Turnworth
| Turnworth | |
| Dorset | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's, Turnworth | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | ST821075 |
| Location: | 50°52’1"N, 2°15’21"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 30 |
| Post town: | Blandford Forum |
| Postcode: | DT11 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Dorset |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
North Dorset |
Turnworth is a small village in northern Dorset, situated on the Dorset Downs five miles west of Blandford Forum. It consists of a few cottages and farmhouses scattered around a church and manor house. In 2013 the civil parish had an estimated population of 30.
In 1086 in the Domesday Book Turnworth is recorded as Torneworde;[1] it had 19 households, was in Pimperne Hundred and the lord and tenant-in-chief was Alfred Hispaniens ('of Spain').[2]
The church, with the exception of the tower, was rebuilt in the 19th century with assistance from Thomas Hardy, who designed the capitals and possibly also the corbels. Hardy described Turnworth's position as being "stood in a hole, but the hole is full of beauty", and he used Turnworth House as the inspiration for Hintock House in his novel The Woodlanders.[3]
Nearby is Ringmoor, an ancient settlement on the top of the scarp face of the downs.
Outside links
References
- ↑ "Dorset S-Z". The Domesday Book Online. domesdaybook.co.uk. http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/dorset3.html#turnworth. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ Turnworth on Open Domesday
- ↑ Roland Gant (1980). Dorset Villages. Robert Hale Ltd. pp. 80–81. ISBN 0 7091 8135 3.