Woodsford

{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Dorset, England}}

{{Infobox UK place | official_name = Woodsford | static_image_name = Woodsford_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_924711.jpg | static_image_caption = Woodsford Castle | coordinates = {{coord|50.714|-2.338|display=inline,title}} | map_type = Dorset | label_position = left | population = 80 | population_ref = (2013 estimate) | civil_parish = Woodsford | unitary_england = [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset]] | lieutenancy_england = [[Dorset]] | region = South West England | country = England | constituency_westminster = [[South Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|South Dorset]] | post_town = Dorchester | postcode_area = DT | postcode_district = DT2 | dial_code = 01305 | os_grid_reference = SY762905 }}

'''Woodsford''' is a village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] beside the [[River Frome, Dorset]], England, about {{convert|4|mi}} east of the county town [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]]. [[Dorset County Council]]'s 2013 mid-year estimate of the parish population is 80.

==Manor== The [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 records the [[Manorialism|manor]] as ''Waredesford'',<ref>[http://opendomesday.org/place/SY7690/woodsford/ Open Domesday: Woodford]</ref> which the 18th-century historian [[John Hutchins (antiquary)|John Hutchins]] interpreted as meaning a [[Ford (crossing)|ford]] across the Varia, an alternative name for the River Frome. More recent opinion is that Waredesford referred to a ford belonging to a man named Weard. Two holdings were recorded, which have been interpreted as corresponding to East Woodsford (the current village) and West Woodsford (now Woodsford Castle).{{sfn|RCHME|1970|pp=397–402}}

Woodsford Castle is the surviving range of a 14th-century fortified manor house. [[Edward III of England|King Edward III]] granted William de Whitefield a licence to crenellate in 1335. The house has the largest thatched roof in the county<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2009/02/some-lost-castles-of-dorset/ |last=Rodger |first=MA |title=Some Lost Castles Of Dorset |newspaper=Dorset Life |date=February 2009 |access-date=28 November 2013}}</ref> and has been restored by the [[Landmark Trust]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and-book/properties/woodsford-castle-13233 |title=Woodsford Castle |publisher=[[Landmark Trust]] |access-date=20 May 2016}}</ref> The house is a [[Listed building#Categories of listed building|Grade I listed building]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1155314 |desc=Woodsford Castle |grade=I |accessdate=1 September 2015}}</ref>

==Parish church== The [[Church of England parish church]] of St [[John the Baptist]] was 13th-century, but was [[Victorian restoration|largely rebuilt]] in 1862–63 to designs by the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival architect]] [[Thomas Henry Wyatt]]. Remnants of the 13th-century church include the lower part of the west tower and an [[English Gothic architecture#Early English Gothic|Early English Gothic]] lancet on the south side of the nave west of the south porch.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1155283 |desc=Church of Saint John the Baptist |grade=II |accessdate=1 September 2015}}</ref> The parish is part of the [[Benefice#Church of England|Benefice]] of [[Moreton, Dorset|Moreton]], Woodsford and [[Crossways, Dorset|Crossways]] with [[Tincleton]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.achurchnearyou.com/benefice.php?B=34/237BK |title=Benefice of Moreton, Woodsford and Crossways with Tincleton |author=Archbishops' Council |author-link=Archbishops' Council |work=[[A Church Near You]] |publisher=[[Church of England]] |access-date=1 September 2015}}</ref>

==Economic history== In the Frome Valley at Woodsford there used to be a system of [[watermeadow]]s.{{sfn|Wightman|1983|p=49}}

==Demography== [[Dorset County Council]]'s 2013 mid-year estimate of the parish population is 80.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dorsetforyou.com/344882|title=Parish Population Data|date=20 January 2015|publisher=Dorset County Council|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-date=21 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121135528/https://www.dorsetforyou.com/344882|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 Census]] recorded the parish's population as 67.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=4&containerAreaId=790196 |title=Area selected: South West (Region): Parish Headcounts |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |work=[[Neighbourhood Statistics]] |access-date=1 September 2015}}</ref> In the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] figures for Woodsford parish have been combined with those of neighbouring [[Tincleton]] parish; the population in this combined area was 236.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11129722&c=Tincleton&d=16&e=62&g=6418530&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1441353160531&enc=1 |title=Area: Tincleton (Parish). Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics |publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics |access-date=4 September 2015}}</ref>

==References== [[File:Woodsford, parish church of St. John the Evangelist - geograph.org.uk - 473352.jpg|thumb|St John the Evangelist parish church]] {{Reflist}}

==Sources== *{{cite book |last1=Newman |first1=John |last2=Pevsner |first2=Nikolaus |author2-link=Nikolaus Pevsner |year=1972 |title=Dorset |series=[[Pevsner Architectural Guides#Buildings of England|The Buildings of England]] |place=Harmondsworth |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |isbn=0-14-071044-2 |pages=494–495 }} *{{cite book |editor=RCHME |year=1970 |chapter=Woodsford |title=An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset |volume=2 – South East |location=London |publisher=[[Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England]] |pages=397–402 |url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=127562 }} *{{cite book |last=Wightman |first=Ralph |author-link=Ralph Wightman |year=1983 |orig-year=1965 |title=Portrait of Dorset |edition=4 |series=Portrait Books |place=London |publisher=[[Robert Hale and Company|Robert Hale]] |isbn=0-7090-0844-9 |page=49 }}

==External links== * {{commons category inline}}

[[Category:Civil parishes in Dorset]] [[Category:Villages in Dorset]] {{Authority control}}{{Dorset-geo-stub}}