Sturminster Newton

This article is about the town. For other uses, see Sturminster Newton (disambiguation).

Human settlement in England

Sturminster Newton

The White Hart, Market Cross

Coat of Arms of Sturminster Newton Town Council

Sturminster Newton

Location within Dorset

Population| 5,234 (2018)
OS grid reference| ST786140
Unitary authority|

* Dorset

Ceremonial county|

* Dorset

Region|

* South West

Country| England
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Post town| STURMINSTER NEWTON
Postcode district| DT10
Dialling code| 01258
Police| Dorset
Fire| Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance| South Western
UK Parliament|

* North Dorset

Website| https://sturminster-newton.org.uk/

List of places

England
Dorset

50°55′34″N 2°18′18″W﻿ / ﻿50.9261°N 2.3051°W﻿ / 50.9261; -2.3051

Sturminster Newton is a town and civil parish situated on the River Stour in the north of Dorset, England. The town is at the centre of the Blackmore Vale, a large dairy agriculture region around which the town's economy is built, and is known as 'the heart of the Blackmore vale'.

The town has shops, a primary and secondary school - Sturminster Newton High School - and a school and college catering for children with Special educational needs. A market is held in the town on Mondays. One of the largest cattle markets in England used to be held here,[1] but it was closed in 1998.

The town is noted for its connections with the authors Thomas Hardy and William Barnes, and as part of the historic West Country Carnival circuit.

## History[edit]

Sturminster Newton Museum in the Old Market Cross HouseThe town centre, showing the remains of the 15th-century market cross.

Sturminster Newton was recorded in the Anglo Saxon charter in 968 as Nywetone at Stoure, and in the Domesday Book as Newentone. Newton refers to a new farm or estate, and Sturminster to a church (minster) on the Stour. Originally the two parts of the name referred to the settlements on the north and south of the river, but were combined to distinguish the town from Sturminster Marshall and other Newtons.[2] The history of the town and surrounding area has been researched by the Sturminster Newton Heritage Trust, which runs the Sturminster Newton Museum in the Old Market Cross House in the centre of town. The Museum is open to visitors on some days every week.[3]

Hidden on the hill above the bridge over the river are the ruins of Sturminster Newton Castle, a manor house rather than a defensive building. The 14th-century building stands on a crescent shaped mound which could be the site of an Iron Age hillfort.[4] The town and castle were part of Sturminster Newton hundred.

Sturminster Newton is situated at a historic fording point on the River Stour. The ford was replaced in the 16th century with a six-arch stone bridge, and a quarter-kilometre embankment crossing the flood plain. The bridge was widened from 12 to 18 feet (3.7 to 5.5 metres) in 1820.[5] A 19th-century plaque affixed to the bridge states that anyone damaging the bridge would be transported to Australia as a felon.

Sturminster Newton Mill

The Sturminster Newton Heritage Trust runs the Sturminster Newton Mill on the south bank of the river and which has existed since at least 1016. The mill was restored in 1980 and is now a working museum watermill which is open to visitors on some days every week between the end of March and the end of September.[6] The mill resumed commercial production of flour in 2020.[7]

The town centre is built in a mixture of styles, including 17th- and 18th-century thatched cottages, Georgian stone buildings, and 19th-century brick buildings. Set back from the main road is the market square and parish church of St Mary, which was rebuilt in 1486 by the abbots of Glastonbury. The church was heavily modified in the 19th century, but the carved wagon roof remains.

Sturminster Newton railway station was served by the Somerset and Dorset Railway, which ran through the town from 1863 until it was dismantled in 1966 as part of the Beeching Axe. The railway goods yard gave milk trains access to the private sidings of the local creamery. Started in 1913 by local farmers to produce cheddar cheese and pasteurised milk, it was taken over by the Milk Marketing Board in 1937. Milk trains ceased in 1966 on closure of the line, with the creamery remaining in operation until 2000 under successor Dairy Crest.[8] The station and goods yard were demolished in the mid 1970s.[9]

The town is set in the vale on which Thomas Hardy based his fictional Vale of the little dairies (in his Tess of the d'Urbervilles) and Sturminster had the largest cattle market in Europe, which stood close to the town centre until it was closed and demolished in 1997.[10]

## Governance[edit]

Sturminster Newton electoral ward elects one member to Dorset Council. The town also has a town council of 11 members.[11]

In the UK parliament, Sturminster is in the North Dorset parliamentary constituency which is currently represented by Simon Hoare of the Conservative party.[12]

Sculpted column commemorating the former cattle market that was first established in 1219

## Geography[edit]

Sturminster Newton civil parish covers about 4,550 acres (1,840 hectares)[13] at an elevation of 45 to 119 metres (148 to 390 feet),[14][15] with the highest ground being in the southeast.

The town is situated on a meander of the River Stour. The larger part of the town (Sturminster) lies on a low limestone ridge to the north side of the river, and includes most shops and services, whilst to the south is the smaller Newton, separated by a wide flood plain.

The geology of the parish comprises Oxford clay in the northwest, Corallian limestone and sands in the northeast, centre and southwest, and Kimmeridge clay in the southeast.[13]

To the southeast of the town are Girdlers Coppice and Piddles Wood, areas of mature woodland that are designated as sites of special scientific interest.

## Demography[edit]

In the 2011 census the town's civil parish—which also includes the small settlements of Bagber, Broad Oak and Puxey— had 2,016 dwellings,[16] 1,910 households and a population of 4,292.[17]

## Culture[edit]

Sturminster Newton is the home of the annual UK Boogie Woogie Festival,[18] which in 2009 saw an appearance from veteran boogie woogie star Little Willie Littlefield.

The Exchange, a community arts and conference centre, on Old Market Hill, was built on the site of the old cattle market. It was officially opened by Julian Fellowes in December 2007 and provides a venue for music concerts, drama and other events.[19]

The Dorset Bach Cantata Club is based in Sturminster Newton.

Sturminster Newton United F.C., founded in 1871, play in the Dorset Premier Football League.

## Media[edit]

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West and ITV West Country. Television signals are received from the Mendip TV transmitter,[20] BBC South and ITV Meridian can also be received from the Rowridge TV transmitter. [21]

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Solent, Greatest Hits Radio South (formerly Vale FM), and Abbey104, a community based radio station that broadcast from its studio in Sherborne. [22]

The Dorset Echo is the local newspaper that serves the town.

## International relations[edit]

### Twin towns[edit]

Sturminster Newton is twinned with:

* Montebourg, Normandy, France

## Notable people[edit]

* Keith Kyle (1925–2007), writer, broadcaster and historian, was born in the town
* Bryan "Badger" Goss (born 1940), Motocross rider
* Mark Price, Baron Price (born 1961), UK Minister of Trade and Investment and former managing director of Waitrose, lives in the town.[23]
* William Barnes (1801-1886)[citation needed]
* Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) and his wife Emma lived in the town from 1876 to 1878, and he wrote his 1878 The Return of the Native during this time.[24]
* Eden Paul (1865–1944), physician, translator, communist activist, was born in the town[25]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Sturminster Newton Tourist Information at iknow-dorset.co.uk". Archived from the original on 24 August 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
2. ^ A.D. Mills, 1986. Dorset Place Names. Southampton, Ensign. ISBN 1-85455-065-9
3. ^ "The Museum, SNHT". Sturminster Newton Heritage Trust. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
4. ^ 'Sturminster Newton', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 3, Central (London, 1970), pp. 269–286. University of London. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
5. ^ David McFetrich & Jo Parsons, 1998. Dorset Bridges. Wimborne: Dovecote Press ISBN 1-874336-51-2
6. ^ "Working Mill in Sturminster Newton, SNHT". Sturminster Newton Heritage Trust. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
7. ^ "One-Thousand-Year-Old Mill Resumes Production to Supply Flour Amid Pandemic, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 May 2020". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
8. ^ "The Creamery at Sturminster Newton". cheesefestival.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 December 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
9. ^ Mike Oakley, 2001. Dorset Railway Stations. Wimborne: Dovecote Press ISBN 1-874336-96-2
10. ^ Baker, Stephen (August 2012). "Sturminster Newton: anything but a new town". Dorset Life Magazine. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
11. ^ "The Council". Sturminster Newton Town Council. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
12. ^ "Dorset North Parliamentary constituency". Election 2015. BBC. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
13. ^ a b "'Sturminster Newton', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 3, Central (London, 1970), pp. 269–286". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
14. ^ Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Pathfinder Series, sheet ST 61/71 (Sherborne and Sturminster Newton), published 1985
15. ^ Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Pathfinder Series, sheet 1281 (ST81/91), Shillingstone & Tollard Royal, published 1987, ISBN 0-319-21281-5
16. ^ "Area: Sturminster Newton (Parish). Dwellings, Household Spaces and Accommodation Type, 2011 (KS401EW)". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
17. ^ "Area: Sturminster Newton (Parish). Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
18. ^ "UK Boogie Woogie Festival". UK Boogie Woogie Festival. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
19. ^ "Our story". The Exchange. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
20. ^ "Full Freeview on the Mendip (Somerset, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
21. ^ "Full Freeview on the Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
22. ^ "Abbey 104". Retrieved 17 October 2023.
23. ^ "Price wars: Mark Price on Christmas, convenience and cafés". Retrieved 9 November 2017.
24. ^ "Curiosities of Sturminster Newton – Dorset Life – The Dorset Magazine". www.dorsetlife.co.uk. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
25. ^ Labour Who's Who. London: Labour Publishing Company. 1924. p. 130.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sturminster Newton.

* Sturminster Newton community website
* Sturminster Newton Heritage Trust
* Sturminster Newton Museum
* Sturminster Newton Historic Characterisation
* Sturminster Newton at Curlie

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