Fordington is a part of the town of

Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome to the south of the Dorset Downs and north of the ...

; originally a separate village, it has now become a suburb. Taking its name from a ford across the River Frome, it grew up around the church of

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

(where Henry Moule was once Vicar), though the parish was much larger and surrounded Dorchester on three sides. It was part of the

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

of Fordington. The will of

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who b ...

is said to make an early reference to

Saint George Saint George ( Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

of England, in the context of the church of Fordington,

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. Covering an area of , ...

. Certainly at Fordington a stone over the south door records the miraculous appearance of St George to lead crusaders into battle. At West Fordington is St Mary's Church, built in 1911–12 to the designs of

Charles Ponting Charles Edwin Ponting, F.S.A., (1850–1932) was a Gothic Revival architect who practised in Marlborough, Wiltshire. Career Ponting began his architectural career in 1864 in the office of the architect Samuel Overton. He was agent for Meux b ...

. It replaced Christ Church as parish church in 1929.http://dcc.dorsetforyou.com/calmview/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=PE-FOR%5BSM%5D/IN/10/1&pos=5

References

External links

Geography of Dorchester, Dorset {{Dorset-geo-stub