Cattistock 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 authorit ...

in west

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 ...

, sited in the upper reaches of the Frome Valley, northwest of the county town Dorchester. The Dorset poet

William Barnes William Barnes (22 February 1801 – 7 October 1886) was an English polymath, writer, poet, philologist, priest, mathematician, engraving artist and inventor. He wrote over 800 poems, some in Dorset dialect, and much other work, including a co ...

called it "elbow-streeted Cattstock", a comment on the less-than-linear village street. In the 2011 census the parish 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 509.

Parish church

A church was built here in the 12th century by the monks of

Milton Abbey Milton Abbey school is an independent school for day and boarding pupils in the village of Milton Abbas, near Blandford Forum in Dorset, in South West England. It has 224 pupils , in five houses: Athelstan, Damer, Hambro, Hodgkinson and Tregonw ...

, though this structure has not survived. The current church, dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, was rebuilt in the 19th century by architects

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

and his son

George Gilbert Scott Junior George Gilbert Scott Jr. (8 October 1839 – 6 May 1897) was an English architect working in late Gothic and Queen Anne revival styles. Known in later life as 'Middle Scott', he was the eldest son of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott), a ...

. The Perpendicular-styled tower was the work of the latter, and has led to the church being dubbed the 'Cathedral of the Frome Valley'; he was also responsible for the porch, north aisle and vestry. A carillon of 35 bells was installed in the new tower a few years after its construction. This was the first carillon to be introduced to England and attracted hundreds of visitors to the valley, though the bells were destroyed by a fire in the tower on 15 September 1940. The fire also destroyed the very large clock, which previously almost spanned the width of the tower. In 1972 the

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

guide to Dorset architecture said that "for the mid- to late-nineteenth century, this is the masterpiece amongst Dorset churches". The church is a Grade I

Listed Building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Chantmarle

Nearly north of the village is Chantmarle, a house dating from the 15th century, with additions in the 16th, 17th and 19th centuries. It received its name—which means "song of the blackbird" in Norman French—from the Chauntmerles family, who lived on the site in the early 13th century. In 1910 Inigo Thomas designed new end wings and a terraced garden with ponds. In the late 20th century Chantmarle was used as a centre for police training. It is now a Christian retreat and wedding reception venue.

Cattistock Hunt

The Cattistock Hunt is a foxhound pack established by a parson at Cattistock Lodge in the mid 18th century. It was given the name 'The True Blue'.

Food festival

Cattistock hosts a

Dorset knob A Dorset knob is a hard dry savoury biscuit which is now produced by only a single producer - Moores Biscuits of Bridport, Dorset, England - for a limited time of the year. Description Dorset knobs are made from bread dough which contains extra ...

throwing event and the Frome Valley Food Festival every year on the first Sunday in May.

References

External links

*“Official” village websit
www.cattistockvillage.co.uk"Unofficial" village website
www.cattistock.info * Villages in Dorset {{Dorset-geo-stub