| Durweston | |
Parish church of St Nicholas |
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Durweston
Durweston shown within Dorset |
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| Population | 429 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | ST858085 |
| District | North Dorset |
| Shire county | Dorset |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | North Dorset |
| List of places: UK • England • Dorset | |
Durweston is a village in the English county of Dorset. It lies within the North Dorset administrative district of the county, two miles north-west of the town of Blandford Forum. It is sited by the River Stour at the point where it flows out of the Blackmore Vale through a steep, narrow gap between the Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase. The village has a population of 429.[1]
Durweston was named in the Domesday Book of 1086, with a place-name of Derwinestone or Dervinestone, with references to a mill and vines. There was once a coastal minesweeper called "HMS Durweston", which was launched at the Dorset Yacht Company’s Hamworthy yard on 18 August 1955.
Durweston Primary School has an annual tradition of "Shroving" every Shrove Tuesday, when the schoolchildren process around the village during the morning, calling on local people, singing songs and giving flowers. Those who are visited may also give the children bread or other tidbits to eat. This is a very old tradition, which has largely died out in England, and Durweston is thought to be one of the very few villages in England that has maintained the tradition.
For many generations the people who live in Durweston have sung a collection of carols unique to their village, now known as the Durweston Carols. These were probably composed between 1750–1850, and form part of a forgotten repertory from English parish churches. These came to be known as 'gallery carols' because they were often performed by groups of voices and instruments in the west gallery of country parish churches and, until 1877, there was a gallery in Durweston Church.
A new village hall was opened in Durweston in April 2003. The hall is a focus for many events of entertainment, social gatherings and also a business conference centre for the wider community of North Dorset.
Durweston has its own monthly village magazine "Durweston News", as well as a bi-monthly Christian "Benefice Magazine" shared with the neighbouring parishes of Stourpaine, Pimperne and Bryanston.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Durweston Durweston] at Wikimedia Commons