Radipole was is a suburb of Weymouth in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

History

It was formerly an independent parish, until abolished as a separate local government unit in 1933. It remains a separate ecclesiastical parish. Radipole stands at the head of, and is named after, the

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

, now an

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment th ...

nature reserve, into which the River Wey flows, and which leads into Weymouth Harbour. Until 1984, it had

Radipole railway station Radipole was a railway station serving Radipole a northern area of Weymouth in the county of Dorset in England. History Opened by the GWR as ''Radipole Halt'' on 1 July 1905, it was part of a scheme by the railway company to counter road ...

on the South West Main Line and Heart of Wessex Line out of Weymouth. There is some evidence of prehistoric occupation, and it is believed that the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

s had a small port or landing stage at the head of the lake. A Romano-British burial site was found nearby when the upper playing field of Southill Primary School was constructed. A Roman road runs from Radipole to Dorchester (the former ''Durnovaria''), and indeed still forms by far the greater part of the line of the present road between Weymouth and Dorchester. The parish of Radipole predates by centuries the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of Melcombe Regis, which grew up on its wastes on an exposed spit of shingle by the sea in the 12th century. The church of St Ann was the mother church of Melcombe Regis until 1606. The church is distinguished for its triple bellcote, consisting of a single arch above double arches. A daughter church, St Aldhelm's, was built in 1939–41. St Ann's Church, Radipole, viewed from Southill

St Ann's Church, Radipole, viewed from Southill

In the last decades, Radipole has experienced suburbanisation and accompanying road-building, as nearby Weymouth has expanded northwards. However the centre of the old village still remains. The attractive architectural group formed by the church and the

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

is well known locally. The field known as ''Humpty-Dumpty Field'' immediately to the south of the churchyard, on the slope leading down to the head of the lake, is supposed once to have covered the site of the lost mediaeval village, and possibly even

remains, but any such evidence was destroyed by the action of the then landowner. Radipole was a part of the district of

Weymouth and Portland Weymouth and Portland was a local government district and borough in Dorset, England. It consisted of the resort of Weymouth and the Isle of Portland, and includes the areas of Wyke Regis, Preston, Melcombe Regis, Upwey, Broadwey, Southi ...

until the creation of the unitary Dorset Council in 2019.

References

* ''Dorset'' ( The Buildings of England), by John Newman and

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, '' The Buildings of England'' ...

. Page 355. Published by Penguin Books 1972. Reprint 1975.

External links

Radipole & Southill Local Community & History
{{authority control Villages in Dorset Geography of Weymouth, Dorset Former civil parishes in Dorset