Buckland Newton


Buckland Newton is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated beneath the scarp slope of the Dorset Downs on the southern periphery of the Blackmore Vale, south of Sherborne. Approximately three quarters of the parish lies within the Dorset National Landscape area.
The parish covers an area of around and includes the hamlets of Bookham, Duntish, Henley and Sharnhill Green. In the 2021 census it had a population of 671 living in 289 households.
Amenities in the village include a pub, shop, primary school and village hall.

History

The name 'Buckland' derives from bōc-land, Old English for 'charter land' or land with special privileges created by royal diploma, while 'Newton' is a more recent addition taken from Sturminster Newton, a nearby town.
Evidence for prehistoric settlement comes from Bronze Age barrows at Gales Hill and the Iron Age hill fort of Dungeon Hill.
The historic parish was larger than the modern civil parish, at around, and originally had five settlements, each with their own open field system: Buckland Newton, Brockhampton, Duntish, Henley and Minterne Parva, the last now part of Minterne Magna parish. Farms based on small mediaeval enclosures include Chaston Farm, Revels Farm, and possibly Bookham.
Although the parish church of the Holy Rood was restored in the 19th century, it has a 13th-century chancel and 15th-century nave, west tower and aisles, plus fragments of 12th-century sculpture which are evidence of an earlier structure. In 1980 the writer and literary director Roland Gant described Holy Rood as "a lovely church", but that the first impression it created was not favourable due to its exterior having been rendered in cement, "giving the Perpendicular square tower the look of a Foreign Legion fort". The church has six bells, the oldest having been cast around 1380.
Duntish Court, sited about north of the main village, was a compact, classical country house built in 1764 beside the main Weymouth to Bath turnpike road. Designed by William Chambers for Fitzwalter Foy, the court — originally named Castle Hill — had notable plasterwork, grounds of and played a role in the arrest of agricultural labourers in Dorset's 'Captain Swing' riots of 1830. It was demolished in 1965.

Geography

Prominent nearby hills at the top of the escarpment to the southeast include the Ball Hill and the Lyscombe Hill near the Dorsetshire Gap.
The southern part of the parish is mainly chalk with an elevation ranging from. The northern lies between above sea-level and is mainly clay with Gault and Corallian Limestone beds.
The River Lydden rises in the numerous springs round the village, principally Buckland Bottom and Bladeley Bottom
There are 11 locally recognised Sites of Nature Conservation Interest within or close to the parish, as well as areas of Ancient Woodland. The main habitat types for sites of wildlife interest are deciduous woodland and calcareous grassland. There is also a small area of lowland meadows within Buckland Newton Itself.

Governance

At the lower level of local government, as a civil parish Buckland Newton has a parish council of 9 members.
At the upper level, Buckland Newton is in Dorset unitary district. For elections to Dorset Council, it is part of Chalk Valleys electoral ward. Historically, the village was within the Buckland Newton Hundred. With the creation of rural districts in 1894, it became part of Cerne Rural District, before moving into Dorchester Rural District in 1933. From 1974 it was part of West Dorset district, until Dorset became a unitary district in 2019.
For elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Buckland Newton is in West Dorset constituency.

Demographics

CensusPopulationFemaleMaleHouseholdsSource
1921572
1931549
1951490
1961470
1971410
1981490
1991540
2001618318300252
2011622316306260
2021671342329289