Cattistock
| Cattistock | |
| Dorset | |
|---|---|
 Church and The Square, Cattistock | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SY592996 |
| Location: | 50°47’41"N, 2°34’52"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 509 (2011) |
| Post town: | Dorchester |
| Postcode: | DT2 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Dorset |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
West Dorset |
Cattistock is a village in western Dorset, in the upper reaches of the Frome Valley, eight miles north-west of the county town, Dorchester. The Dorset poet William Barnes called it "elbow-streeted Cattstock",[1] a comment on the less-than-linear village street.
The 2011 census found the parish to have a population of 509.
Parish church
A church was built here in the 12th century by the monks of Milton Abbey, though this structure has not survived.[2]
The current church, dedicated to St Peter and St Paul,[2] was rebuilt in the 19th century by architects Sir George Gilbert Scott and his son George Gilbert Scott Junior. The Perpendicular-styled tower was the work of the latter, and has led to the church being dubbed the 'Cathedral of the Frome Valley'; he was also responsible for the porch, north aisle and vestry.[3] A carillon of 35 bells was installed in the new tower a few years after its construction. This was the first carillon to be introduced in the Church of England and attracted hundreds of visitors to the valley. However the bells were destroyed by a fire in the tower on 15 September 1940[1][4] and as a replacement would have been prohibitively expensive, a more conventional ring of bells was installed in 1950. The fire also destroyed the very large clock, which previously almost spanned the width of the tower.[1] In 1972 the Pevsner guide to Dorset architecture said that "for the mid- to late-nineteenth century, this is the masterpiece amongst Dorset churches".[1]
Chantmarle
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A mile and a half north of the village is Chantmarle, a house dating from the 15th century, with additions in the 16th, 17th and 19th centuries.[5] It received its name, which means "song of the blackbird" in Norman French, from the Chauntmerles family, who lived on the site in the early 13th century.[6] In 1910 Inigo Thomas designed new end wings and a terraced garden with ponds.[1][7] In the late 20th century Chantmarle was used as a centre for police training.[1] It is now a Christian retreat and wedding reception venue.[6]
Cattistock Hunt
The Cattistock Hunt is a foxhound pack established by a parson at Cattistock Lodge in the mid-18th century. It was given the name 'The True Blue'.[1]
Food festival
Cattistock hosts a Dorset knob throwing event and the Frome Valley Food Festival every year on the first Sunday in May.[8]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Cattistock) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Roland Gant (1980). Dorset Villages. Robert Hale Ltd. pp. 100–1. ISBN 0 7091 8135 3.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cattistock: St Peter and St Paul - The Dorset Historic Churches Trust
- ↑ Betjeman, John, ed.: 'Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches; the South' (Collins, 1968) p. 172
- ↑ Ralph Wightman (1983). Portrait of Dorset (4 ed.). Robert Hale Ltd. p. 95. ISBN 0 7090 0844 9.
- ↑ Cattistock: An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 1, pages 71-74
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Claire Price (20 December 2006). "Chantmarle Manor". BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/dorset/content/articles/2006/12/19/chantmarle_feature.shtml. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Dorset, 1972 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09598-2page 139
- ↑ "Records set in biscuit throw show". BBC News. 2009-05-05. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/8034861.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-26.