place

Nether Cerne

Civil parishes in DorsetHamlets in Dorset
Idyllic village geograph.org.uk 519501
Idyllic village geograph.org.uk 519501

Nether Cerne is a hamlet and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It lies within the Dorset unitary authority administrative area, about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of the county town Dorchester and 12 miles (19 km) south of Sherborne. The A352 road which connects those towns lies about 250 metres (270 yd) to the west. Dorset County Council's latest (2013) estimate of the parish population is 20.Nether Cerne is sited by the small River Cerne which rises near Minterne Magna 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north and runs in a narrow valley which is aligned roughly north-south. The Cerne Valley is one of several roughly parallel valleys which drain the dip slope of the Dorset Downs. The settlement of Nether Cerne comprises a church and adjacent late 17th-century house, plus a few cottages. In 1906 Sir Frederick Treves described the house and church as "ancient old cronies, still hobnobbing together". All Saints Church was originally built from rubble and flint in the second half of the 13th century, though it was restored in 1876 and has a 15th-century tower. It is maintained by The Churches Conservation Trust (previously the Redundant Churches Fund).

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Nether Cerne (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 50.7829 ° E -2.4691 °
placeShow on map

Address


DT2 7AJ
England, United Kingdom
mapOpen on Google Maps

Idyllic village geograph.org.uk 519501
Idyllic village geograph.org.uk 519501
Share experience

Nearby Places

Cerne Abbas Giant
Cerne Abbas Giant

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.