Piddle from which it takes its name, 8 miles (13 km) east of Dorchester, the county town, and 12 miles (19 km) west of Poole. The estimated population of the parish in 2013 was 420. The village is well known as the home of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, six men who were sentenced to be transported to Australia after they formed a friendly society in 1833. A row of cottages, housing agricultural workers and a museum, and a row of seated statues commemorate the martyrs. The annual Tolpuddle Martyrs festival is held in the village on the third weekend of July. An ancient sycamore tree on the village green, known as the Martyrs' Tree, is said to be the place where the Martyrs swore their oath. It is cared for by the National Trust. The Martyrs Inn public house is owned by nearby Athelhampton House, a Tudor house open to the public approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west. St John the Evangelist's Parish Church dates from the 13th century. In 1999, the A35 trunk road through south Dorset, was moved to bypass both Tolpuddle and nearby Puddletown.

Burleston is a village in Dorset, England. Burleston is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, having at that time a small population of nine households and the Abbey of Milton St. Peter.

Puddletown Hundred was a hundred in the county of Dorset, England, containing the following parishes: Athelhampton Burleston Milborne St Andrew (part) Puddletown Tincleton Tolpuddle

Puddletown is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated by the River Piddle, from which it derives its name, about 4.5 miles (7 km) northeast of the county town Dorchester. Its earlier name Piddletown fell out of favour, probably because of connotations of the word "piddle". The name Puddletown was officially sanctioned in the late 1950s. Puddletown's civil parish covers 2,908 hectares (7,185 acres) and extends to the River Frome to the south. In 2013, the estimated population of the civil parish was 1450. Puddletown's parish church has significant architectural interest, particularly its furnishings and monuments. It has a 12th-century font and well-preserved woodwork, including 17th-century box pews. Thomas Hardy took an interest in the church, and the village provided the inspiration for the fictional settlement of Weatherbury in his novel Far from the Madding Crowd; Weatherbury Farm, the home of principal character Bathsheba Everdene, is based on a manor house within the parish.

Hilton is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It is sited at an elevation of 135 metres (443 feet) in a small valley which drains chalk hills in the eastern part of the Dorset Downs, approximately 8 miles (13 kilometres) west-southwest of the town of Blandford Forum. The summit of Bulbarrow Hill (274 m or 899 ft) is 1+1⁄2 miles (2.5 kilometres) north of the village. In the 2011 census the parish—which includes the settlement of Ansty to the west—had 231 dwellings, 206 households and a population of 477.Hilton used to form a part of the estate of the nearby Milton Abbey when it was owned by the rich Hambro family; the Hambros, who often used to entertain Edward VII, planted woods on the surrounding hills, to provide cover for pheasants. However the woods surrounding Hilton today are mostly post-war plantations of beech (Fagus sylvatica) and ash (Fraxinus excelsior) as the hills were cleared during WW2. Large areas are privately owned, although there are open access areas owned and managed by the Forestry Commission.The church of All Saints is a typical Dorset country church and is mainly in the late Gothic style. In the north aisle a fine range of windows from the cloisters of Milton Abbey have been reused. The fan vault in the porch probably comes from the same source. Also from the abbey are a set of 12 panels with paintings of the Apostles: these are of high quality and early 16th century in date.In 1870–72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Hilton like this: HILTON, a parish in Blandford district, Dorset; under Bulbarrow camp, 7+1⁄2 miles [12 kilometres] WSW of Blandford town and r. station. It contains the hamlets of Aller, Anstey, and Hartsfoot-Lane; and its post town is Milton-Abbas, under Blandford. Acres, 2, 974. Real property, £3, 945. Pop., 833. Houses, 162. The property is divided among a few. Orchards and gardens occupy considerable space. Slate, coal, and bog iron abound; and some gold has been found. There are many mineral springs. Druidical remains, Roman urns and coins, early English coins, and other ancient relics have been found. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury. Value, £.273.* Patron, the Bishop of Salisbury. The church is tolerable, and has a tower.

Milton Abbey school is an independent school for day and boarding pupils in the village of Milton Abbas, near Blandford Forum in Dorset, in South West England. It has 224 pupils as of September 2023, in five houses: Athelstan, Damer, Hambro, Hodgkinson and Tregonwell. The school was founded in 1954 and is co-educational.The school has a stunning rural campus, with facilities that include a gym, swimming pool, golf course, a 320-seat theatre, art department and design block including fashion suite, an astro turf hockey pitch, an outward bound area, a 15th-century dining hall, an Abbey chapel that can be traced back to the 10th century and grounds designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown. Recent building developments include a turbo cycling training facility and interactive golf simulator. The main house, which was built by Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester from 1780 onwards, houses the administrative hub of the Estate, classrooms, the Staff Common Room, the King's Room, two of the boys' boarding houses (Athelstan and Hambro) and a girls' boarding house (Hodgkinson). Two newer buildings finished in 2013 hold the remaining girls' (Damer) and boys' (Tregonwell) boarding houses.