Blandford Forum, or Blandford is a town on the River Stour in Dorset, England. In the 2001 census the population was 8,747, now estimated to be 9,000 people. Blandford is the location of North Dorset's district council, though it is situated in the far south-east of the district. Nearby is the small village, Blandford St Mary. The town lies at the junction of the A350 and A354 main roads but is skirted by a bypass.

The parish church of St Peter and St Paul is a classical building with a copula on top of the tower and was built in 1732.

To the south of the town a six arch stone bridge spans the slow-moving river Stour

One of the largest industries in the town is the Badger Brewery which supplies beer and ale to public houses across the region.

History

Blandford has been a fording point since Anglo-Saxon times, when it was recorded as Blaen-y-ford, place by the ford. By the 13th century it had become an important market town, with a livestock market serving the nearby Blackmore Vale with its many Dairy farms. There is still a weekly market held in the town.

In 1731 much of the town was destroyed in a fire. John and William Bastard rebuilt the town over the following 30 years and the town centre is an excellent example of Georgian architecture from the 1730s to 1760s.

Sights in the town include Blandford Town Hall and Blandford Church.

Literature

Blandford is the Shottesford Forum of Thomas Hardy's novels.

In 1590, Edmund Spenser mentioned the town in The Faerie Queene.

External links

• Dorset Magazine: Blandford (http://www.dorsetmag.co.uk/places/places.php3?place=Blandford%20Forum)
• Census data (http://www1.dorsetcc.gov.uk/LIVING/FACTS/Census2001.nsf/6cadf4da179fc19500256663004afece/81a1454db39956bd80256ec5003afcb5?OpenDocument)

Photographs

• Images of Dorset: Blandford (http://www.imagesofdorset.org.uk/Dorset/019/intro.htm)