Cattistock is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in west

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, sited in the upper reaches of the

Frome Valley The River Frome is a river in Dorset in the south of England. At 30 miles (48 km) long it is the major chalkstream in southwest England. It is navigable upstream from Poole Harbour as far as the town of Wareham. Geography The river rise ...

, northwest of the county town Dorchester. The Dorset poet

William Barnes William Barnes (22 February 1801 – 7 October 1886) was an English polymath, writer, poet, philologist, priest, mathematician, engraving artist and inventor. He wrote over 800 poems, some in Dorset dialect, and much other work, including a co ...

called it "elbow-streeted Cattstock", a comment on the less-than-linear village street. In the 2011 census the parish had a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 509.

Parish church

A church was built here in the 12th century by the monks of

Milton Abbey Milton Abbey School is a private school for day and boarding pupils in the village of Milton Abbas, near Blandford Forum in Dorset, in South West England. It has 224 pupils , in five houses: Athelstan, Damer, Hambro, Hodgkinson and Tregonwell. T ...

, though this structure has not survived. The current church, dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, was rebuilt in the 19th century by architects

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

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. A

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

of 35 bells was installed in the new tower a few years after its construction. This was the first carillon to be introduced to England and attracted hundreds of visitors to the valley, though the bells were destroyed by a fire in the tower on 15 September 1940. The fire also destroyed the very large clock, which previously almost spanned the width of the tower. In 1972 the Pevsner guide to Dorset architecture said that "for the mid- to late-nineteenth century, this is the masterpiece amongst Dorset churches". The church is a Grade I

Listed Building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Chantmarle

Nearly north of the village is Chantmarle, a house dating from the 15th century, with additions in the 16th, 17th and 19th centuries. 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. In 1910 Inigo Thomas designed new end wings and a terraced garden with ponds. In the late 20th century Chantmarle was used as a centre for police training. It then became a Christian retreat and wedding reception venue, but is now once more a private home.

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'. The Hunt has been affiliated with all UK naval vessels named , including the latest to bear the name, . The village also has a close relationship with those named ships too and has hosted the ships' crews on many occasions. An ensign and emblem shield of HMS ''Cattistock'' – a blue

cornflower ''Centaurea cyanus'', commonly known as cornflower or bachelor's button (among other names), is an annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Europe. In the past, it often grew as a weed in cornfields (in the broad sense of "co ...

, the symbol of the Hunt's colours and a wildflower local to the area – is displayed in the village church.

Food festival

Cattistock hosts a Dorset knob throwing event and the Frome Valley Food Festival every year on the first Sunday in May.

References

External links

*“Official” village websit
www.cattistockvillage.co.uk"Unofficial" village website
www.cattistock.info Villages in Dorset {{Dorset-geo-stub