| Iwerne Courtney or Shroton | |
Main Street, Iwerne Courtney |
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Iwerne Courtney or Shroton
Iwerne Courtney or Shroton shown within Dorset |
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| Population | 400 (2001 census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | ST859125 |
| Parish | Iwerne Courtney or Shroton |
| District | North Dorset |
| Shire county | Dorset |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Blandford Forum |
| Postcode district | DT11 |
| Dialling code | 01258 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | North Dorset |
| List of places: UK • England • Dorset | |
Iwerne Courtney, also known as Shroton, is a village in the English county of Dorset. It lies within the North Dorset administrative district of the county, about 4 miles (6 km) north-west of the town of Blandford Forum. It is sited by the small River Iwerne between Hambledon Hill to the south-west and the hills of Cranborne Chase to the east. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 400.
In the Domesday Book Shroton was known as "Sheriff's Town",[1] and in 1261 it received a grant from Henry the Third, enabling it to hold two annual fairs and a weekly market.[1] The autumn "Shroton Fair" used to be "one of the main Dorset events of the year".[2] Dorset-born broadcaster Ralph Wightman wrote of the fair that "For many years time was dated in this part of Dorset by Shroton Fair. Old men recalled events by the number of months they had happened before or after this event."[3] However the fair has now "vanished without a trace".[3] The name Iwerne Courtney - of which in 1980 author and Dorset resident Roland Gant wrote "I have heard only visitors to Dorset call it Iwerne Courtney"[2] - derives from when the Courtenays (a Devon family ) owned land here, on the Iwerne stream.[2]
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Iwerne_Courtney Iwerne Courtney] at Wikimedia Commons