Compton Valence
| Compton Valence | |
| Dorset | |
|---|---|
 Parish church of St Thomas à Becket | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SY594932 |
| Location: | 50°44’14"N, 2°34’38"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 50 (est.) |
| Post town: | Dorchester |
| Postcode: | DT2 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Dorset |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
West Dorset |
Compton Valence is a small village in Dorset, about seven miles west of the county town, Dorchester. It stands at the head of a narrow valley, formed by a small tributary of the River Frome, and is surrounded by the hills of the Dorset Downs, which has led to it having been described as "a pocket of habitation in the downs."[1]
An estimate of the parish population in 2013 was 50.
The parish church has a 15th-century tower, but the rest of the building was rebuilt in 1838–1839 by Benjamin Ferrey.[2]
The locality is known to geologists for the 'Compton Valence Dome', arising from the local upcoming of the chalk strata. The core of this geological structure has been eroded to reveal the older underlying Middle Jurassic mudstones. It lies astride the Wynford Fault and is thought to arise from a complex intersection of faults in the area.[3]
Compton Valence is known locally for its display of snowdrops, which fill the road verges in late winter.[4][5]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Valence Compton Valence) |
References
- ↑ Gant, R., Dorset Villages, Hale, 1980, p138 ISBN 0 7091 8135 3
- ↑ Compton Valence: An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 1, pages 104-105
- ↑ Barton et al. 2011 'Geology of south Dorset and south-east Devon and its World Heritage Coast': Special memoir of the British Geological Survey.
Sheets 328, 341/2, 342/3 and parts of 326/340, 327, 329 and 339 (England and Wales) - ↑ Snowdrops signal the first stirrings of spring The Independent. Retrieved May 2, 2012
- ↑ Dorset Life. Retrieved 2 May 2012