Turnworth

Turnworth is a small village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the Dorset Downs five miles (eight kilometres) west of Blandford Forum. It consists of a few cottages and farmhouses scattered around a church and manor house. In 2013 the civil parish had an estimated population of 30.[1]

Turnworth

St Mary's, Turnworth
Turnworth
Location within Dorset
Population30 
OS grid referenceST
Unitary authority
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBlandford Forum
Postcode districtDT11
PoliceDorset
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

In 1086 in the Domesday Book Turnworth was recorded as Torneworde;[2] it had 19 households, was in Pimperne Hundred and the lord and tenant-in-chief was Alfred of 'Spain'.[3]

The church, with the exception of the tower, was rebuilt in the 19th century with assistance from Thomas Hardy, who designed the capitals and possibly also the corbels. Hardy described Turnworth's position as being "stood in a hole, but the hole is full of beauty", and he used Turnworth House as the inspiration for Hintock House in his novel The Woodlanders.[4]

Nearby is Ringmoor, an ancient settlement on the top of the scarp face of the downs.

References

  1. "Parish Population Data". Dorset County Council. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  2. "Dorset S-Z". The Domesday Book Online. domesdaybook.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  3. "Place: Turnworth". Open Domesday. domesdaymap.co.uk. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  4. Roland Gant (1980). Dorset Villages. Robert Hale Ltd. pp. 80–81. ISBN 0 7091 8135 3.


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