The River Tarrant is a 12 km long tributary of the River Stour in

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 ...

. The valley lies to the east 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 river rises near

Cranborne Chase Cranborne Chase () is an area of central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. It is part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The area is dominated by, ...

, an area of

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

, and flows broadly from north to south before joining the river Stour. The eight Tarrant Valley villages/hamlets all bear the name of the river. Listed in order from the river's source they are: *

Tarrant Gunville Tarrant Gunville is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated at the head of the Tarrant Valley on Cranborne Chase northeast of Blandford Forum. The parish covers at an elevation of . In the 2011 census the parish—which ...

: the source of the river is in the grounds of Gunville House, now demolished. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary. *

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 villa ...

: a village at a crossroads. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary. *

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 ...

: a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

with a 17th-century three-arched bridge. The church, dedicated to St Mary, was demolished in the 1700s (the site is on Higher Dairy Farm). Now part of the parish of Tarrant Monkton. *

Tarrant Monkton Tarrant Monkton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated in the Tarrant Valley about east-northeast of Blandford Forum. Within the parish boundary, over hills to the west, lies the major par ...

: a village with a parish church dedicated to All Saints. *

Tarrant Rawston Tarrant Rawston is a hamlet and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It is named after the River Tarrant which flows through the parish. It has a small church, built of flint and stone, which is situated within the garden of ...

: a very small settlement. This once had a parish church dedicated to St Mary, which still exists and is in private ownership but remains as a church. *

Tarrant Rushton Tarrant Rushton is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England. The village is situated in the Tarrant Valley about east of Blandford Forum. In 2013 the civil parish had an estimated population of 80. Starting in the north east the pari ...

: a village with a parish church dedicated to St Mary. Near here was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

airfield. *

Tarrant Keyneston Tarrant Keyneston is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated in the Tarrant Valley, southeast of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had 152 dwellings, 145 households and a population of 310. On the hills nor ...

: this is the largest village of the eight; it has a parish church dedicated to All Saints. *

Tarrant Crawford __NOTOC__ Tarrant Crawford is a small village and civil parish at the lower end of the Tarrant Valley in Dorset, England. The River Tarrant joins the larger River Stour here. The village consists of two small settlements: Crawford Farm and a fe ...

, the final settlement, lies at the confluence of the rivers Tarrant and Stour. Here there is the church of St Mary the Virgin held by the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

and Tarrant Abbey farm, where once stood a nunnery. Tarrant Crawford became part of the parish of Tarrant Keyneston. There were possibly one or two other Tarrant communities: * Tarrant Stubhampton, north of Tarrant Gunville and part of that parish: This is now known as Stubhampton. In the Middle Ages, a church existed in that village. This is the source of the Tarrant. * Tarrant Antioch which may have been an earlier name for Tarrant Rawston, or may have been a distinct community just north of Tarrant Rawston. Tarrant Antioch was served by St Mary Tarrant Crawford, where there was a devotion to St Margaret of Antioch. * Tarrant Preston, now Preston Farm
University of Nottingham Survey of English Place-Names A

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

followed the valley and there are many

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

on the hills on both sides of the river, evidence of long occupation.

References

External links

*
Article on Tarrant Valley
Rivers of Dorset 1Tarrant {{England-river-stub