North Dorset was a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

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 , ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was largely

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

, but included the towns of Blandford Forum, Gillingham,

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 ...

Stalbridge Stalbridge () is a small town and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale, near the border with Somerset. In the 2011 census the civil parish—which includes the hamlets of Stalbridge Weston, and Thornhill—had 1,160 ...

and Sturminster Newton. Much of North Dorset was in the River Stour

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

and is called the

Blackmore Vale The Blackmore Vale (; less commonly spelt ''Blackmoor'') is a vale, or wide valley, in north Dorset, and to a lesser extent south Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England. Geography The vale is part of the Stour valley, part of th ...

. The

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

of North Dorset was largely dairy

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

based. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, from the

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

s of Blandford Forum, Shaftesbury, Blandford Rural District, Shaftesbury Rural District and Sturminster Rural District. The district and its council were abolished on 1 April 2019 and, together with the other 4 districts outside the greater Bournemouth area, incorporated into a

unitary authority. At the

2001 UK census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...

North Dorset had a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 61,905, a rise of 8,300 from 1991, with 25,248 households. North Dorset is home to

North Dorset Rugby Football Club North Dorset RFC is a rugby union club in Gillingham, Dorset, who have been in existence since 1951. They currently play in Southern Counties South and are based at Slaughtergate, Gillingham. The club runs three senior teams and a veterans side ...

Settlements

:''Towns with a population over 2,500 are in bold.'' *

Anderson Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson ...

Ashmore Ashmore is a village and civil parish in the North Dorset district of Dorset, England, southwest of Salisbury. The village is centred on a circular pond and has a church and several stone cottages and farms, many with thatched roofs. It is ...

* Belchalwell, Blandford Forum, Bourton,

Bryanston Bryanston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour west of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 925. The village is adjacent to the grounds of Bryanston School, an ind ...

Buckhorn Weston Buckhorn Weston is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset, situated in the Blackmore Vale about west of the town of Gillingham. It lies on the western edge of the former royal hunting ground of Gillingham Forest. The underl ...

Cann Cann may refer to: *Cann (surname), a list of people with the name * Cann River, a river of Victoria, Australia * Cann, Dorset, a village in England *Edward du Cann, British businessman and politician * Claire and Antoinette Cann pianists, known a ...

Charlton Marshall Charlton Marshall is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It lies within the North Dorset administrative district, on the A350 road south of the market town of Blandford Forum. It is sited on a river terrace above the flo ...

, Chettle,

Child Okeford Child Okeford (sometimes written Childe Okeford) is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, east of the small town of Sturminster Newton in the North Dorset administrative district. Child Okeford lies downstre ...

Compton Abbas Compton Abbas is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England. It lies south of the town of Shaftesbury. It is sited on greensand strata on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, below the chalk downs of Cranborne Chase. On top of these hills ...

* Durweston * East Orchard, East Stour * Farnham,

Fifehead Magdalen Fifehead Magdalen is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies within the Blackmore Vale, about south-southwest of Gillingham and west of Shaftesbury. It is sited on Corallian limestone soil and surro ...

Fifehead Neville Fifehead Neville is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated in the Blackmore Vale about southwest of the town of Sturminster Newton. In the 2011 census the population of the parish was 147. Toponymy ...

Fontmell Magna Fontmell Magna is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England. It is situated in the Blackmore Vale, close to the chalk hills of Cranborne Chase, on the A350 road south of Shaftesbury and north of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 cens ...

* Gillingham, Glanvilles Wootton *

Hammoon Hammoon is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset, sited on a river terrace of alluvial silt by the River Stour, about east of the small town of Sturminster Newton. Its name is derived from the Old English ''ham'', m ...

, Hazelbury Bryan, Hilton,

Hinton St Mary Hinton St Mary is a village and civil parish in Dorset, southern England. It is sited on a low Corallian limestone ridge beside the River Stour, north of the market town Sturminster Newton. In 2001 the parish had 97 households and a populatio ...

* Ibberton, Iwerne Courtney, Iwerne Minster * Kington Magna *

Langton Long Blandford Langton Long Blandford is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It is sited by the River Stour, approximately southeast of Blandford Forum. In 2013 the estimated population of the parish was 120. Forming ...

, Lydlinch * Manston,

Mappowder Mappowder is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. The parish lies approximately southeast of the town of Sherborne and covers about at an elevation of . It is sited on Corallian limestone soil at the souther ...

, Margaret Marsh, Marnhull,

Melbury Abbas Melbury Abbas is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, 3 km SSW of the town of Shaftesbury, east of the A350 Shaftesbury to Blandford Forum road. Local Features Melbury Abbas is on the western edge of Cranborne Chase in hilly ...

, Milborne St Andrew,

Milton Abbas Milton Abbas is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, lying around southwest of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had a population of 755. This planned community was built after the old Town was demolished in the 1 ...

, Motcombe *

Okeford Fitzpaine Okeford Fitzpaine is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset, situated in the Blackmore Vale south of the town of Sturminster Newton. It is sited on a thin strip of greensand under the scarp face of the Dorset Downs. In ...

* Pimperne,

Pulham Pulham is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in south-west England. It is situated in the Blackmore Vale, southeast of Sherborne. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had 105 dwellings, 103 households and a population of 269. P ...

, Shillingstone, Silton, Spetisbury,

, Stoke Wake, Stourpaine, Stour Provost, Stourton Caundle, Stour Row, Sturminster Newton,

Sutton Waldron Sutton Waldron is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the A350 road between Iwerne Minster and Fontmell Magna, in the Blackmore Vale under the scarp of Cranborne Chase, north of Blandford Forum and south of Shaftes ...

* Tarrant Crawford, Tarrant Gunville,

Tarrant Hinton Tarrant Hinton is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It is situated in the Tarrant Valley, approximately northeast of Blandford Forum. In 2013 the estimated population of the civil parish was 160. The villag ...

, Tarrant Keyneston,

Tarrant Launceston Tarrant Launceston is a small village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated in the Tarrant Valley northeast of Blandford Forum. The parish includes part of Blandford Camp to the west and a few buildings on the northern edge of ne ...

, Tarrant Monkton, Tarrant Rawston, Tarrant Rushton, Todber,

Turnworth Turnworth is a small village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the Dorset Downs 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 a ...

* West Orchard, West Stour,

Winterborne Clenston Winterborne Clenston is a small village and civil parish in Dorset, England, around southwest of Blandford Forum. In 2013 the civil parish had an estimated population of 40. The first part of the village name comes from the River Winterborne, w ...

Winterborne Houghton Winterborne Houghton is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England. It is situated in a winterbourne valley on the Dorset Downs, southwest of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had 82 households and a population of 183. ...

, Winterborne Kingston,

Winterborne Stickland Winterborne Stickland is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies about west of the town of Blandford Forum. In 2013 the civil parish had an estimated population of 520. In the 2011 census the parish, comb ...

, Winterborne Whitechurch,

Winterborne Zelston Winterborne Zelston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England. It is situated in a winterbourne valley on the A31 road south of Blandford Forum and northwest of Poole. The parish had a population of 141 in 2001. In 2013 the estim ...

, Woolland

Religion

References

External links

2001 Census data for North DorsetOfficial website
{{Coord, 50, 51, 38.92, N, 2, 9, 41.77, W, display=title, region:GB_type:adm3rd Former non-metropolitan districts Non-metropolitan districts of Dorset 2019 disestablishments in England