Frome Vauchurch

Frome Vauchurch is located in Dorset
Frome Vauchurch
Frome Vauchurch
Location within Dorset
Population160 [1]
OS grid referenceSY599972
Unitary authority
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDorchester
Postcode districtDT2
Dialling code01300, 01308
PoliceDorset
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Dorset
50°46′24″N 2°34′12″W / 50.7734°N 2.5701°W / 50.7734; -2.5701

Frome Vauchurch is a parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) northwest of the county town Dorchester. It includes the hamlets of Frome Vauchurch, Higher Frome Vauchurch, Lower Frome Vauchurch and Tollerford. Frome Vauchurch is sited in the Frome valley amongst the chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. The parish is adjacent to the village of Maiden Newton, with which the parish's hamlets are virtually contiguous. Dorset County Council's latest (2013) estimate of the parish population is 160.[1]

The Frome Valley Trail and the Mackmillan Way long-distance trails pass through the parish.[2][3]

Frome Vauchurch was the home of the writers Sylvia Townsend Warner[4] and Valentine Ackland.[5] They moved into a house called Riversdale beside the River Frome in 1937, which they first rented and later bought.[6]

The Parish Church of St Francis is originally 12th century but was substantially rebuilt in the 17th century and restored in c.1879, and is a Grade II* listed building.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b "Parish Population Data". Dorset County Council. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  2. ^ "LDWA Frome Valley Trail". Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  3. ^ "LDWA Macmillan Way". Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  4. ^ Roland Gant (1980). Dorset Villages. Robert Hale Ltd. p. 141. ISBN 0-7091-8135-3.
  5. ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (4 April 2021). "Gay, communist, female: why MI5 blacklisted the poet Valentine Ackland". The Observer. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  6. ^ "At home in Dorset – The Sylvia Townsend Warner Society". Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  7. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Francis, Frome Vauchurch (1288446)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 November 2021.

Further reading

  • From the Ash Tree, Materials for a History of Maiden Newton and Frome Vauchurch, 1997, Edited by H E Wells-Furby, CSC Design & Reprographic
  • Maiden Newton & Frome Vauchurch, A Short Walk and Guide, 2009, Judith Smith
Sign at the entrance to Higher Frome Vauchurch on the A356 showing its name in a larger font than the neighbouring larger village of Maiden Newton.