Map sources for Shaftesbury at grid reference ST861228

Shaftesbury is a town in North Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 750 feet (over 200 metres) above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset. It is one of the oldest and highest towns in Britain. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... A dwelling is a structure in which humans or other animals live. ... A county is generally a sub-unit of regional self-government within a sovereign jurisdiction. ... Dorset (pronounced DOR-sit or [dÉ”.sÉ™t], and sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the south-west of England, on the English Channel coast. ... The region, also known as Government Office Region, is currently the highest tier of local government subnational entity of England in the United Kingdom. ... South West England is one of the regions of England. ... Home Nations is a term used to refer to the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (collectively, but also as separate entities, distinct from the United Kingdom as a whole), or the nations of the British Isles (traditionally England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland). ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... A post town is a required part of all UK postal addresses. ... UK postal codes are known as postcodes. ... The UK telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Numbering Plan, is regulated by the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which replaced the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) in 2003. ... Image File history File links Dot4gb. ... Image File history File links Gb4dot. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... Shaftesbury may refer to: Shaftesbury is a town in North Dorset, England Shaftesbury is a town in Vermont, United States. ... Main street in Bastrop, Texas, a small town A town is a residential community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. ... Dorset (pronounced DOR-sit or [dÉ”.sÉ™t], and sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the south-west of England, on the English Channel coast. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... The A30 is an old trunk road (main road) which runs from central London right down to Lands End, the westernmost point of the mainland of England (though not of mainland Great Britain, see Corrachadh Mor), and is sometimes called the Great South West Road. ... Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. ... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ... Salisbury Cathedral by Constable. ... A foot (plural: feet; symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The metre, or meter (U.S.), is a measure of length. ... The Needles, part of the extensive Southern England Chalk Formation. ... Greensand is an olive-green coloured sandstone rock which found in narrow bands, particularly associated with bands of chalk and clay in northern and western Europe. ... A hill in Hungary with a hillside vintage garden For the landform that extends less than 600 metres above the surrounding terrain and that is smaller than a mountain, see the mountain article. ... Ashmore pond Cranborne Chase is a Chalk plateau in central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. ...

In 2001, the town had a population of 6,665 with 3,112 dwellings, only a small increase from 1991. There are currently 4 first schools, a middle school and an upper school, but this is soon to change to 5 primary schools and an enlarged secondary school. Major employers include Dorset Chilled Foods, Stalbridge Linen (a commercial laundry), HMP Guy's Marsh, Wessex Electrical and the Royal Mail. This article is about the year 2001. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Royal Mails logo Royal Mail is the national postal service of the United Kingdom. ...

Many of the older buildings in the town are of the local greensand, while others built from the grey Chilmark limestone, much of which was salvaged from the demolished Shaftesbury Abbey, and have thatched roofs. Tourism is one of the main industries in the town. Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... Thatching is the art or craft of covering a roof with vegetative materials such as straw, reed or sedge. ... Tourists at Oahu island, Hawaii Tourism is the act of travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes, and also refers to the provision of services in support of this act. ...

The town looks over the Blackmore Vale, part of the river Stour basin. From different viewpoints, it is possible to see at least as far as Glastonbury Tor to the north-west, and the Isle of Purbeck to the south. Sturminster Newton watermill. ... Sturminster Newton water mill on a July evening. ... Glastonbury Tor is a teardrop-shaped hill at Glastonbury, Somerset, England, with its only standing architectural feature the roofless St Michaels Tower of the former church. ... Corfe Castle The Isle of Purbeck, not a true island but a peninsula, is in the county of Dorset, England. ...

The town is famous for Gold Hill, a steep cobbled street featured on the cover of countless books about Dorset and rural England. It was perhaps most famously used as the street in the popular Ridley Scott directed Hovis bread advert used through the 1970s and '80s. The town is also famous for its ruined Abbey and nearby Wardour Castle. Gold Hill Gold Hill is a famous street in Shaftesbury, Dorset, UK. It is a steep cobbled street featured on the cover of countless books about Dorset and rural England. ... Sir Ridley Scott (born November 30, 1937 in South Shields) is an influential English film director and producer. ... Hovis bread on the shelf Hovis is a UK brand of flour and bread, now owned by RHM. The word Hovis was invented by London student Herbert Grimes in a national competition set by S. Fitton & Sons Ltd to find a trading name for their bread, which used a patent... OLD WARDOUR CASTLE These substantial castle ruins typify the romantic relic, being preserved as a landscape feature in the grounds of the palladian mansion built by the Arundells in the 1770s. ...

A market is held in the town on Thursdays. The Blackmore Vale is Thomas Hardy's Vale of the Little Dairies, and until 2004 Shaftesbury was the location of one of the last remaining livestock markets in Britain. The site has since been redeveloped as a supermarket. Look up Market in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy, OM (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist, short story writer, and poet of the naturalist movement, who delineated characters struggling against their passions and circumstances. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The town features in Thomas Hardy's Wessex as Shaston, of particular significance in Jude the Obscure. The English author Thomas Hardy set all of his major novels in the south and southwest of England. ... Jude the Obscure is the last of Thomas Hardys novels, begun as a magazine serial and first published in book form in 1895. ...

History

Although Shaftesbury's recorded history dates from Anglo-Saxon times, it may have been the Celtic Caer Palladur. Its first written record as a town is in the Burgal Hidage. Alfred the Great founded a Burgh (fortified settlement) here in 880 as a defence in the struggle with the Danish invaders. Alfred and his daughter Ethelgiva founded Shaftesbury Abbey in 888, which was a spur to the growing importance of the town. Athelstan founded three royal mints, which struck pennies bearing the town's name, and the abbey became the wealthiest Benedictine nunnery in England. On February 20th 981 the relics of St Edward the Martyr were translated from Wareham and received with great ceremony, thereafter turning Shaftesbury into a major site of pilgrimage for miracles of healing. In 1240 Cardinal Otto, legate to the Apostolic See of Pope Gregory IX visited the abbey and confirmed a charter of 1191, the first entered in the Glastonbury chartulary. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Celts redirects here. ... Alfred (Old English: Ælfrēd) (c. ... A sign in Linlithgow, Scotland. ... For other uses, see number 880. ... Events January 13: With the death of Charles the Fat, the Frankish kingdom is split again, and this time permanently. ... Athelstan (c. ... A Benedictine is a person who follows the Rule of St Benedict. ... This article is about an abbey as a religious building. ... Events Births Princess Theodora, later Empress of the Eastern Roman Empire. ... King Edward the Martyr or Eadweard II (c. ... Events Batu Khan and the Golden Horde sack the Ruthenian city of Kyiv Births Pope Benedict XI Deaths April 11 - Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, also known as Llywelyn The Great Prince of Gwynedd Monarchs/Presidents Aragon - James I King of Aragon and count of Barcelona (reigned from 1213 to 1276) Castile... In the several centuries following the founding of Christianity, five particular cities and centers of Christianity were considered to be Apostolic Sees. ... Papal Arms of Pope Gregory IX. Gregory IX, né Ugolino di Conti (Anagni, ca. ... // Events May 12 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. ... Statistics Population: 8,800 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: ST501390 Administration District: Mendip Shire county: Somerset Region: South West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Somerset Historic county: Somerset Services Police force: Avon and Somerset Police Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Western Post office... Chartulary (chartularius) was a title given to an ancient officer in the Roman Church, who had the care of charters and papers relating to public affairs. ...

King Canute died here in 1035. In the Domesday Book, the town was known as Scaepterbyrg; its ownership was equally shared between King and Abbey. The Abbey was in the Middle Ages the central focus of the town. The shrine of St Edward, who is interred here, attracted pilgrims from afar. Canute (or Cnut) I, or Canute the Great (Danish Knud den Store) (994/995 - November 12, 1035) was king of England, Denmark and Norway and governor or overlord of Schleswig and Pomerania. ... Events Harthacanute becomes king of Denmark. ... A line drawing entitled Domesday Book from Andrew Williamss Historic Byways and Highways of Old England. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... King Edward the Martyr or Eadweard II (c. ... Pilgrims is the name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony. ...

In 1260, a charter to hold a market was granted. In 1392, Richard II confirmed a grant of two markets on different days. The magnificent Cathedral of Chartres was dedicated in 1260. ... Look up Market in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Events December 16 - Emperor Go-Kameyama of Japan abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu, ending the nanboku-cho period of competing imperial courts James of Jülich is boiled alive for pretending to be a bishop and ordaining his own priests Korean founder of the Joseon Dynasty General... Richard II (January 6, 1367 – February 14, 1400) was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan The Fair Maid of Kent. He was born in Bordeaux and became his fathers successor when his elder brother died in infancy. ...

By 1340, the mayor had become a recognised figure, sworn in by the Steward of the Abbess. Events Europe has about 74 million inhabitants. ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ...

By the time of the Reformation the Abbey had become exceedingly wealthy. It was said at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries that "if the Abbess of Shaftesbury and the Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey had been able to wed, their son would have been richer than the King of England" such were the lands that had been bequethed. The Dissolution of the Monasteries, referred to by Roman Catholic writers as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the formal process during the English Reformation by which King Henry VIII confiscated the property of the monastic institutions in England between 1538 and 1541. ... Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey in Glastonbury, Somerset, England, now presents itself as traditionally the oldest above-ground Christian church in the World situated in the mystical land of Avalon by dating the founding of the community of monks at AD 63, the legendary visit of Joseph of Arimathea, who was...

In 1539, the last Abbess of Shaftesbury, Elizabeth Zouche, signed a deed of surrender, the abbey was demolished, and its lands sold, leading to a temporary decline in the town. Sir Thomas Arundel of Wardour purchased the abbey and much of the town in 1540, but when he was later exiled for treason his lands were forfeit, and the lands passed to Pembroke then Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, and finally to the Grosvenors. Events May 30 - In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal to find gold. ... Thomas Arundel (1353-1414) was Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death, an outspoken opponent of the Lollards. ... Events January 6 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort. ... EXILE is a 6-member Japanese pop music band. ... Traitor redirects here. ... Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (1801-1885) was an English philanthropist, the best-known of the Victorian era. ...

Shaftesbury was a parliamentary constituency returning two members from 1296 to the Reform Act of 1832, when it was reduced to one, and in 1884 the separate constituency was abolished. A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. ... Events March 30 - Edward I stormed Berwick-upon-Tweed, sacking the then Scottish border town with much bloodshed. ... The Representation of the People Act 1832, commonly known as the Reform Act 1832, was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of the United Kingdom. ... 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

The town was broadly Parliamentarian in the Civil War, but was in Royalist hands. Wardour Castle fell to Parliamentary forces in 1643; Parliamentary forces surrounded the town in August 1645, when it was a centre of local Clubmen activity. The clubmen were arrested and sent to trial in Sherborne. Shaftesbury took no part in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians (known as Roundheads) and Royalists (known as Cavaliers) from 1642 until 1651. ... Prince Rupert of the Rhine Cavaliers was the name used by Parliamentarians for the Royalist supporters of King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642–1651). ... OLD WARDOUR CASTLE These substantial castle ruins typify the romantic relic, being preserved as a landscape feature in the grounds of the palladian mansion built by the Arundells in the 1770s. ... // Events January 21 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga February 6 - Abel Tasman discovers the Fiji islands. ... // Events January 10 - Archbishop Laud executed on Tower Hill, London. ... Clubmen were bands of vigilantes during the English Civil War (1642–1651) who tried to protect their localities against the worst excesses of armies of both sides. ... See also: Sherborne, Gloucestershire Sherborne is an affluent market town in north west Dorset, England, situated on the River Yeo and A30 road, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale six miles east of Yeovil. ... Monmouth (Welsh: Trefynwy) is a town in south Wales, county town of the traditional county of Monmouthshire. ... Events February 6 - James Stuart, Duke of York becomes King James II of England and Ireland and King James VII of Scotland. ...

The town hall was built in 1827 by Earl Grosvenor after the Guildhall was pulled down to widen the high street. Naval Battle of Navarino by Carneray 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

The major employers in the 18th and 19th centuries were buttonmaking and weaving. The former became a victim of mechanisation, and this caused unemployment and emigration.

The five turnpikes which met at Shaftesbury ensured that the town had a good coaching trade. The railways, however, bypassed Shaftesbury, and this infuenced the subsequent pattern of its growth.

In 1919, Lord Stalbridge sold a large portion of the town, which was purchased by a syndicate and auctioned piece by piece over three days. Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Stalbridge is a village situated on the A357 in the Blackmore Vale area of North Dorset, near the border with Somerset in South England. ... An auctioneer and her assistants scan the crowd for bidders An auction is the process of buying and selling things by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder. ...

Most of the Saxon and Medieval buildings have now been ruined, with most of the town dating from the 18th century to present. Thomas Hardy wrote: The famous parade helmet found at Sutton Hoo, probably belonging to King Raedwald of East Anglia circa 625. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy, OM (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist, short story writer, and poet of the naturalist movement, who delineated characters struggling against their passions and circumstances. ...

"Vague imaginings of its castle, its three mints, its magnificent apsidal Abbey, the chief glory of south Wessex, its twelve churches, its shrines, chantries, hospitals ... all now ruthlessley swept away—throw the visitor, even against his will, into a pensive melancholy."

Trivia

In 1973, Gold Hill was used as the location for the famous "Boy on a bike" advertisement, directed by Ridley Scott for Hovis bread. Gold Hill may refer to: Gold Hill, Oregon, in the United States Gold Hill, Colorado in the United States A famous street in Shaftesbury, Dorset, in England. ... Sir Ridley Scott (born November 30, 1937 in South Shields) is an influential English film director and producer. ...

Actor Robert Newton,best known for his portrayal of Long John Silver,was born in Shaftesbury. Robert Newton as Long John Silver. ... Long John Silver is a fictional character in the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. ...

Comedian Bill Hicks used the name of the town in a popular stand-up bit about hooligans. He satirized the tune of "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who and combined it with a fake news report about hooligan violence. The lyrics are as follows: "No one knows what its like/to be a dustbin/in Shaftesbury/with hooligans." William Melvin Hicks, better known as Bill Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994), was a controversial American stand-up comedian, satirist, and social critic. ... Ultras at FC Twente - SC Heerenveen in 2002 Hooliganism is unruly and destructive behaviour, usually by gangs of young people. ... The Who are an English rock band who first came to prominence in the 1960s and grew in stature to be considered one of the greatest rock n roll bands of all time[1][2][3]. Except for periods of retirement from 1983 to 1988 and from 1990 to 1995...

External links

• Shaftesbury Town Website

References

• Pitt-Rivers, Michael, 1979. Dorset. London: Faber & Faber.
• The 1985 AA illustrated guide to the country towns and villages of Britain.