Beaminster
| Beaminster | |
| Dorset | |
|---|---|
 St. Mary's, Beaminster | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | ST4701 |
| Location: | 50°48’36"N, 2°44’28"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,936 (2001) |
| Post town: | Beaminster |
| Postcode: | DT8 |
| Dialling code: | 01308 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Dorset |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
West Dorset |
| Website: | beaminster.co.uk |
Beaminster is a small town in Dorset at the head of the valley of the River Brit.[1] Beaminster is 15 miles northwest of the county town, Dorchester. The 2001 recorded a parish population of 2,936.
History
In the Civil War the town declared for Parliament and was sacked by Royalist forces in 1644. The town suffered accidental fires in 1684 and 1781.[2] The town did not get a railway and thus remained relatively small.
About the town
Horn Park, about a mile and half northwest of Beaminster, is a neo-Georgian country house of five bays and two-storeys designed by architect T. Lawrence Dale and completed in 1911.[3] Inside the house the central corridor is barrel vaulted and leads to a drawing room whose groin vault is reminiscent of the work of Sir John Soane (1753-1837).[3] The drawing room includes Jacobean features re-used from a 16th century country house at nearby Parnham,[3] which was being altered and restored at about the time that Horn Park was being built.[4] Horn Park is Grade II Listed. Its gardens are occasionally open to the public as part of the National Gardens Scheme.
Big Society
The Beaminster Festival is an annual music and art festival.[5]
Whitcombe Disc Golf Course at Beaminster has hosted the British Open Disc Golf Championship on a number of occasions and the European Disc Golf Championship in 2003.[6]
Clipper Teas Ltd is based in Beaminster. It is currently held by the Dutch company Royal Wessanen.[7][8] The town is twinned with the town of St James on the Brittany / Normandy border in France.
Outside links
- Beaminster at the Open Directory Project
References
- ↑ beaminster.co.uk
- ↑ Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 86
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 88
- ↑ Newman & Pevsner, 1972, page 87
- ↑ Rene Gerryts (June 10, 2011). "Beaminster Festival: Melvyn Bragg one of the headlines at annual event". Bridport NEWS. http://www.bridportnews.co.uk/news/9071894.Beaminster_Festival__Melvyn_Bragg_one_of_the_headlines_at_annual_event/. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
- ↑ "PDGA Results search". http://www.pdga-europe.com/eurochallenge_tour.asp?Searched=Yes&Year=NULL&Month=NULL&Country=NULL&Tier=A. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
- ↑ "Clipper Teas bids whittled down to five". The Grocer. November 10, 2007. http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/clipper-teas-bids-whittled-down-to-five/123076.article. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
- ↑ "Clipper tea firm to stay in Dorset, new owner Wessanen says". BBC News. March 5, 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-17262806. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
Sources
- Newman, John; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1972). Dorset. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 84–89. ISBN 0-14-071044-2.