Church of St Mary, Almer, Dorset

Almer is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sturminster Marshall, in the Dorset district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Almer is located on the A31 road near Winterborne Zelston, Huish Manor, Sturminster Marshall and opposite the Drax estate. The main features of the village are Almer Manor, Almer Parish church and the old school house. The school was co-educational; it opened in 1925 and closed in 1964. The Almer School Honours tablet is now kept in Winterborne Zelston village hall. The seven residential properties in Almer are owned and let by the Charborough (Drax) Estate. In 1931 the parish had a population of 108. On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Sturminster Marshall.Almer Parish Church is dedicated to St Mary and is Grade 1 Listed.

Charborough House, also known as Charborough Park, is a Grade I listed building, the manor house of the ancient manor of Charborough. The house is between the villages of Sturminster Marshall and Bere Regis in Dorset, England. The grounds, which include a deer park and gardens, adjoin the villages of Winterborne Zelston, Newton Peveril and Lytchett Matravers: they are Grade II* listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, and have been called the most splendid parkland in Dorset.

Winterborne Zelston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England. It is situated in a winterbourne valley on the A31 road eight miles (thirteen kilometres) south of Blandford Forum and 10 mi (16 km) northwest of Poole. The parish had a population of 141 in 2001. In 2013 the estimated population of the civil parish was 90.The first name of "Winterborne" comes from the River Winterborne, which flows from west to east through the village. Zelstone is probably from the name of the Zeals family. The river only flows overground during the winter, hence the name. To the west is Winterborne Tomson and to the north-east is Almer. The river flows through both these villages as well.

Rushmore Hundred was a hundred in the county of Dorset, England, containing the parish of Winterborne Zelston

Spetisbury railway station was a station in the English county of Dorset. It was located between Blandford Forum and Bailey Gate on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. The station consisted of two platforms, a station building, signal box and shelters. The ‘down’ platform is the station's original platform, which opened with timber booking office and waiting rooms on 1 November 1860. The platform was extended and a separate brick-built ladies’ waiting room was provided in 1888. The concrete floor and fireplace you see today is the foundation of this building. During reconstruction of the station around 1900 when double track was laid, this platform was again extended to a total length of 300 ft. It then became the ‘down’ platform for trains to Bailey Gate, Broadstone, Poole and Bournemouth (West). You can clearly see the different methods of construction where this platform has been extended.The ‘up’ platform is 300 ft long and was built during reconstruction of the station around 1900. It was used for trains to Blandford, Templecombe, Evercreech Junction (change for the Burnham-on-Sea branch) and Bath (Green Park). This platform opened on 29 April 1901 and was provided with a brick station building containing a booking office, waiting rooms and lavatories. The rear wall of this building still survives as it holds back the field behind the station. The foundations of the various rooms with the three fireplaces can still be seen today.

Spetisbury () is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour and the A350, four miles (six kilometres) southeast of Blandford Forum. According to the Domesday Book of 1086, the village had 30 households. According to the 2011 census the parish had 224 households and a population of 555. According to the 2021 census, the parish had 250 households and a population of 590.Spetisbury is a linear settlement, adjacent to the A350 road, which was included in Dorset County Council's response to the Major Roads Network (MRN) consultation, leading to some anticipation of a bypass of Spetisbury and neighbouring Charlton Marshall. A large solar farm was commissioned near Spetisbury in 2023 to provide energy for the City of London Corporation.Spetisbury is twinned with Le Vast, a village in the Manche department of Normandy, France. The Manche department is itself is twinned with Dorset.

Spetisbury Priory, also Spettisbury Priory, was a medieval priory in Spetisbury or Spettisbury, Dorset, England.

Morden (otherwise Moreden) is a civil parish in the Purbeck district of south Dorset, England. Morden is about 6 miles (10 km) north-west of Poole. At the 2011 census the civil parish had 141 households and a population of 323.As well as the village of Morden, the parish includes the hamlets of East Morden, West Morden and Whitefields.St Mary's Church, Morden, was rebuilt in 1873 except for the lower part of the 13th-century tower. East Morden has a pub, the Cock & Bottle.In the north of the parish, Charborough was anciently a separate manor, hamlet and ecclesiastical parish. The Grade I listed 17th-century mansion called Charborough House or Charborough Park stands in an extensive deer park, and near the house is the small parish church, also dedicated to St Mary, rebuilt in 1775 and Grade II* listed.

Loosebarrow Hundred was a hundred in the county of Dorset, England, containing the following parishes: Almer Morden Spetisbury

The River Tarrant is a 12 km long tributary of the River Stour in Dorset. The valley lies to the east of Blandford Forum. The river rises near Cranborne Chase, an area of chalk downland, and flows broadly from north to south before joining the river Stour. The eight Tarrant Valley villages/hamlets all bear the name of the river. Listed in order from the river's source they are: Tarrant Gunville: the source of the river is in the grounds of Gunville House, now demolished. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary. Tarrant Hinton: a village at a crossroads. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary. Tarrant Launceston: a hamlet with a 17th-century three-arched bridge. The church, dedicated to St Mary, was demolished in the 1700s (the site is on Higher Dairy Farm). Now part of the parish of Tarrant Monkton. Tarrant Monkton: a village with a parish church dedicated to All Saints. Tarrant Rawston: a very small settlement. This once had a parish church dedicated to St Mary, which still exists and is in private ownership but remains as a church. Tarrant Rushton: a village with a parish church dedicated to St Mary. Near here was a World War II RAF airfield. Tarrant Keyneston: this is the largest village of the eight; it has a parish church dedicated to All Saints. Tarrant Crawford, the final settlement, lies at the confluence of the rivers Tarrant and Stour. Here there is the church of St Mary the Virgin held by the Churches Conservation Trust and Tarrant Abbey farm, where once stood a nunnery. Tarrant Crawford became part of the parish of Tarrant Keyneston.There were possibly one or two other Tarrant communities: Tarrant Stubhampton, north of Tarrant Gunville and part of that parish: This is now known as Stubhampton. In the Middle Ages, a church existed in that village. This is the source of the Tarrant. Tarrant Antioch which may have been an earlier name for Tarrant Rawston, or may have been a distinct community just north of Tarrant Rawston. Tarrant Antioch was served by St Mary Tarrant Crawford, where there was a devotion to St Margaret of Antioch. Tarrant Preston, now Preston FarmA Roman road followed the valley and there are many tumuli on the hills on both sides of the river, evidence of long occupation.

St Mary the Virgin is the Church of England parish church of Lytchett Matravers in Dorset. Its parish is part of the Diocese of Salisbury. The building is Grade I listed.

Tarrant Abbey was a Cistercian nunnery in Tarrant Crawford, Dorset, England.