| Frampton | |
Houses in Frampton |
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Frampton
Frampton shown within Dorset |
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| Population | 456 |
|---|---|
| District | West 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 |
| List of places: UK • England • Dorset | |
Frampton is a village in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies within the West Dorset administrative district of the county, about five miles northwest of the county town of Dorchester. It is sited in the Frome valley amongst the chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. The village's name is a derivation from "Frome Town".[1]
The A356 main road passes through the village. The Heart of Wessex railway line also runs through the village, though the nearest station is about 2.5 miles away at Maiden Newton. In the 2001 Census the village had a population of 456, and 6.9% of dwellings were second homes . Frampton was once the centre of a Liberty of the same name.
Roman tessellated pavements have been found at Frampton, depicting one of the earliest known Christian symbols in England.[2] In 1704 Robert Browne built Frampton Court in the vicinity of the village. In the nineteenth century the Game Laws, which govern English field sports, were drafted there.[3] Many of the cottages in the village are from the Frampton estate.[4] In around 1840 the then-owner of the Court had many houses in the village (on the south side of the main road) demolished and replaced with trees, to improve the view from the Court.[4] Today the legacy of the Court and its park is that the valley around Frampton is still well-wooded, and most of the houses in the village lie to the north of the main road. Frampton Court itself was demolished in 1935.[4]