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Maiden Newton

Coordinates: 50°46′39″N 2°34′22″W / 50.7775°N 2.5728°W / 50.7775; -2.5728
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Maiden Newton
Maiden Newton parish church of St Mary
Maiden Newton is located in Dorset
Maiden Newton
Maiden Newton
Location within Dorset
Population1,119 [1]
OS grid referenceSY597977
Unitary authority
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDorchester
Postcode districtDT2
Dialling code01300
PoliceDorset
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Dorset
50°46′39″N 2°34′22″W / 50.7775°N 2.5728°W / 50.7775; -2.5728

Maiden Newton is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in south-west England. It lies within the Dorset Council administrative area, about 9 miles (14 km) north-west of the county town, Dorchester.

Geography

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The village is sited on Upper Greensand at the confluence of the River Frome with its tributary of equivalent size, the Hooke.[2] Both these rivers have cut valleys into the surrounding chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. The A356 main road passes through the village. In the 2011 census the parish—which does not include the adjacent settlements of Frome Vauchurch and Tollerford— had a population of 1,119.[1]

History

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In 1086 in the Domesday Book, Maiden Newton was recorded as Newetone;[3] it had 26 households, 7 ploughlands, 18 acres (7.3 ha) of meadow and 2 mills. It was in Tollerford Hundred and the lord and tenant-in-chief was Waleran the Hunter.[4]

Centre of the village of Maiden Newton with the village cross in foreground
Centre of the village of Maiden Newton with the village cross in foreground

Maiden Newton was the basis for the village of Chalk-Newton, South Wessex, in many of the works of Thomas Hardy. In the vicinity of the village is evidence of Roman occupation and early British settlements.[5] The parish church of St Mary contains much Norman work, with additions from the 14th and 15th centuries.[5] The shaft of the Village Cross is 15th century and is Grade II* listed.[6] There is also the shaft of a Medieval cross in the churchyard which is a scheduled monument.[7] Maiden Newton is also home to one of the country's oldest fire engines, restored and in full working order,[8] the fire engine house built for it in 1842-3 is a grade II listed building.[9]

Maiden Newton is in an electoral ward with the same name, which also contains much of the surrounding countryside including the villages of West Compton, Toller Fratrum, Toller Porcorum and Hooke. The population of this ward was 2,081 at the 2011 census.[10]

Transport

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The village is served by Maiden Newton railway station on the Heart of Wessex Line. There was also a railway line from Maiden Newton to Bridport which opened in 1857 and was extended to West Bay in 1884. The Bridport branch line was recommended for closure in the Beeching Report of 1963. By the time the line closed in 1975 it was the last remaining branch line in Dorset. Work is underway to turn the line into a footpath and cycle track.[11]

The A356 passes through the village[12] as does National Cycle Network Route 26.[13][14]

Three long distance footpaths the Macmillan Way[15] and the Wessex Ridgeway[16] pass through the Village as does the shorter Frome Valley Trail.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Area: Maiden Newton (Parish), Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  2. ^ Ralph Wightman (1983). Portrait of Dorset (4 ed.). Robert Hale Ltd. p. 90. ISBN 0-7090-0844-9.
  3. ^ "Dorset H-R". The Domesday Book Online. domesdaybook.co.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Place: [Maiden] Newton". Open Domesday. domesdaymap.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  5. ^ a b West Dorset District Council, Holiday and Tourist Guide, c.1983, p13
  6. ^ Historic England (26 January 1956). "Village Cross (Grade <II*>) (1216391)". National Heritage List for England.
  7. ^ "Medieval standing cross 11m south east of the south porch of St Mary's Church, Maiden Newton - 1015044 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Maiden Newton - Visit Dorset". www.visit-dorset.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  9. ^ "FIRE ENGINE HOUSE, Maiden Newton - 1088098 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Maiden Newton". ukcensusdata.com. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Bridport, Dorset, UK. Jurassic Coast Golden Gateway". www.westbay.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  12. ^ ROAD ATLAS GREAT BRITAIN 2022. [S.l.]: AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION. 2021. ISBN 978-0-7495-8270-8. OCLC 1237397200.
  13. ^ "Route 26". Sustrans. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  14. ^ "National Cycle Network Route 26 - Visit Dorset". www.visit-dorset.com. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Long Distance Walkers Association". www.ldwa.org.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Long Distance Walkers Association". www.ldwa.org.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Long Distance Walkers Association". www.ldwa.org.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2021.

Further reading

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  • From the Ash Tree, Materials for a History of Maiden Newton and Frome Vauchurch, 1997, Edited by H E Wells-Furby, CSC Design & Reprographic
  • Maiden Newton & Frome Vauchurch, A Short Walk and Guide, 2009, Judith Smith
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