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Blandford Forum

Coordinates:50°51′22″N2°09′54″W/ 50.856°N 2.165°W/50.856; -2.165
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Blandford Forum
Market Place, in the town centre
Blandford Forum is located in the United Kingdom
Blandford Forum
Blandford Forum
Location within theUnited Kingdom
Population10,355 (2021 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceST886069
•London101 mi (163 km)NE
Civil parish
  • Blandford Forum[2]
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBLANDFORD FORUM
Postcode districtDT11
Dialling code01258
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
50°51′22″N2°09′54″W/ 50.856°N 2.165°W/50.856; -2.165
Blandford originated at a fording point over the River Stour

Blandford Forum(/ˈblænfərd/BLAN-fərd) is amarket towninDorset,England, on theRiver Stour,13 miles (21 km) north-west ofPoole.It had a population of 10,355 at the2021 census.

The town is notable for itsGeorgian architecture,the result of rebuilding after a major fire in 1731; it was assisted by anAct of Parliamentand a donation byGeorge II,to designs by local architectsJohn and William Bastard.

The town's economy is based on a mix of theservice sectorand light industry.Blandford Camp,a military base, is on the hills two mi (three km) north-east of the town. It is the base of theRoyal Corps of Signals,the communications wing of theBritish Army,and the site of theRoyal Signals Museum.

History

[edit]

Blandford has been afordingpoint on theRiver StoursinceAnglo-Saxontimes. The name Blandford derives from theOld Englishblǣge,and probably means ford where gudgeon orblayare found.[3][4]The nameBlanefordorBlenefordis recorded in theDomesday Book,referring not to Blandford Forum itself but to the adjacent villages ofBryanston[5]andBlandford St Mary[6]on the opposite side of the ford, andLangton Long Blandford[7]further downstream.

By the 13th century, the settlement on the north bank of the river had become amarket town[citation needed]with a livestock market serving the nearbyBlackmore Valewith its many dairy farms. At the start of the 14th century it returned two members of parliament and was also known asCheping Blandford,[8]whereChepingorChippingrefers to a market. TheLatintranslationForumwas first recorded in 1540.[9]

InSurvey of Dorsetshire,written by Thomas Gerard ofTrentin the early 1630s, Blandford was described as "a faire Markett Towne, pleasantlie seated upon the River... well inhabitted and of good Traffique".[10]In the 17th-centuryEnglish Civil WarBlandford was aRoyalistcentre; most inhabitants supported the king.[11]

In the 18th century Blandford was one of severallace-making centres in the county;Daniel Defoestated that lace made in the town was "the finest bonelace in England... I think I never saw better in Flanders, France or Italy".[12]In the 17th and 18th centuries Blandford was also amaltingand brewing centre of some significance.[13]

Plan showing the extent of damage of the 1731 fire; the properties shaded black were destroyed, those shaded yellow survived.

Blandford Forum (Rebuilding After the Fire) Act 1731
Act of Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
Citation5 Geo 2 c 16

Almost all of Blandford's buildings were destroyed on 4 June 1731 by the "great fire", which was the last of several serious fires that occurred in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The fire began in atallowchandler's workshop on a site that is now The King's Armspublic house.Within a few hours, almost 90% of the town's fabric had gone; all fire-fighting equipment had been lost to the fire and the church's lead roof had melted. Even properties west of the river inBlandford St MaryandBryanstonwere burned, though notable buildings that survived in the town include the Ryves Almshouses and Dale House in Salisbury Street, Old House in The Close, and much of East Street. AnAct of Parliamentwas introduced that stated that rebuilding work must be in brick and tile and should begin within four years. With assistance from the rest of the country—including £1,000 given byKing George II—the town was rebuilt over the next ten years to the designs of local architectsJohn and William Bastard.Bottlenecks were removed and streets realigned in the new town plan, which also provided a wider market place. As well as residential and commercial property, new buildings included a newtown hall,school and church. The redesigned town centre has survived to the present day virtually intact.[8][14]

Blandford Forum Town Hall,rebuilt in 1734

After the post-fire reconstruction Blandford remained a thriving market town.[8]Wool spinning andbutton makingwere also significant, and the brewing andhostelrytrades expanded.[8]Theturnpike roadbetweenSalisburyand Dorchester was made in 1756 and passed through the town,[15]and the arrival of thecoachingera increased the town's prosperity,[8]though the built fabric of the town changed little until the first half of the 19th century, when houses for wealthier inhabitants were built to the north alongside the roads to Salisbury andShaftesbury.Later in the 19th century, perhaps following the installation of piped water, more densely packed buildings were built to the northeast, replacing gardens and barracks for the poor (that had been erected following the fire) between the roads to Salisbury andWimborne Minster.[16]Rail transport arrived in Blandford in the 1860s, though this did not impact greatly on the town's economy.[8]

Blandford's weekly animal market disappeared in the 20th century, perhaps a casualty of motorised transport that enabled larger markets to be held in fewer centres (the market at nearbySturminster Newtonincreased significantly). By the middle of the 20th century Blandford Fair, a seasonal sheep fair held in summer and autumn, had also disappeared, due to changes in animal husbandry and a reduction in sheep numbers in the county.[17]

Governance

[edit]

In theUnited Kingdom national parliament,Blandford is in theNorth Dorset parliamentary constituencywhose currentMember of Parliament(MP) isSimon Hoareof theConservative party.[18]At the top tier of local governmentBlandford wardis governed byDorset Council,which provides all services apart from those provided by Blandford Forum Town Council,[19]which has responsibilities that include outdoor fitness and play areas,CCTV,the cemetery and allotments, venue hire, the indoor market, grass cutting and grit bins.[20]

Blandford Cemetery, one of the responsibilities of the Town Council

For electoral purposes on the town level Blandford is divided into fourelectoral wards:Blandford Central, Blandford Hilltop, Blandford Langton St.Leonards and Blandford Old Town.[21]A fifth ward, Riversdale and Portman, covers Bryanston and Blandford St Mary west of the river; these are not within the parish of Blandford, but the town's built-up area extends into Blandford St Mary parish. In national parliamentary elections these five wards are joined with 22 others that together elect the Member of Parliament for the North Dorset constituency.[22]In town council elections Blandford's four wards together elect thirteen councillors to Blandford Forum Town Council; Blandford Central ward elects seven councillors, and the other three wards each elect three.[21]The mayor of Blandford for 2022 - 2023 is Colin Stevens.[23]

The Stour Valley immediately north of the town; much of the countryside around Blandford is designated as anArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Geography

[edit]

Blandford is situated betweenCranborne Chaseand theDorset Downs,to the south-east of theBlackmore Vale,13 mi (21 km) northwest ofPooleand 22 mi (35 km) south-west ofSalisbury.It is sited in the valley of theRiver Stour,mostly on rising ground northeast of the river, but with some development south of the river at Blandford St Mary.[24]The underlying geology isCretaceouschalkbedrock that in places is overlain byQuaternarydrift:alluviumin the river'sflood plain,headdeposits around the town's south-west, south and south-east borders, andclaywithflintsat the highest part of the town in the north.[25]The town is almost surrounded by land that has been designated as having landscape value of national significance: theDorset National Landscape(anArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty,or AONB) to the west and theCranborne Chase and West Wiltshire DownsAONB to the north and east.[26]

Architecture

[edit]

Most of the buildings in Blandford's centre areGeorgian,due to the rebuilding after the 1731 fire and the absence of subsequent change.Pevsnerstated that "hardly any other town in England can be compared with it".[14]A 1970 report byDonald Insall Associatesdescribed Blandford as "the most complete and cohesive surviving example of a Georgian country town in England", with the Market Place area in particular given the status of "An Area of National Importance" and described as "a brilliant master piece" [sic].[27]Buildings that have received Grade IlistingbyEnglish Heritageare the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, the town hall and corn exchange, The Old House, Coupar House, Pump House, and several buildings in Market Place: numbers 18, 20 and 26, and the old Greyhound Inn. All the listed structures in Market Place, including the church and another seventeen buildings with either Grade II or Grade II* status, form a group, together with several listed properties in West Street and East Street.[28][29]

Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

The parish church of St Peter and St Paul was built between 1732 and 1739[30]and is aclassicalbuilding with acupolaon top of the tower.[14]The design by John Bastard originally specified that the tower would have a steeple, but lack of money resulted in the wooden cupola instead, a decision that disgusted Bastard, who stated that "it will not keep the wett nor the weather out".[31]Sir Frederick Treveswas not a fan of the church's appearance, describing it in his 1906Highways & Byways in Dorsetas "ugly, and only tolerable from a distance".[32]The interior remains relatively unaffected byVictorianinterference and retains itsfont,pulpit,box pewsand Mayoral seat.[33]The pulpit, originally designed forSt Antholin'sin London, is bySir Christopher Wren.[34]The organ, dating from 1794, is byGeorge Pike Englandand is the most intact of his surviving works;[35]it allegedly had been intended for theSavoy Chapelin London, but was too big, soGeorge IIIsupposedly gave it to Blandford instead.[36]In 1893 the church was enlarged by moving theapsidal sanctuaryout on rollers onto new foundations and building a new chancel behind it.[33]The Victorians did install galleries to accommodate an increasing congregation, though these were removed in the 1970s, a change that Pevsner called "a visual blessing".[31]

Blandford Forum Town Halloccupies a site in the Market Place close to the site that was occupied by its predecessor. It dates from 1734 and has a two-storey three-windowed frontage ofPortland stoneashlar.The ground floor has three semi-circular arches leading to an openporticoorloggia,called The Shambles, that used to be part of the market. Toward the back of the building is the old corn exchange, a late 19th-century assembly hall with "interesting elliptical roof-trusses".[16][37]

Coupar House, dated around 1750, is the largest private house in Blandford that dates from the post-fire period. It has a richly decorated interior with a notable staircase, and is unique among the town's private dwellings for having Portland stone dressings to its brick façade, though the design of this frontage has been described as "curiously amateurish" with "little attention... paid to rules of proportion".[16]

Pump House fire monument
Bridge over the River Stour

The Old House was probably built some time between 1650 and 1670 by a German doctor who practised in Blandford after graduating fromThe Queen's College, Oxford.Its unusual design, which includes a steephipped roofwith wide spreadingeaves,has elements ofartisanstyle popular at the time, though it was described byJohn Hutchinsas "an architectural graft from the 'fatherland' planted by the worthy doctor on the soil of his adopted country".[16]

ThePump House fire monumentwas built by John Bastard in classical style to commemorate the fire. It dates from 1760, is of Portland stone and stands adjacent to the churchyard wall. The inscription on its rear wall states its purpose is "... to prevent by a timely Supply of Water, (with God's Blessing) the fatal Consequences of FIRE hereafter". In 1768 Bastard provided an endowment of £600. The monument was repaired in 1858 and the pump was replaced by a fountain in 1897.[16][38]

To the south of the town a six-arch stone bridge spans the RiverStour;it is built mostly ofgreensandwith someheathstoneand was extensively restored in 1726. Thewater meadowsbetween it and the town are crossed by a causeway and two smaller bridges.[16]

Demography

[edit]

The2021 censusrecorded a parish population of 10,355.[1]At the2011 census,Blandford Forum civil parish and the small neighbouring parish of Langton Long Blandford had a combined population of 10,325.[39][24][40]The built-up area of Blandford extends south of the River Stour into the civil parish ofBlandford St Mary;[24]in 2013 the population of Blandford St Mary and Blandford Forum civil parishes combined was estimated as 12,110.[40]

Previous census returns for the town show that it had a population of less than 4,000 until 1981, after which it increased rapidly; in the 2001 census, the town had 4,524 dwellings and a population of 8,760, of whom 96.5% were White British.[citation needed]Some of the population increase however can be accounted for by a boundary change which incorporated housing estates that already existed but were previously within a different parish (Pimperne) on the town's northern side.[citation needed]Previous census figures for the town's civil parish are shown in the table below:

Census Population of Blandford Forum Parish 1931–2001(except 1941)
Census 1931 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
Population 3,370 3,667 3,566 3,650 3,920 7,850 8,760
Source:Dorset County Council[41]

Economy

[edit]

Important sectors in Blandford's economy include public administration, education and health (41% of non-agricultural employment), distribution, accommodation and food (25% of non-agricultural employment) and production and construction (19% of non-agricultural employment). In 2012 there were 3,900 people working in the town, 55% of whom worked full-time and 45% part-time. Between July 1997 and July 2013 the unemployment rate for residents of working age varied between 0.5% and 2.5%.[42]There are five industrial estates and business parks in and around the town: Blandford Heights Industrial Estate (9.47 hectares or 23.4 acres), Holland Way Industrial Estate (7.32 hectares or 18.1 acres), Sunrise Business Park (5.6 hectares or 14 acres), Uplands Industrial Park (1.34 hectares or 3.3 acres) and Clump Farm Industrial Estate (1.30 hectares or 3.2 acres).[42]These are sited mostly toward the bypass road to the north-east of the town. In 2009 there were 370 firms providing employment in the town.[42]

Major government employers in the town include theEnvironment Agency[42]andDorset Council,whose offices on Salisbury Road were until 2019 the home ofNorth Dorset District Council.[43]Major employers that are funded by government includeDorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trustand the communications wing of theBritish Army,theRoyal Corps of Signals,[42]based atBlandford Campabout2 km (1+1⁄4mi) north-east of the town. Blandford Camp incorporates a modern technology training college.

Blandford Heights industrial estate on the northern edge of the town

Major retail employers in the town include theCo-op(previouslySomerfield) andTesco,[42]though in 2015 the Co-op site was sold toMarks & Spencer,which opened a food hall.[44]In 2005 there were 110 shops in the town, with a total floorspace of 9,800 square metres (105,000 square feet).[42]Other national chains with a presence in the town includeIceland,[45]Boots,HomebaseandWHSmith.[42]An outdoor market takes place every Thursday and Saturday, and there is a bi-weekly indoor market held in the Corn Exchange.[citation needed]Blandford's shopping catchment area (major food shopping), which extends about 8 miles (13 km) north-east and south-west and about 5 mi (8 km) north-west and south-east, had a population of about 24,200 in 2001.[42]

In education, important employers in the area includeBryanston School,Clayesmore senior schoolatIwerne Minsterabout 5 mi (8 km) north, and The Forum School atShillingstone5 mi (8 km) north-west.[42]

Other important employers in the town includeDamory Coaches,the brewing companyHall and Woodhouse,Hospital Metalcraft, metal tube manipulators Iracroft Ltd, trolley maintenance company KJ Pike & Sons, Signpost Housing Association, Wessex Homes Park and Leisure Ltd.[42][46][47]

Transport

[edit]
Former Somerset and Dorset railway bridge at Blandford Forum. Following closure of the line, the span over the river (right) was demolished, and the earth embankment on the left was reused for nearby flood defence work, leaving it as abridge to nowhere.

Blandford lies at the junction of theA350andA354main roads but is skirted by an easternbypass.The main road running through the town is the B3082, connecting Blandford Forum toWimborne Minster.Blandford Forum is around 33 miles (53 kilometres) southwest of junction 1 of theM27 motorwayatCadnam.Buses run from the town to locations includingPoole,Bournemouth,SalisburyandShaftesburywith the primary operator beingWilts & Dorset.

Blandford is 15 mi (24 km) fromBournemouth Airportand 15 mi (24 km) fromPoole railway station.From 1860 to 1966,Blandford Forumwas a stop on theSomerset and Dorset Joint Railway,which ran fromBathtoBournemouth,though until the bridge was built over the river Stour, opening in 1863,[48]theDorset Centralsection of the line terminated at the hamlet of Blandford St. Mary.[49]Blandford Forum railway station,along with the whole line, closed to passengers in 1966. Located betweenTemplecombeandBroadstone,the railway was still open until the closure of the Blandford's goods yard in 1969, after which the track was lifted. The station was immortalised in 1964 in the song "Slow Train"byFlanders and Swann.

Blandford Camp was served by a short-lived three-mile branch line, which left the main line just north of the river bridge. This operated intermittently from 1918 to 1928.[49]

Education

[edit]

Blandford Forum has two primary schools: Archbishop Wake and Milldown. A new Archbishop Wake school, built on the old St Leonards Middle School site at the bottom of Black Lane, opened in November 2008. The other feeder schools forThe Blandford Schoolare Blandford St Mary, Downlands, Dunbury and Durweston, Pimperne, and Spetisbury Primary Schools. Pupils move at the age of 11 to The Blandford School, which is a secondary school lying in the west of Blandford; the school also has a sixth form.

A number ofprivate schoolsare also located near Blandford, such asBryanston School,Canford School,Clayesmore School,Hanford School,Knighton House School andMilton Abbey School.

Art, culture and media

[edit]

Blandford Georgian Fayre, a one-day celebration of the town'sGeorgianheritage, is held in the town centre every year in the first week of May. The event includes cultural presentations, stalls, historical re-enactments, music and dancing, and a fun fair on the meadows along the banks of the River Stour.[50]The town also hosts an annual carnival and theGreat Dorset Steam Fairis held at nearbyTarrant Hinton.

Blandford Town Museum

There are three museums in Blandford and its vicinity: Blandford Town Museum in Bere's Yard,[51]Blandford Fashion Museum in The Plocks,[52]and theRoyal Signals Museumat Blandford Camp military base.[53]Blandford Town Museum has no admission charge but is not open on Sundays or during the winter. It has artefacts from the history of the town and the surrounding area, and a small Victorian garden that was created in 2008.[54][55]Blandford Fashion Museum has collections of fashions between the early 18th century and the 1970s; it is also closed in the winter.[52]The Royal Signals Museum contains items relating to the history of theRoyal Corps of Signalsand military communication since theNapoleonic Wars.[53]

In 1590,Edmund Spensermentioned theStoureflowing through the town inThe Faerie Queene.[56]

Blandford features inThomas Hardy's novels as theWessextown of Shottesford Forum.[57]

Blandford Forum railway stationwhich is now gone – the train line to Blandford was removed in the 1960s – was mentioned in the 1963 songSlow TrainbyFlanders and Swann.[58]

Local radio stations areBBC Radio Solenton 103.8 FM,Greatest Hits Radio South(formerlyWessex FM) on 96.6 FM andBFBS Radio,which broadcasts on 89.3FM from a studio at the military base as part of its UK Bases network. Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC SouthandITV Meridian.Television signals are received from theRowridgeTV transmitter[59]and the local relay transmitter situated inWinterborne Stickland.[60]BBC WestandITV West Countrycan also be received from theMendipTV transmitter.[61]

Blandford Bowls Club

Sport and leisure

[edit]

Blandford Forum has aNon-League footballclub,Blandford United F.C.,who play at Blandford Recreation Ground. Blandford Bowls Club play in several men's and women's leagues and have a six rinks green, also on the recreation ground on Milldown Road.[62][63][64]Blandford Cricket Club has three men's teams that play in divisions in a local county league, plus several youth teams that compete in the North Dorset Junior leagues.[65]The club has its owncricketground at the top of Whitecliff Mill Street.[66]Blandford Rugby Football Club are based at Larksmead Recreational Ground.[67]

Community facilities

[edit]

Blandford Community Hospital on Milldown Road provides minor and day surgery, occupational therapy, outpatient and community rehabilitation services, palliative care, community mental health services and physiotherapy.[68]Blandford Library, located on The Tabernacle, has music and feature films for hire as well as books, and has internet access and reference works available.[69]

Woodhouse Gardens

Public open spaces in Blandford include Park Road Recreation Ground, which has football and cricket pitches and associated pavilions,[70]and Larksmead Playing Field, which has two rugby pitches, and is the home of Blandford Rugby Club.[71]There are also local authority controlled football andrugby unionpitches at The Blandford School in Milldown Road.[72]Next to the main post office in the town centre is Woodhouse Gardens, a small public garden that contains a pavilion that can be hired for events.[73]

Natural history

[edit]
Blandford Elm, Edinburgh (2016)

TheBlandford fly(Simulium posticatum), a small (2–3 mm) biting fly belonging to the familySimuliidaeor "blackflies" lives in the area. In recent years the weed beds in the river have been sprayed to reduce numbers.[74][75]

Blandford Elm(Ulmus glabraHuds.'Superba') is a (now rare) very large-leavedwychcultivar, first raised by nurseryman Gill of Blandford Forum in the early 1840s, and distributed by nurseries in the UK, Europe and the USA.[76][77]Only one specimen is known to survive (2020), in Edinburgh.

Notable residents

[edit]

Blandford is the birthplace of three eighteenth-century bishops:William Wake(1657–1737),Archbishop of Canterbury;Thomas Lindesay(1656–1724),Archbishop of Armagh;andSamuel Lisle(1683–1749),Bishop of Norwich.[32]

Members of the influential aristocraticPitt familywere born in Blandford, includingWilliam Pitt,Thomas Pitt,Robert Pittand his wifeHarriet Villiers.[citation needed]

Frederick Abberline(1843–1929), the former chief inspector for the London Metropolitan Police during the hunt forJack the Ripper,was born in Blandford. The composer and organistAlbert Mallinson(1878–1946) lived in Blandford. Themusic hallperformerSam Cowell(1820–1864) died in the town, and is buried there.

The sculptorAlfred Stevens(1817–1875), who created theDuke of Wellington's monument inSt Paul's Cathedral,was born in Blandford,[78]as wereReginald Heber Roe(1850–1926), the first vice-chancellor of theUniversity of Queensland,[79]and the surgeonSir Alfred Downing Fripp.[80]Sir Roy Welensky(1907–1991), Prime Minister of theFederation of Rhodesia and Nyasalandfrom 1956 until 1963, lived in Blandford from 1981 until his death.[81]

Twin towns

[edit]
See also:List of twin towns and sister cities in the United Kingdom

Blandford Forum istwinnedwith:[82]

References

[edit]

Citations

[edit]
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Sources

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Wikivoyage has a travel guide forBlandford Forum.
Wikimedia Commons has media related toBlandford Forum.
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