Compton Valence Explained

Static Image Name:Compton Valence, parish church of St. Thomas à Becket - geograph.org.uk - 503998.jpg
Static Image Caption:Parish church of St Thomas à Becket
Country:England
Coordinates:50.7373°N -2.5772°W
Map Type:Dorset
Official Name:Compton Valence
Population:50
Population Ref:[1]
Unitary England:Dorset
Shire County:Dorset
Post Town:Dorchester
Postcode Area:DT
Postcode District:DT2
Constituency Westminster:West Dorset
Region:South West England
Os Grid Reference:SY594932

Compton Valence is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies approximately 7miles west of the county town Dorchester. It is sited at the head of a narrow valley, formed by a small tributary of the River Frome, and is surrounded by the hills of the Dorset Downs, which has led to it having been described as "a pocket of habitation in the downs."[2] Dorset County Council estimate that in 2013 the population of the parish was 50.[1]

The parish church has a 15th-century tower, but the rest of the building was rebuilt in 1838–1839 by Benjamin Ferrey.[3] The church is a Grade II* listed building.[4]

The locality is known to geologists for the 'Compton Valence Dome', arising from the local upcoming of the chalk strata. The core of this geological structure has been eroded to reveal the older underlying Middle Jurassic mudstones. It lies astride the Wynford Fault and is thought to arise from a complex intersection of faults in the area.[5]

Compton Valence is known locally for its display of snowdrops, which fill the road verges in late winter.[6] [7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Parish Population Data. 20 January 2015. 28 February 2015. Dorset County Council.
  2. Gant, R., Dorset Villages, Hale, 1980, p138
  3. Web site: Compton Valence, An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 1: West (1952), pp. 104-105. 24 January 2014. University of London & History of Parliament Trust. 2013.
  4. Web site: CHURCH OF ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY, Compton Valence - 1214304 Historic England. 2021-12-07. historicengland.org.uk. en.
  5. Barton et al. 2011 Geology of south Dorset and south-east Devon and its World Heritage Coast. Special memoir of the British Geological Survey. Sheets 328, 341/2, 342/3 and parts of 326/340, 327, 329 and 339 (England and Wales)
  6. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/gardening/start-of-something-snowdrops-signal-the-first-stirrings-of-spring-1545855.html Snowdrops signal the first stirrings of spring The Independent.
  7. http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2011/02/dorset-in-winter/ Dorset Life.