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| {{Infobox town
| | #Redirect[[Wimborne Minster]] |
| |name=Wimborne Minster
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| |county=Dorset
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| |picture=Wimborne Minster November 2011.JPG
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| |picture caption=Wimborne Minster, Wimborne, Dorset
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| |latitude=50.804
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| |longitude=-1.978
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| |population=14,884
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| |census year=2001
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| |post town=Wimborne
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| |postcode=BH21
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| |dialling code=01202
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| |os grid ref=SU015005
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| |LG district=East Dorset
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| |constituency=Mid Dorset and North Poole
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| }}
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| '''Wimborne Minster''', more usually known simply as '''Wimborne''', is a market town in the [[Dorset]]. The town stands where the [[River Stour, Dorset|River Stour]] it joined by the [[River Allen, Dorset|River Allen]], five miles north of [[Poole]].
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| The name of the town takes the suffix “minster” from the parish church, which was a monastic church before the Reformation. The church stands in the centre of the town and provides its focus.
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| (Another Wimborne in Dorset is [[Wimborne St Giles]], 8 miles away to the north, also on the [[River Allen]].)
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| The historically important aerospace company Cobham plc has headquarters in Wimborne and employs a large proportion of its residents. The economy of the main town is dedicated towards Leisure and has many shops, restaurants and pubs. Tourism is an important aspect in the town's economy.
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| ==Wimborne Minster Church==
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| [[File:Wimborne Minster.jpg|left|thumb|200px|The Minster]]
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| Wimborne Minster is an Anglo-Saxon Church, with Norman and Gothic architecture. It is famed for its chained library and for holding the tombs of King Ethelred I, the brother of Alfred the Great, and of John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and his duchess, the maternal grandparents of King Henry VII.<ref>[http://www.wimborneminster.org.uk/ Wimborne Minster, Church]</ref>
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| Beaufort’s tomb is hewn of Dorset limestone and New Forest stone; a tough memorial for a family which was to refound the Royal House.
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| ==Sights about the town==
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| The buildings of Wimborne display what is regarded as one of the foremost collections of 15th, 16th and 17th-century buildings in [[Dorset]]. Local planning has restricted the construction of new buildings in areas such as the Corn Market and the High Street, resulting in the preservation of almost all of the original buildings. The most interesting examples of English architecture include the centuries-old Wimborne Minster, the Town Hall, the Priest's House Museum and dozens of original 16th, 17th and 18th-century fronted shops and pubs. The town is also home to the Tivoli Theatre, a 1930s art deco cinema and theatre.
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| ===Wimborne Model Town===
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| The model town is one of the largest and most established model towns in England. It depicts Wimborne at the time the model was made, in the 1950s. It is at 1/10 scale, resulting in the model of the Minster being several feet high. The model shop windows accurately show the goods which the real shops were selling at the time. The exhibition also includes a model railway based on Thomas the Tank Engine, which was opened by Christopher Awdry.
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| ==Events==
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| On weekends and national holidays, the town crier can be seen in the main square and around the Minster.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hometruths/20031222_town_crier.shtml Town Crier]</ref> The legacy and position of the town crier date back to the Civil War.
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| The town has a large civil war re-enactment society, which performs every year.
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| The market in Wimborne is large and well-established. Market days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, though the powers that be have moved the market off its ancient place in the town centre, off to a site on the edge of town to accommodate its size.<ref>[http://www.ruraldorset.com/days/details.asp?FKID=8&ID=11 Wimborne Market]</ref>
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| Every two years in mid-August, the Park Initiative, an inter-church charity working on Leigh Park estate, holds a community event called "Alive in the Park" in the centre of the estate using a large marquee.<ref>[http://www.leighparkinitiative.org.uk Leigh Park Initiative]</ref>
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| ===Fireworks===
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| Every year Wimborne hosts the longest fireworks display in Dorset, as part of its Guy Fawkes celebrations; a county record that it has held for the last seven years. The display is held each year in the grounds of St Michael's Church of England Middle School and is well supported by many thousands of people from the town, [[Colehill]] village and the surrounding area. All proceeds are donated each year to local schools, and since 2004 over £51,000 has been raised for local school projects and equipment.<ref>[http://www.wimbornefireworks.co.uk Wimborne Fireworks Display]</ref>
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| ===Folk Festival===
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| [[File:Wimborne Minster 5.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The close around the Minster]]
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| Every summer in June the town holds the Wimborne Folk Festival.<ref>
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| [http://www.wimbornefolkfestival.co.uk/ Wimborne Folk Festival]</ref> Founded in 1980, the annual event of traditional folk dance and song has become the focal point for the largest gathering of dance teams and musicians in the southern counties. The festival is considered by many to be the town's major event of the year and is highly regarded nationally as one of the largest events of its kind in the country.<ref>[http://www.wimbornefolkfestival.co.uk/history.html About the Wimborne Folk Festival]</ref> The festival involves Morris Dancing. The regional festival is attended by over 15,000 people across its weekend, with parts of the town being closed to traffic.
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| ==Sport==
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| *Rugby: Wimborne Rugby Club. The Club has two playing pitches, changing rooms and a clubhouse, comprising a large bar and function room, shop and excellent catering facilities. The Club supports a full range of teams from Minis through Juniors and Colts to Senior XVs, including a Veterans team and a very successful Girls/Ladies team.
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| *Football: Wimborne Town FC
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| ==Outside links==
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| {{Commons|Wimborne Minster}}
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| *[http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/19511 Wimborne Minster and Christchurch Priory] by Rev.Thomas Perkins. A Short History of Their Foundation and a Description of Their Buildings
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| *[http://www.wimborneminster.org.uk/ Wimborne Minster]
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| *[http://www.wimborne.gov.uk/ Wimborne Town Council]
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| *[http://www.wimbornefireworks.co.uk Wimborne Fireworks Display]
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| *[http://www.wimbornedrama.co.uk/ Wimborne Drama] - amateur dramatics group
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| ==References==
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| {{reflist}}
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