Cerne Abbas

Cerne Abbey was a Benedictine monastery founded in 987 in the town now called Cerne Abbas, Dorset, by Æthelmær the Stout.

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.

Black Hill Down (grid reference ST668005) is a 71.84 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dorset, notified in 1989.

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).

All Saints Church in Nether Cerne, Dorset, England was built in the late 13th century. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It was declared redundant on 1 December 1971, and was vested in the Trust on 8 March 1973.The church and adjacent manor house are built of bands of flint and stone. Most of the church dates from the 13th century, although the tower, with its pinnacles and gargoyle, and porch were added in the 15th.The interior of the church includes a melon-shaped 12th century font, believe to date form an earlier church on the same site.

Godmanstone (or Godmanston) is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the county town Dorchester. Its name means Godman's Farm and it is sited by the River Cerne amongst chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. Dorset County Council's latest (2013) estimate of the parish population is 130. In the 2011 census the population of Godmanstone parish combined with the small adjoining parish of Nether Cerne was 156.Godmanstone used to have a pub—The Smiths Arms—which claimed to be the smallest in Britain. The story attached to the claim was that the original licence was granted by King Charles II when he requested that the village smith serve him a glass of porter. The smith refused because he had no licence, so Charles granted him one on the spot and was served his drink. The licence only applied to the smithy; adjacent living quarters, subsequently used by drinkers, were larger. The business has since closed. Francis Cottington, 1st Baron Cottington (ca.1579–1652) came from Godmonston. He was the English lord treasurer and ambassador and leader of the pro-Spanish, pro-Roman Catholic faction in the court of Charles I.The parish church is partly Norman, chiefly perpendicular, with a tower; and was recently repaired.

The Shearplace Hill Enclosure is an archaeological site of the Bronze Age, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-west of Cerne Abbas in Dorset, England. It is a scheduled monument.

Sydling St Nicholas is a village and civil parish in Dorset within southwest England. The parish is 5 to 9 miles (8.0 to 14.5 km) northwest of the county town Dorchester and covers most of the valley of the small Sydling Water in the chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. The parish has an area of 2,075 hectares (5,130 acres) and includes the hamlet of Up Sydling in the north. Sydling St Nicholas village was recorded in the 11th-century Domesday Book, though evidence of much earlier human occupation has been found in the surrounding area. Over the last thousand years the village has been owned by Milton Abbey, Sir Francis Walsingham and Winchester College. The whole of Sydling St Nicholas parish lies within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In addition, parts of the parish lie within the Hog Cliff National Nature Reserve and the Cerne and Sydling Downs Special Area of Conservation. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 414.

Hermitage is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It is situated in the Blackmore Vale under the scarp of the Dorset Downs, 6 miles (9.7 km) south of the town of Sherborne. Dorset County Council's latest (2013) estimate of the parish population is 70.Augustinian monks once had a hermitage here (also known as the Blackmoor Priory Hermitage), whence the name of the village, but they abandoned the site in the 14th or 15th century. The Lady's Well which they used still remains, on the edge of woodland a short distance from the village.

The Piddletrenthide Hoard is a Roman coin hoard dating from the 3rd century AD, found near Piddletrenthide, Dorset. It consisted of 2,114 base silver radiates found in a pottery vessel. The coins date to between 253 and 296 AD.The hoard was found by metal detectorist Brian Read in 2016. It was lifted up with the block of soil in which it was buried and taken to the British Museum for study.

Piddletrenthide ( ) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It is sited by the small River Piddle in a valley on the dip slope of the Dorset Downs, 8 miles (13 km) north of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the parish—which includes the small village of Plush to the northeast—had 323 dwellings, 290 households and a population of 647.

Charlton Down is a new village in Dorset, England, situated approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the county town Dorchester. It lies within the civil parish of Charminster.