Shillingstone
| Shillingstone | |
 Gospel Hall and cross, Shillingstone |
|
  Shillingstone Shillingstone shown within Dorset | |
| Population | 1,007 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Website | http://www.shillingstone.info |
Shillingstone /ˈʃɪlɨŋstən/ is a village and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour between Sturminster Newton and Blandford Forum. In the 2001 census the population was 1,007.[1]
History
Shillingstone features in the Domesday Book of 1086[2] as a settlement of 46 households, with meadow, woodlands and a mill, under the lordship of Ascelin. Its name is a derivation of Eschelling's (or Ascelin's) town. It once had the tallest maypole in Dorset - 86 feet high.[3] An agricultural community, it specialised in the production of moss.[4]
In the first World War, it earned the title, "the bravest village in Britain", because of the high proportion of residents who volunteered to join the armed forces.[citation needed] In 1924 the Shillingstone lime works was started to extract lime from the chalk beds at Shillingstone Hill. There are still three kilns for burning the lime to make quicklime.[5]
Shillingstone Parish Council meets monthly to discuss planning applications, maintenance of allotments and the local recreation ground, and other local amenities.[6] The village is the long-time home of Kevin Davis, the founder of the influential 'Davis Algorithm'.[7]
Parish church
The parish church of the Holy Rood is a short distance away from the village and is of 12th-century origin, constructed in banded flint and ashlar masonry.[8] It was enlarged in the 15th century and in the 19th century; G. F. Bodley added the north aisle. The font is of the 12th century and the pulpit of the 17th.[9] The hymn writer Edward Dayman was appointed Rector of Shillingstone in 1842. About 150m south of the church is a medieval cross base.[10]
Railway station
Shillingstone railway station still survives intact on the former line of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, now part of the North Dorset Trailway.[11] The station is one of the best-preserved on the Somerset and Dorset line since the railway's closure in 1966. It opened on Monday 31 August 1863 and closed just over a century later on Sunday 6 March 1966. The station is undergoing extensive restoration by the Shillingstone Station Project, supported by the North Dorset Railway Trust.[12] The village also had a light railway serving Shillingstone House, the post-war home of Sir Thomas Salt.[13]
Education
The village has a primary school, affiliated to the Church of England[14] and is also home to independent special school, the Forum School.[15] Until around 1997, Shillingstone was the location of the now-defunct girls' boarding school, Croft House School.
References
- ↑ Shillingstone 2001 Census Parish Profile
- ↑ Shillingstone: Domesday Book http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/ST8211/shillingstone/
- ↑ From The Dorset Village Book, by Harry & Hugh Ashley, published by Countryside Books. http://www.visitoruk.com/historydetail.php?id=29559&cid=592&f=Shaftesbury
- ↑ Shillingstone, in Dorset Life http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2012/03/shillingstone/
- ↑ Industry in Shillingstone http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-380000-111000/page/7
- ↑ Shillingstone Parish information http://www.shillingstone.info/parish.html
- ↑ Daily Telegraph letters 9 Jan 2011 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/8248779/Yesterdays-students-faced-a-tougher-challenge-for-a-First.html
- ↑ Hidden Dorset gems http://www.hiddendorset.org/index.php/hd/gem/hd1533.html
- ↑ Betjeman, John, ed. (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches; the South. London: Collins; p. 176
- ↑ Scheduled monuments http://www.ancientmonuments.info/en27343-medieval-cross-base-150m-south-of-holy-roo
- ↑ Sturminster Newton to Shillingford http://walkandcycle.co.uk/dorset/trail_summary.php?recordID=DORSTR0051
- ↑ Shillingstone Railway Project http://www.shillingstone.addr.com/how_to_find_us.htm
- ↑ Shillingstone Light Railway http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/grahamallen/Old%20Hardyeans/School%20Dance/School%20Dance%20Part%202/article.pdf
- ↑ "Shillingstone Primary School". Shillingstone.dorset.sch.uk. 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
- ↑ The Forum School http://www.cambiangroup.com/specialist_education/schools_and_post-16_provisions_for_autism/the_forum_school
External links
Media related to Shillingstone at Wikimedia Commons- Shillingstone Station Project
