Dibden Purlieu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dibden Purlieu (IPA: [dɪbdεn pɝluː]) is a small village situated on the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire, UK and is twinned with Mauves-sur-Loire. Purlieu is a Norman-French word meaning "the outskirts of a forest" – a place free from forest laws. Dibden Purlieu is in the parish of Dibden, referred to in the Domesday Book as Deepdene, "dene" being an Anglo-Saxon word for valley.

The approximate population, as of 2006, is 3,500.

Dibden Purlieu has long been proud to be associated with several distinguished people, one of whom, Richard Eurich RA OBE, was the official war artist to the Admiralty from 1941. The village was also home to Ron Lane, a wood sculptor of wildlife, well known not just in Hampshire but throughout the entire United Kingdom. The Ron Lane Memorial Trust organises a schoolchildren's annual wood sculpturing competition in his memory.

Dibden Purlieu has frequently been referred to as the village but it is an ever-expanding area containing a busy shopping complex and a couple of large comprehensive schools. The Hythe Ferry is Purlieu's quickest link with the city of Southampton via the water.

Some of the other buildings situated in Dibden Purlieu include:

• A greengrocer's
• A chemist's
• A sandwich bar
• Two hair salons
• A butchers shop
• A furniture and hardware store
• A newsagents
• An electrical store
• A dental surgery
• Two churches
• A charity shop
• A restaurant
• A bathroom centre
• A fish and chip shop
• A Tesco Express (including petrol station)