Alderholt is a large

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in east

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, England; situated west of

Fordingbridge Fordingbridge is a town and broader civil parish with a population of 6,000 on the River Avon in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England, near the Dorset and Wiltshire borders and on the edge of the New Forest, famed for its late medieva ...

. The parish includes the

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

Crendell Crendell is a hamlet in the civil parish of Alderholt in the East Dorset district of Dorset, England. The hamlet is close to the Dorset-Hampshire border. Its nearest town is Verwood, which lies approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) south from the h ...

and Cripplestyle. The local travel links are located from the village to

Salisbury railway station Salisbury railway station serves the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It is from on the West of England line to . This is crossed by the Wessex Main Line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. The station is operated and s ...

and to

Bournemouth International Airport Bournemouth Airport (previously known as Hurn Airport and Bournemouth International Airport) is an airport located north-northeast of Bournemouth, in southern England. The site opened as RAF Hurn in 1941, but was transferred to civil contr ...

. The main road running through the village is the B3078 connecting Alderholt to

and

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

. The village has a population of 3,113 according to the 2001 Census, increasing along with the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

of the same name to 3,171 at the 2011 Census. The village is served by a small Co-operative store, (previously a Spar, until early 2007), veterinary clinic and part-time GP surgery. The village pub i
The Churchill Arms
There are three churches in the village: Alderholt Chapel, St James' Church of England, and the Tabernacle Gospel Church. Until mid-2014, Alderholt also had its own independent pet store. The village also has a large recreation ground with a sports and social club, two tennis courts, and a children's play area. Until 1964, the village was served by a railway station named Daggons Road, situated to the west of the village, and on a line connecting to

and

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

to the north, and

Verwood Verwood is a town and civil parish in eastern Dorset, England. The town lies north of Bournemouth and north east of Poole as the crow flies. The civil parish comprises the town of Verwood together with the extended village of Three Legged C ...

and

Wimborne Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...

to the south. The civil parish was created in 1894. A Parish Book was published in 1994 by the Alderholt Parish Council, recording Parish details and interest over the 100 years.Kelly's Directory of Dorset, 1895 Alderholt is home to the ReCreate Arts Festival each April and has hosted such acts as Dodgy, Andy Kind and S Club.

References

External links

Alderholt Parish Council website

Census data

The Parish Church of St James

Alderholt Chapel
Civil parishes in Dorset Villages in Dorset {{Dorset-geo-stub