Stourton Caundle 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

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 ...

in southwest England. It lies within 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 t ...

, about east of

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. T ...

. In the 2011 census the parish had 181 households and a population of 439. Stourton Caundle is one of several settlements in the area to bear the name "Caundle", the others being Bishop's Caundle,

Purse Caundle Purse Caundle is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southwest England. It lies within the Dorset Council administrative area, about east of Sherborne. In 2013 the estimated population of the parish was 90. Purse Caundle mano ...

and

Caundle Marsh Caundle Marsh is a village and civil parish in northwest Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale, southeast of Sherborne. The parish includes the hamlet of Tut Hill and the Dorset County Council estimate that in 2013 the population of th ...

. The origin of "Caundle" is uncertain. In the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

in 1086 there are seven Domesday entries connected to the village, recorded as "Candelle", "Candel" or "Candele" in the hundred of Brunsell. The entries record a total of 45 households and a total taxable value of 17 geld units. Sir Henry de Haddon, a lord from

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, bought land and founded a manor here in 1202, and the resultant settlement was called "Caundel Haddon" or "Caundle Haddon". The Haddons retained the manor until 1461 when it passed to the Stourton family, which resulted in the current village name. The manor was on the west side of the main village street and was probably fortified, resulting in it being referred to as a 'castle', though only a thirteenth-century chapel building (no longer used as such) and two fish ponds associated with the site now remain. Stourton Caundle's parish church is dedicated to St Peter and has a thirteenth-century nave and chancel, and a fourteenth-century tower. The village was once a venue for

stave dancing Stave dancing is a style of folk dance from the south-west of England, especially Somerset, Dorset, and Wiltshire. Teams of dancers carry long decorated poles, known as staves, over their shoulders whilst performing. Having effectively died-out in ...

. The village has a small pub called The Trooper, but villagers must travel to local town Stalbridge for other amenities.

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have be ...

used Manor Farm as inspiration for her novel ''

Five on Finniston Farm ''Five on Finniston Farm'' is the eighteenth novel in the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1960. Plot The Famous Five spend their summer holidays at Finniston Farm as paying guests. Upon arrival, they are greet ...

''. She owned the farm for a short time in the late 1950s.

References

External links

Villages in Dorset {{Dorset-geo-stub