Blandford St Mary is a village 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 the

North Dorset North Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. It was largely rural, but included the towns of Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Stalbridge and Sturminster Newton. Much of North Dorset was in the River Stour vall ...

district of

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. The village is on the south bank of the River Stour, immediately opposite the larger town of

Blandford Forum Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this ...

. The village grew up around the

Badger Brewery Hall and Woodhouse is a British regional brewery founded in 1777 by Charles Hall in Blandford Forum, Dorset, England. The company operates over 250 public houses in the south of England, and brews under the name Badger Brewery. History The br ...

, owned by Hall and Woodhouse, which is based there. At the 2001 census it had a population of 1,233. The appropriate

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 ...

is called 'Portman' with naturally the most populous area being south of the river. The ward includes

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the town of Blandford Forum, in Dorset in South West England. It was founded in 1928. ...

and also runs south west almost to Thornicombe. The total ward population at the abovementioned census was 2,436. Blandford St Mary has a busy

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

supermarket and fuel station and a

Homebase Homebase is a British home improvement retailer and garden centre with stores across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Founded by Sainsbury's and GB-Inno-BM in 1979, the company was owned by Home Retail Group from October 2006, un ...

DIY store which attracts shoppers from the many villages that surround the Blandford area. In addition there are a number of offices in Stour Park. In the residential area there is a new housing estate and

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

. An older area of the village near the river bridge to Blandford Forum has a traditional

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

and a

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

. Opposite is the old stone gate at the entrance of the Bryanston School estate. Outline planning permission has been given to redevelop the

Hall & Woodhouse Hall and Woodhouse is a British regional brewery founded in 1777 by Charles Hall in Blandford Forum, Dorset, England. The company operates over 250 public houses in the south of England, and brews under the name Badger Brewery. History The b ...

brewery site to include new offices and 200 new homes. Lower Blandford St Mary is a rural outpost of Blandford St Mary, in the farm fields to the south across the bypass road, with a small church and graveyard, and one or two historic houses. The Dorset Central Railway, which opened on 1 November 1860 from the

LSWR The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

station at

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 ...

, had a station in the village, serving the neighbouring important market town of Blandford Forum. This was demolished when the line amalgamated to be part of the

Somerset & Dorset Railway The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, also known as the S&D, SDJR or S&DJR, was an English railway line connecting Bath (in north-east Somerset) and Bournemouth (now in south-east Dorset but then in Hampshire), with a branch from Evercree ...

, and a bridge was built over the river Stour to the station at Blandford.''Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway'', Stephen Austin, Ian Allan Publishing, 1999.

References

External links

Civil parishes in Dorset North Dorset District Villages in Dorset {{Dorset-geo-stub