Woodsford
| Woodsford | |
 Woodsford Castle |
|
  Woodsford |
|
| Population | 80 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SY762905 |
| 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 |
| UK Parliament | South Dorset |
Coordinates: 50°42′49″N 2°20′17″W / 50.71355°N 2.338°W
Woodsford is a hamlet and civil parish in the county of Dorset in South West England. It lies in the Frome valley in the West Dorset administrative district, about 5 miles (8.0 km) east of the county town Dorchester. The valley here is wide and the fields used to be managed using a system of watermeadows.[2] Dorset County Council's 2013 mid-year estimate of the parish population is 80.[1]
In the 11th century Woodsford was recorded in the Domesday Book as Waredesford, a name which was ascribed by 18th-century historian John Hutchins to mean a ford across the Varia, the latter being an alternative name for the River Frome, although more recent opinion is that Waredesford referred to a ford belonging to a man named Weard.[3] Two holdings were recorded, which have been interpreted as corresponding to East Woodsford (the current village) and West Woodsford (now Woodsford Castle).[4]
Woodsford Castle is the surviving range of a 14th-century fortified manor house.[5] It has the largest thatched roof in the county[6] and has been restored by the Landmark Trust.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Parish Population Data". Dorset County Council. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ↑ Ralph Wightman (1983). Portrait of Dorset (4 ed.). Robert Hale Ltd. p. 49. ISBN 0 7090 0844 9.
- ↑ "Woodsford". Dorset OPC Project. 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
- ↑ "An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 2: South East". University of London & History of Parliament Trust. (British History Online). 2013 [1970]. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
- ↑ "Woodsford Castle". Pastscape. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
- ↑ M A Rodger (February 2009). "Some Lost Castles Of Dorset". Dorset Life. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
External links
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