Toller Porcorum

{{Short description|Village in Dorset, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox UK place |country = England |official_name= Toller Porcorum |static_image_name = Farmland and church, Toller Porcorum - geograph.org.uk - 126332.jpg |static_image_caption = Toller Porcorum viewed from the south |map_type = Dorset |coordinates = {{coord|50.7795|-2.6218|display=inline,title}} |civil_parish= | population = 307 | population_ref = <ref name=ons>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11129766&c=Toller+Porcorum&d=16&e=62&g=6418505&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1400404116057&enc=1|title=Area: Toller Porcorum (Parish), Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]|accessdate=18 May 2014}}</ref> |unitary_england= [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset]] |lieutenancy_england = [[Dorset]] |region= South West England |constituency_westminster= [[West Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|West Dorset]] |post_town= [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]] |postcode_district = DT2 |postcode_area= DT |dial_code= 01300 |os_grid_reference= SY561980 }} '''Toller Porcorum''' ({{IPAc-en|p|ɔːr|ˈ|k|ɔːr|əm}}) is a village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in [[Dorset]], [[England]], situated in the [[River Toller|Toller valley]] {{convert|10|mi|km}} northwest of [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]]. In the 2011 census the civil parish—which also includes the small settlements of Higher and Lower Kingcombe to the north—had a population of 307.<ref name=ons/>

== Population == A rural and slowly growing area with a population of 307,<ref name="ons" /> Toller Porcorum is a village of approximately 160 households.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Toller Porcorum|url=http://www.tollerporcorum.org/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515110726/http://www.tollerporcorum.org/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=15 May 2013|access-date=2021-02-16|website=Toller Porcorum|language=en}}</ref>

== History == Like the other [[River Toller|Toller]] villages of [[Toller Fratrum]] and [[Toller Whelme]], the name was taken from the river, which is now known as the [[River Hooke|Hooke]]. The addition ''Porcorum'' means ''of the pigs'' in [[Latin]];<ref>Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP40/647; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no647/aCP40no647fronts/IMG_0251.htm; first entry, seen as "Tolre Porcorum", the home of William Coterych, husbandman</ref> the village was in the past sometimes known as ''Swines Toller'',<ref>Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP40/ 629; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/H5/CP40no629/aCP40no629fronts/IMG_0314.htm; 5th entry, first defendant John Skynnere, husbandman, of Swynyn Tollere</ref> but more often as ''Great Toller''.

'''Toller Porcorum''' is also an ancient [[Anglican]] ecclesiastical parish. The church is dedicated to [[Saint Peter|Saints Peter]] and [[Saint Andrew|Andrew]] and is remarkable for the "drooping chancel".<ref>[http://www.dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/index.php/our-churches/9-churches/461-toller-porcorum Dorset Historic Churches Trust: Toller Porcorum]</ref>

From 1862 to 1975, the village had a [[Toller railway station|railway station]] on the [[Bridport Railway]].

== The Old Swan == The village pub, ''The Old Swan'', was closed by the brewery in 1999 and has since been converted into a private dwelling. [[Skittles (sport)|Skittles]] was played there.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHG8xEZbjH4 |title=Jack Hargreaves explains a use for Hornbeam |work=Old Country |year=1984}}</ref>

== Notable people == Despite its small size the village has been home to a number of notable people. [[George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence|George of Clarence]] was at one point the owner of the majority of the village.{{Citation needed|reason=unreferenced claim|date=March 2021}}

== References == <references/>

==External links== {{commons}} * [http://www.dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/toller_porcorum.htm Dorset Historic Churches Trust, with pictures] * [http://toller.porcorum.googlepages.com/home A site about Toller Porcorum, with pictures]

[[Category:Villages in Dorset]]