Marnhull ( ) is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 ...

in southern

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 ...

. It lies in the

Blackmore Vale The Blackmore Vale (; less commonly spelt ''Blackmoor'') is a vale, or wide valley, in north Dorset, and to a lesser extent south Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England. Geography The vale is part of the Stour valley, part of t ...

, north of

Sturminster Newton Sturminster Newton is a town and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It is situated on a low limestone ridge in a meander of the River Stour. The town is at the centre of a large dairy agriculture region, around which t ...

. The resort towns of

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

and Weymouth are approximately south. Marnhull is sited on a low ridge of

Corallian limestone The Corallian Group or Corallian Limestone is a geologic group in England. It is predominantly a coralliferous sedimentary rock, laid down in the Oxfordian stage of the Jurassic. It is a hard variety of "coral rag". Building stones from this geo ...

above the valley of the River Stour, which forms the northern and western boundaries of the parish. In the 2011 census the parish had 962 dwellings, 905 households and a population of 1,998.

Description

Marnhull consists of several conjoined

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

s, connected by a network of minor roads. The village presents a mix of architectural styles, with post-war developments existing alongside properties dating back to Tudor times and earlier. It has three churches ( Anglican,

Roman Catholic 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 letter ...

and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

), two primary schools, two public houses, a GP surgery, a village hall and a recreation ground, as well as various small shops and services. The parish church of St Gregory has a 15th-century tower which is a landmark and has been described as "the finest in the Vale."

History

Saxon charters show that Marnhull existed as a village in the 10th century, although the village's site has seen human occupation as early as the Iron Age, and a

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 ...

settlement was established at Ashley Wood in the east of the parish. The

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 does not mention Marnhull by name, though the constituent settlements of Walton Elm, Burton and Kentleworth were probably recorded under the entry for

as the eight hides of land owned by Waleran, Roger and Chetel. The eastern part of Marnhull parish used to be a separate parish, named Thorton, until the 16th century. Until 1763 Marnhull was the site of an annual

bull-baiting Bull-baiting is a blood sport involving pitting a bull against dogs. History England Crowds in London during the Royal Entry of James VI and I in March 1604 were entertained by bull-baiting. During the time of Queen Anne, bull-baiting wa ...

event, taking place every 3 May. The event was stopped as a response to the violence and bloodshed it engendered, not just in Marnhull but also in surrounding villages.

Governance

Marnhull civil parish forms its own electoral ward, which is part of the constituency of

North Dorset North Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. It was largely rural, but included the towns of Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Stalbridge and Sturminster Newton. Much of North Dorset was in the River Stour ...

, currently represented in the UK parliament by the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Simon Hoare Simon James Hoare (born 28 June 1969) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Dorset since May 2015. Education Hoare was educated at the Bishop Hannon High School, Cardiff, a Roman Cath ...

Geography

Marnhull civil parish covers about at an elevation of about .Ordnance Survey 1;25,000 Explorer map, sheet 129 (Yeovil & Sherborne), published 2010, The western boundary of the parish is formed by the River Stour and the eastern by the Key Brook, a tributary of the Stour. The central part of the parish is drained by Chivrick's Brook, a tributary of the Key Brook. These watercourses all drain north to south. From west to east the geology of the parish comprises a thin strip of

Oxford clay The Oxford Clay (or Oxford Clay Formation) is a Jurassic marine sedimentary rock formation underlying much of southeast England, from as far west as Dorset and as far north as Yorkshire. The Oxford Clay Formation dates to the Jurassic, specifical ...

around the Stour, a long ridge of Corallian sand and limestone between the Stour and Chivrick's Brook, then lower-lying

Kimmeridge clay The Kimmeridge Clay is a sedimentary deposit of fossiliferous marine clay which is of Late Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous age and occurs in southern and eastern England and in the North Sea. This rock formation is the major source rock for Nor ...

between Chivrick's Brook and the eastern boundary. Marnhull village is sited on the ridge of Corallian beds, which form the highest part of the parish and are the source of the building stone extensively used throughout it.

Culture

Cultural references

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wo ...

described Marnhull as 'Marlott' in his novel '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles''. The Crown Inn is described by Hardy as 'The Pure Drop Inn', and The Blackmore Vale Inn is described as 'Rollivers' - a disreputable and illegal drinking house, where secret ale drinking groups gathered upstairs. The television adaptation of the book was filmed in the village.

Notable residents

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...

the last of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...

's wives was given the original manor of Nash Court in 1544. From her it passed to

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour ...

and then to

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

after which it passed through the families of several noblemen and eminent civilians. *

Giles Hussey Giles Hussey (1710–1788) was a painter from Dorset, England. His portraits are well regarded, but his theories on art never received the attention he craved. He believed that each note of music represented a colour. He created the first portra ...

was born here and lived at Nash House before studying art in Italy. *

William Gosling (footballer) William Sullivan Gosling (19 July 1869 – 2 October 1952) was a British Army officer and football player who competed in the 1900 Olympic Games. Biography Gosling was the younger brother of Robert Gosling, both were educated at Eton College ...

was living at Lovells Court, Marnhull, at the 1911 Census. * Sir Peter Harding, GCB, (born 2 December 1933) is a retired Royal Air Force Chief of the Air Staff, and Chief of Defence Staff.

References

External links

The Marnhull Village Parish Plan 2006
{{Authority control Villages in Dorset Civil parishes in Dorset