{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Dorset, England}} {{Use British English|date=June 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}} {{Infobox UK place |country = England |official_name = Chideock |static_image_name = The main street, Chideock - geograph.org.uk - 1587609.jpg |static_image_caption= The main road in Chideock |coordinates = {{coord|50.7324|-2.8208|display=inline,title}} |map_type = Dorset |population = 618 |population_ref = (2021 census) |unitary_england = [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset]] |lieutenancy_england = [[Dorset]] |region = South West England |constituency_westminster = West Dorset |post_town = Bridport |postcode_district = DT6 |postcode_area = DT |os_grid_reference = SY423928 |website = [http://www.chideockandseatown.co.uk/ Village website] }} [[File:Chideock Manor - geograph.org.uk - 406196.jpg|thumb|Entrance to Chideock Manor]]
'''Chideock''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|ɪ|d|ə|k}} {{respell|CHID|ək}}) is a village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in south west [[Dorset]], England, situated close to the [[English Channel]] between [[Bridport]] and [[Lyme Regis]]. In 2021, the population was 618.
Chideock's economy mostly comprises agriculture ([[agronomy|arable]] and [[pastoral]]) and tourism. The parish is in the [[Dorset National Landscape]] area and includes part of the [[Jurassic Coast]], a [[World Heritage Site]].
During much of its history Chideock has had a strong tradition of [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]; in the late 16th century four Chideock men were executed for their faith and became known as the Chideock Martyrs. There is a memorial to the men in the village.
The [[A35 road|A35 trunk road]] passes through the village, which means the main street can have high volumes of traffic.
==Etymology== The name of Chideock is first attested in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, as ''Cidihoc''.<ref name=Gant>{{cite book|title=Dorset Villages|author=Roland Gant|publisher=Robert Hale Ltd|pages=122–3|year=1980|isbn=0-7091-8135-3}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |isbn=9780521168557 |editor-last=Watts |editor-first=Victor |location=Cambridge}}, s.v. ''Chideock''.</ref> This name is unusual in England for being derived from [[Common Brittonic]], in this case the word that survives in modern Welsh as {{lang|cy|coediog}} ("wooded").<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />{{rp|294}}
==History== In 1379–80 John de Chideock, a manorial lord, built Chideock Castle just north of the village.<ref name=Gant/><ref name=Hammond>{{cite book|title=Dorset Coast|author=Reginald J W Hammond|publisher=Ward Lock Ltd|pages=36–7|edition=4|isbn=0-7063-5494-X|year=1979}}</ref><ref name=Booton>{{cite web|url=http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2012/05/booton-foot-trails-chideock-golden-cap-and-seatown/|title=Booton Foot Trails: Chideock, Golden Cap and Seatown|author=Peter Booton|access-date=22 January 2014|date=May 2012|publisher=Dorset Life Magazine}}</ref> During the [[Middle Ages]] ownership passed to the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] Arundell family, who used it to provide refuge for priests and loyal followers during subsequent religious persecution.<ref name=Booton/> During the [[Protestant]] reign of [[Elizabeth I]] the Arundell estate became Dorset's main centre of Catholicism,<ref>{{cite book|title=Dorset|author=J.H. Bettey|publisher=David & Charles|page=99|isbn=0-7153-6371-9|year=1974}}</ref> and the locality witnessed considerable religious strife.<ref name=Gant/> Four local Catholic men—[[John Cornelius (priest)|John Cornelius]], Thomas Bosgrave, [[John Carey (martyr)|John Carey]] and Patrick Salmon<ref name=Booton/>—were [[martyr]]ed in the late 16th century; their trial took place in the main hall of what is now Chideock House Hotel and they were executed in [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]]. The men became known as the Chideock Martyrs.<ref name=Gant/><ref name=Booton/> A fifth man, [[Hugh Green (martyr)|Hugh Green]], who became Chideock's chaplain in 1612, was tried and executed in 1642. All five were [[Beatification|beatified]] on 15 December 1929.<ref name=Booton/>
During the [[English Civil War]] Chideock was a [[royalist]] stronghold,<ref name=Booton/> and the castle changed hands more than once before it was ultimately left ruinous in 1645 by [[Roundhead|parliamentarian]] forces under the Governor of Lyme Regis, Colonel Ceeley.<ref name=Gant/><ref name=Hammond/><ref name=Booton/> Chideock House Hotel may have been the headquarters of [[General Fairfax]] as he planned the castle's overthrowing.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} Parts of the castle remained standing until at least 1733<ref name=Hammond/> but only some of the moat can be seen today; it is in a field, accessed by Ruins Lane, and marked by a crucifix as a memorial to the martyrs.<ref name=Gant/><ref name=Hammond/>
[[File:Chideock, Catholic church of Our Lady of Martyrs and St. Ignatius - geograph.org.uk - 496533.jpg|thumb|The Roman Catholic church of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, and St Ignatius]] In 1802 the Arundells were succeeded by the Weld family of [[Lulworth Castle]] who in 1810 built Chideock Manor.<ref name=Gant/> The Welds were also Catholic and in 1870-2 Charles Weld designed and built the village's Roman Catholic church in an unusual [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque]] style. It is dedicated to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, and St Ignatius and remains in trust to the Weld family.<ref name=Gant/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chideockmartyrschurch.org.uk/history/|title=History - Chideock Martyrs Church|access-date=21 August 2016}}</ref>
Among other surviving relics claimed by this location is St. [[Thomas More]]'s [[Cilice|hair shirt]], sent to Margaret Roper the day before his martyrdom and later presented for safe keeping by Margaret Clement.<ref name="r6">{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia= Catholic Encyclopaedia |title= St. Thomas More| url= http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14689c.htm}}.</ref> This was long in the custody of the community of Augustinian canonesses who, until 1983, lived at the convent at [[Abbotskerswell Priory]], Devon.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hilliam |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OpATDQAAQBAJ&dq=thomas+more+relics+hair+shirt+Chideock+castle&pg=PT56 |title=Little Book of Dorset |date=2010-12-26 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-0-7524-6265-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Vail |first=Anne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hjyc9bPITKgC&dq=thomas+more+relics+hair+shirt+Chideock+castle&pg=PA42 |title=Shrines of Our Lady in England |date=2004 |publisher=Gracewing Publishing |isbn=978-0-85244-603-4 |pages=42 |language=en}}</ref> More recent sources, however, state that the shirt is now preserved at the Roman Catholic [[Buckfast Abbey]], part of a Benedictine monastery, in [[Devon]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2016/st-thomas-mores-hair-shirt-now-enshrined-for-public-veneration.cfm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122162939/http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2016/st-thomas-mores-hair-shirt-now-enshrined-for-public-veneration.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 November 2016|title=With public rosaries, priest prays for peace, healing after shooting|date=15 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://royalcentral.co.uk/historic/st-thomas-mores-hair-shirt-enshrined-for-public-veneration-72241 |title=St Thomas More's Hair Shirt Enshrined for Public Veneration – Royal Central |website=royalcentral.co.uk |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127140551/http://royalcentral.co.uk/historic/st-thomas-mores-hair-shirt-enshrined-for-public-veneration-72241 |archive-date=27 November 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dioceseofshrewsbury.org/news/hair-shirt-worn-st-thomas-enshrined-public-veneration-possibly-first-time|title=Hair-shirt worn by St Thomas More is enshrined for public veneration for possibly the first time - the Diocese of Shrewsbury - the Diocese of Shrewsbury|access-date=24 July 2017|archive-date=25 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925230945/http://www.dioceseofshrewsbury.org/news/hair-shirt-worn-st-thomas-enshrined-public-veneration-possibly-first-time|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Governance== At the lowest level of local government, Chideock is a [[civil parish]] with a [[parish council (England)|parish council]] of 7 members.<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=https://www.chideockparishcouncil.com/role-of-the-council |website=Chideock PC |language=en}}</ref>
At the upper level of local government, Chideock is in [[Dorset (district)|Dorset unitary district]]. For elections to [[Dorset Council (UK)|Dorset Council]], it is in [[Marshwood Vale (ward)|Marshwood Vale electoral ward]]. Historically, Chideock was in [[Bridport Rural District]] from 1894 to 1974,<ref>{{cite web |title=Bridport RD through time {{!}} Census tables with data for the Local Government District |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10108100#tab02 |website=www.visionofbritain.org.uk}}</ref> and then [[West Dorset]] district until Dorset became unitary in 2019.
For elections to the national parliament, Chideock is in the [[West Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|West Dorset parliamentary constituency]], which is currently represented by the [[Liberal Democrat]] [[Edward Morello]].
==Geography== [[File:Chideock from Quarry Hill - geograph.org.uk - 1342258.jpg|thumb|Chideock from Quarry Hill]] Chideock is situated in the [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset Council]] administrative area about {{convert|2.5|mi|km}} west of Bridport, {{convert|5|mi|km}} east of Lyme Regis and {{convert|0.75|mi|km}} inland from the English Channel. The parish includes the coastal hamlet of [[Seatown]], which is less than {{convert|1|mi|km}} to the south on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. Seatown has a long shelving pebble beach, with views up towards the hill which forms [[Golden Cap]], which at {{convert|191|m|ft}} is the highest cliff on the south coast of England. Fossilised [[ammonites]] and [[Belemnitida|belemnites]] can often be found on the beach due to continued [[coastal erosion]] of the soft blue lias [[clay]]s which make up the cliffs. Iron-rich rocks such as [[lodestone]] and [[magnetite]] can also be found on the beaches near the village – these are thought to have been transported down the coast from Chesil Beach, having been deposited there by a shipwreck in the 1800s.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} Similar collections of these rocks can be found on beaches along the Jurassic Coast and in the neighbouring counties of [[Hampshire]] and the [[Isle of Wight]].
==Demography== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |+ Census population of Chideock parish |- ! scope=col width=18%| Census ! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Population ! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Female ! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Male ! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Households ! scope=col width=10% class="unsortable"| Source |- !scope=row| [[1921 United Kingdom census|1921]] || 548 || || || || <ref name="wikidata-9af5a3d0ef073a6f402cca72297dfe77a03ae63c-v18">{{Cite web|publisher=Dorset County Council|title=Past population - Parishes (A-L), 1921-2001- Census Years|url=http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038|archive-date=6 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906154647/http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038}}</ref> |- !scope=row| [[1931 United Kingdom census|1931]] || 542 || || || || <ref name="wikidata-9af5a3d0ef073a6f402cca72297dfe77a03ae63c-v18">{{Cite web|publisher=Dorset County Council|title=Past population - Parishes (A-L), 1921-2001- Census Years|url=http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038|archive-date=6 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906154647/http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038}}</ref> |- !scope=row| [[1951 United Kingdom census|1951]] || 610 || || || || <ref name="wikidata-9af5a3d0ef073a6f402cca72297dfe77a03ae63c-v18">{{Cite web|publisher=Dorset County Council|title=Past population - Parishes (A-L), 1921-2001- Census Years|url=http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038|archive-date=6 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906154647/http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038}}</ref> |- !scope=row| [[1961 United Kingdom census|1961]] || 559 || || || || <ref name="wikidata-9af5a3d0ef073a6f402cca72297dfe77a03ae63c-v18">{{Cite web|publisher=Dorset County Council|title=Past population - Parishes (A-L), 1921-2001- Census Years|url=http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038|archive-date=6 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906154647/http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038}}</ref> |- !scope=row| [[1971 United Kingdom census|1971]] || 560 || || || || <ref name="wikidata-9af5a3d0ef073a6f402cca72297dfe77a03ae63c-v18">{{Cite web|publisher=Dorset County Council|title=Past population - Parishes (A-L), 1921-2001- Census Years|url=http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038|archive-date=6 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906154647/http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038}}</ref> |- !scope=row| [[1981 United Kingdom census|1981]] || 650 || || || || <ref name="wikidata-9af5a3d0ef073a6f402cca72297dfe77a03ae63c-v18">{{Cite web|publisher=Dorset County Council|title=Past population - Parishes (A-L), 1921-2001- Census Years|url=http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038|archive-date=6 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906154647/http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038}}</ref> |- !scope=row| [[1991 United Kingdom census|1991]] || 690 || || || || <ref name="wikidata-9af5a3d0ef073a6f402cca72297dfe77a03ae63c-v18">{{Cite web|publisher=Dorset County Council|title=Past population - Parishes (A-L), 1921-2001- Census Years|url=http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038|archive-date=6 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906154647/http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345038}}</ref> |- !scope=row| [[2001 United Kingdom census|2001]] || 686 || 351 || 335 || 322 || <ref name="wikidata-a08218995ada6ed07e35f13524a292a4b6851935-v18">{{Cite web|at=Tables KS001 (Usual resident population) and KS016 (Household spaces and accommodation type)|publisher=Office for National Statistics|title=Key Statistics|access-date=23 June 2025|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2001_ks}}</ref> |- !scope=row| [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011]] || 686 || 355 || 331 || 325 || <ref name="wikidata-23d93403bbd510e3eaf857bb0207b766770d8bc9-v18">{{Cite web|at=Table KS101EW (Usual resident population) and Table KS105EW (Household composition)|publisher=Office for National Statistics|title=Key Statistics|access-date=23 June 2025|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2011_ks}}</ref> |- !scope=row| [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]] || 618 || 317 || 301 || 307 || <ref name="wikidata-1777794f031f3bb865bc1ba87bbd53bc9876131c-v18">{{Cite web|publisher=Office for National Statistics|title=Parish Profiles|access-date=5 August 2024|website=2021 United Kingdom census|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_pp}}</ref> |}
Data for the 2001 and 2011 censuses include the sparsely-populated neighbouring parish of [[Stanton St Gabriel]].
==Transport== The A35 trunk road between [[Honiton]] and [[Southampton]] passes through Chideock, which in 1997 was the first village in Britain to have two [[speed cameras]] installed in response to perceived excessive speed.<ref name=Aslet>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wZvjPhec6M8C&q=1997+chideock+speed+cameras&pg=PT48|title=Villages of Britain: The Five Hundred Villages that Made the Countryside|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|author=Clive Aslet|year=2011|isbn=9781608196722}}</ref> All speeding fines paid until 2007 had to be refunded when it emerged that the [[Traffic Regulation Order]] imposing the speed limit had referred to the junction with Seatown Road whereas that road (which does lead to Seatown) is actually Duck Street.<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 October 2007 |title=GATSO Blunder |url=https://bridportradio.co.uk/news-a-views/gatso-blunder/ |access-date=25 June 2025 |website=Bridport Radio}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Herron |first=Neil |date=22 June 2009 |title=Chideock Speed Camera Refunds |url=https://neilherron.blogspot.com/2009/06/chideock-speed-camera-refunds.html |access-date=25 June 2025 |website=Neil Herron Blog}}</ref> The [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] refused permission for a prospective bypass over land it owns to the north of [[Golden Cap]], citing its importance in the Dorset National Landscape.<ref name=Aslet/> On 4 May 2010 a protest against the lack of a bypass was initiated by some residents and involved constant operation of a [[pedestrian crossing]] at the centre of the village for one hour's duration every week.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/dorset/8661477.stm|title=Protest pensioner halts traffic|date=5 May 2010|access-date=21 August 2016|via=bbc.co.uk}}</ref> This campaign continued for a year and may result in restrictions on [[heavy goods vehicle]]s in the village.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisisdorset.co.uk/Light-end-tunnel-Dorset-road-campaign/story-12700984-detail/story.html|title=Light at the end of tunnel for Dorset road campaign?|date=3 June 2011|access-date=21 August 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121174035/http://www.thisisdorset.co.uk/Light-end-tunnel-Dorset-road-campaign/story-12700984-detail/story.html|archive-date=21 January 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category|Chideock}} *[http://www.chideockmartyrschurch.org.uk/ Church of Our Lady, Queen of Martyrs, and St. Ignatius, Chideock] *[http://www.goldencapteamofchurches.org.uk/chideock.html St Giles Parish Church]
{{Royal palaces in the United Kingdom}} {{authority control}}
[[Category:Villages in Dorset]] [[Category:Dorset places with etymologically Brittonic names]]