Fordington is a part of the town of Dorchester, in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England. It was 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 (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

(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 state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

of Fordington. The will of

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 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 both died when Alfr ...

is said to make an early reference to

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

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

. 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. It replaced Christ Church as parish church in 1929. In 1891 the

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

had a population of 5088. On 9 November 1900 the parish was abolished and merged with Dorchester St Peter and Dorchester All Saints.

References

Populated places in Dorset Former civil parishes in Dorset Geography of Dorchester, Dorset {{Dorset-geo-stub