Henstridge

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For the actress, see Natasha Henstridge.

Henstridge
Henstridge shown within Somerset
Population	1,651^[1]
OS grid reference	ST725195
District	South Somerset
Shire county	Somerset
Region	South West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Postcode district	BA8
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
European Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Somerton and Frome
List of places: UK • England • Somerset

Coordinates: 50°58′27″N 2°23′35″W / 50.9742, -2.393

Henstridge is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated five miles east of Sherborne in the South Somerset district, near the border with Dorset. The parish includes the hamlet of Yenston. The village has a population of 1,651^[2]. The village is situated at the junction of the A30 and A357 roads. Henstridge railway station was on the former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.

Just east of the village is Henstridge Airfield (ICAO code - EGHS). It was built during World War II as a training base for the Fleet Air Arm who commissioned it as HMS Dipper. Today visitors can still see the concrete outline of an aircraft carrier deck embedded into its one surviving runway. The MOD sold the airfield in 1957 and today it is mainly used as a base for General aviation and is an active training centre for Autogyros (Gyrocopters). Until 2007 the airfield was also the base for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

Henstridge is mentioned rather unflatteringly in the 1983 book The Meaning of Liff by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd, which gives alternative meanings to village names in the UK. The village is listed as: