Dorset
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2008-07-15T12:56:24Z
193.201.197.88
/* Culture */ pffft. How could you forget Wallace?
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{{Infobox England county
| name = Dorset
| image =
| motto = Who's afear'd
| map = [[Image:EnglandDorset.png]]
| status = [[Ceremonial counties of England|Ceremonial]] & (smaller) [[Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England|Non-metropolitan]] county
| origin = [[Historic counties of England|Historic]]
| region = [[South West England]]
| arearank = [[List of Ceremonial counties of England by Area|Ranked 20th]]
| area_km2 = 2653
| adminarearank = [[List of Administrative shire counties of England by Area|Ranked 21st]]
| adminarea_km2 = 2542
| adminhq = [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]]
| iso = GB-DOR
| ons = 19
| nutscode = <!-- NUTS x - (x = value entered, or leave blank for NUTS 3) - OPTIONAL -->
| nuts3 = UKK22
| poprank = [[List of ceremonial counties of England by population|Ranked {{English cerem counties|RNK=Dorset}}]]
| popestdate = 2005
| pop = {{English cerem counties|POP=Dorset}}
| density_km2 = 265
| adminpoprank = [[List of non-metropolitan counties of England by population|Ranked {{English admin counties|RNK=Dorset}}]]
| adminpop = {{English admin counties|POP=Dorset}}
| ethnicity = 98.1% White
| council = [[Image:Escut Dorset.png|200px|Arms of Dorset County Council]]<br />Dorset County Council<br />http://www.dorsetforyou.com/
| mps = *[[Annette Brooke]] [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|(LD)]]
*[[John Butterfill]] [[Conservative Party (UK)|(C)]]
*[[Christopher Chope]] [[Conservative Party (UK)|(C)]]
*[[Tobias Ellwood]] [[Conservative Party (UK)|(C)]]
*[[Jim Knight]] [[Labour Party (UK)|(L)]]
*[[Oliver Letwin]] [[Conservative Party (UK)|(C)]]
*[[Robert Syms]] [[Conservative Party (UK)|(C)]]
*[[Robert Walter]] [[Conservative Party (UK)|(C)]]
| subdivname =
| subdivmap = [[Image:Dorset districts.png|280px]]
| subdivs = #[[Weymouth and Portland]]
#[[West Dorset]]
#[[North Dorset]]
#[[Purbeck (district)|Purbeck]]
#[[East Dorset]]
#[[Christchurch, Dorset|Christchurch]]
#[[Bournemouth (borough)|Bournemouth]] (Unitary)
#[[Poole (borough)|Poole]] (Unitary)
Neighbouring counties are (A–D): [[Devon]], [[Somerset]], [[Wiltshire]] and [[Hampshire]]
}}
'''Dorset''' ({{pronEng|ˈdɔːsɪt}}) (or [[Archaism|archaically]], '''Dorsetshire'''), is a [[Counties of England|county]] in [[South West England|South West]] [[England]] on the [[English Channel]] coast. The [[county town]] is [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]], situated in the south of the county at {{coor dms|50|43|00|N|02|26|00|W|}}. Between its extreme points Dorset measures {{convert|80|km|mi|0}} from east to west and {{convert|64|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} north to south, and has an area of {{convert|2653|km2|sqmi|0}}. Dorset borders [[Devon]] to the west, [[Somerset]] to the north-west, [[Wiltshire]] to the north-east, and [[Hampshire]] to the east. Around half of Dorset's population lives in the [[South East Dorset conurbation]]. The rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density. Dorset's motto is 'Who's Afear'd'.
Dorset is famous for the [[Jurassic Coast]] [[World Heritage Site]], which features landforms such as [[Lulworth Cove]], the [[Isle of Portland]], [[Chesil Beach]] and [[Durdle Door]], as well as the holiday resorts of [[Bournemouth]], [[Poole]], [[Weymouth]], [[Swanage]], and [[Lyme Regis]]. Dorset is the principal setting of the novels of [[Thomas Hardy]], who was born near Dorchester. The county has a long history of human settlement and some notable archaeology, including the [[hill fort]]s of [[Maiden Castle, Dorset|Maiden Castle]] and [[Hod Hill]].
==History==
{{main|History of Dorset}}
The earliest recorded use of the name was in AD 940 as '''Dorseteschire''', meaning the dwellers (''saete'') of 'Dornuuarana' (Dorchester)
The first known settlement of Dorset was by [[Mesolithic]] hunters, from around 8000 [[Before Christ|BC]]. Their populations were small and concentrated along the coast in the [[Isle of Purbeck]], [[Weymouth]] and [[Chesil Beach]] and along the [[River Stour, Dorset|Stour valley]]. These populations used tools and fire to clear these areas of some of the native [[Oak]] [[forest]]. Dorset's high chalk hills have provided a location for defensive settlements for millennia, there are [[Neolithic]] and [[Bronze Age]] burial mounds on almost every chalk hill in the county, and a number of [[Iron Age]] [[hill fort]]s, the most famous being [[Maiden Castle, Dorset|Maiden Castle]]. The chalk downs would have been deforested in the Iron Age, making way for agriculture and animal husbandry.
Dorset has notable [[Roman Britain|Roman]] artefacts, particularly around the Roman town [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]], where Maiden Castle was captured from the [[Celt]]ic [[Durotriges]] by a [[Roman Legion]] in 43 AD under the command of [[Vespasian]], early in the Roman occupation.<ref name="vespasian">{{cite web | year = 2007 | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/vespasian.shtml | title = Vespasian (9 AD - 79 AD) | publisher = [[British Broadcasting Corporation]] | accessdate = 2008-02-04}}</ref> Roman roads radiated from Dorchester, following the tops of the chalk ridges to the many small Roman villages around the county. In the Roman era, settlements moved from the hill tops to the valleys, and the hilltops had been abandoned by the fourth century. A large defensive ditch, [[Bokerley Dyke]], delayed the [[Saxon people|Saxon]] conquest of Dorset from the north east for up to two hundred years. The [[Domesday Book]] documents many Saxon settlements corresponding to modern towns and villages, mostly in the valleys. There have been few changes to the parishes since the Domesday Book. Over the next few centuries the settlers established the pattern of farmland which prevailed into the nineteenth century. Many monasteries were also established, which were important landowners and centres of power.
In the 12th-century [[List of English civil wars|civil war]], Dorset was fortified with the construction of the defensive castles at [[Corfe Castle]], [[Powerstock]], [[Wareham, Dorset|Wareham]] and [[Shaftesbury]], and the strengthening of the [[monasteries]] such as at [[Abbotsbury]]. In the 17th-century [[English Civil War]], Dorset had a number of [[Charles I of England|royalist]] strongholds, such as [[Sherborne Castle]] and [[Corfe Castle]], which were ruined by [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] forces in the war. In the intervening years, the county was used by the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|monarchy]] and [[British nobility|nobility]] for hunting and the county still has a number of [[Deer Park]]s. Throughout the late [[Mediaeval]] times, the remaining hilltop settlements shrank further and disappeared. From the [[Tudor period|Tudor]] to [[Georgian era|Georgian]] periods, farms specialised and the monastic estates were broken up, leading to an increase in population and settlement size. During the [[Industrial Revolution]], Dorset remained largely rural, and retains its agricultural economy today. The [[Tolpuddle Martyrs]] lived in Dorset, and the farming economy of Dorset was central in the formation of the [[trade union]] movement.
==Physical geography==
{{main|Geology of Dorset}}
Most of Dorset's landscape falls into two categories, determined by the underlying [[geology]]. There are a number of large ridges of [[limestone]] [[downland]], much of which have been cleared of the native [[forest]] and are mostly [[calcareous grassland|grassland]] and some [[arable land|arable]] agriculture. These limestone areas include a band of [[chalk]] which crosses the county from south-west to north-east incorporating [[Cranborne Chase]], the [[Dorset Downs]] and [[Purbeck Hills]]. Between the areas of downland are large, wide [[clay]] [[vale]]s (primarily [[Oxford Clay]] with some [[Weald Clay]] and [[London Clay]]) with wide [[flood plain]]s. These vales are primarily used for [[dairy]] agriculture, dotted with small villages, farms and [[coppice]]s. They include the [[Blackmore Vale]] ([[River Stour, Dorset|Stour valley]]) and [[River Frome, Dorset|Frome valley]].
South-east Dorset, around Poole and Bournemouth, lies on very non-resistant [[Eocene]] clays (mainly [[London Clay]] and [[Gault Clay]]), [[sand]]s and [[gravel]]s. These thin soils support a [[heathland]] habitat which supports all seven native British [[reptile]] species. The [[River Frome, Dorset|River Frome]] [[estuary]] runs through this weak rock, and its many [[tributary|tributaries]] have carved out a wide estuary. At the mouth of the estuary sand [[spit (landform)|spits]] have been deposited turning the estuary into [[Poole Harbour]], one of several worldwide which claim to be the second largest natural [[harbour]] in the world (after [[Sydney Harbour]], though Sydney's claim is disputed). The harbour is very shallow in places and contains a number of islands, notably [[Brownsea Island]], famous for its [[Red Squirrel]] sanctuary and as the birthplace of the [[Scouting]] movement. The harbour, and the chalk and limestone hills of the [[Isle of Purbeck|Purbeck]]s to the south, lie atop Britain's largest onshore [[oil field]]. The field, operated by [[BP]] from [[Wytch Farm]], produces a high-quality oil and boasts the world's oldest continuously pumping well ([[Kimmeridge]], since the early 1960s) and longest horizontal drill ({{convert|8|km|mi|0|abbr=on|disp=/}}, ending underneath Bournemouth [[pier]]). The [[pottery]] produced by [[Poole Pottery]] from the local clays is famous for its quality.
[[Image:durdledoor.jpg|thumb|right|[[Durdle Door]] [[natural arch]]]]
Most of [[Jurassic Coast|Dorset's coastline]] was designated a [[World Heritage Site]] in 2001 because of its geological [[landforms]]. The coast documents the entire [[Mesozoic]] era from [[Triassic]] to [[Cretaceous]], and has yielded many important [[fossil]]s, including the first complete [[Ichthyosaur]] and fossilised [[Jurassic]] trees. The coast also features examples of most notable coastal landforms, including a textbook example of [[cove]] ([[Lulworth Cove]]) and [[natural arch]] ([[Durdle Door]]). Jutting out into the [[English Channel]] is a limestone island, the [[Isle of Portland]], connected to the mainland by [[Chesil Beach]], a [[tombolo]].
In the west of the county the chalk and clay of south-east England begins to give way to the [[marl]] and [[granite]] of neighbouring [[Devon]]. Until recently [[Pilsdon Pen]] at {{convert|277|m|ft|0}}, was thought to be the highest hill in Dorset, but recent surveys have shown nearby [[Lewesdon Hill]] to be higher, at {{convert|279|m|ft|0}}. Lewesdon is also a [[Marilyn (hill)|Marilyn]].
The county has the highest proportion of [[conservation area]]s in England— including an [[AONB|Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]] (44% of the whole county),<ref name="aonb">{{cite web | year = 2007 | url = http://www.countryside.gov.uk/LAR/Landscape/DL/aonbs/aonb_dorset2.asp | title = Dorset AONB | publisher = Natural England | accessdate = 2007-07-25}}</ref> a [[World Heritage Site]] ({{convert|114|km|mi|0|abbr=on|disp=/}}),<ref name="coastline">{{cite web | year = 2007 | url = http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=332789 | title = Length of coastline and coastal designations | publisher = Dorset County Council | accessdate = 2007-07-25}}</ref> two [[Heritage Coast]]s ({{convert|92|km|mi|0|abbr=on|disp=/}})<ref name="coastline" /> and [[SSSI|Sites of Special Scientific interest]] ({{convert|199.45|km2|acre|0|lk=on|disp=/|abbr=on}}).<ref name="sssi">{{cite web | year = 2007 | url = http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=332782 | title = Nature Conservation Designations - SSSIs | publisher = Dorset County Council | accessdate = 2007-07-25}}</ref> The [[South West Coast Path]], a [[National Trails (United Kingdom)|National Trail]], runs along the Dorset coast from the Devon boundary to South Haven Point near [[Poole]].
[[Image:Lulworth Cove, Dorset-(Aerial).jpg|thumb|right|[[Lulworth Cove]], a [[cove]] on a [[concordant coastline]]]]
The climate of Dorset has warm summers and mild winters, being the third most southern county in the UK, but not westerly enough to be afflicted by the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] storms that [[Cornwall]] and [[Devon]] experience. Dorset shares the greater winter warmth of the south-west (average 4.5 to 8.7 °C or 40° to 48 °F),<ref name="winter">{{cite web | year = 2001 | url = http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/tmean/16.gif | title = Mean Temperature Winter Average | publisher = [[Met Office]] | accessdate = 2007-08-14}}</ref> while still maintaining higher summer temperatures than that of Devon and Cornwall (average highs of 19.1 to 22.2 °C or 66° to 72 °F).<ref name="summer">{{cite web | year = 2001 | url = http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/tmax/14.gif | title = Maximum Temperature Summer Average | publisher = Met Office | accessdate = 2007-08-14}}</ref> The average annual [[temperature]] of the county is 9.8 to 12 °C (50°–54 °F), apart from the [[Dorset Downs]].<ref name="annual">{{cite web | year = 2001 | url = http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/tmean/17.gif | title = Mean Temperature Annual Average | publisher = Met Office | accessdate = 2007-08-14}}</ref> In coastal areas around Dorset it almost never snows.
The south coast counties of Dorset, [[Hampshire]], [[West Sussex]], [[East Sussex]] and [[Kent]] enjoy more sunshine than anywhere else in the [[United Kingdom]], receiving 1541–1885 hours.<ref name="sunshine">{{cite web | year = 2001 | url = http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/ss/17.gif | title = Sunshine Duration Annual Average | publisher = Met Office | accessdate = 2007-08-14}}</ref> Average annual rainfall varies across the county—southern and eastern coastal areas receive as little as {{convert|741|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} per year, while the Dorset Downs receive between 1,061 and 1,290 mm (41.7–50.8 in) per year; less than Devon and Cornwall to the west but more than counties to the east.<ref name="rainfall">{{cite web | year = 2001 | url = http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/rr/17.gif | title = Rainfall Amount Annual Average | publisher = Met Office | accessdate = 2007-08-14}}</ref>
==Demographics==
[[Image:poole.quay.750pix.jpg|thumb|right|Poole Quay]]
Dorset has a [[population]] of 407,217, plus 165,370 in [[Bournemouth]] and 137,562 in [[Poole]] (total 710,149—mid-year estimates for 2006). The following statistics exclude Poole and Bournemouth, which are no longer part of the administrative county. 98.7% of Dorset's population are of white ethnicity, an extreme example of the disproportionately small [[ethnic minority]] population in rural areas. 77.9% of the population are [[Religion in the United Kingdom#Christianity|Christian]] and 13.7% are not religious.<!--304 500 / 390 980 * 100 = 77.9%.--><ref name="dorsetforyou2">{{cite web | year = 2007 | url = http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=325887 | title = Religion | publisher = Dorset County Council | accessdate = 2008-06-23}}</ref> Dorset has the highest proportion of elderly people of any county in the United Kingdom: 27.4% of the population are over 65.<ref name="dorsetforyou">{{cite web | year = 2007 | url = http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=333003 | title = Keyfacts on Dorset - general | publisher = Dorset County Council | accessdate = 2008-02-06}}</ref>
The county has one of the lowest [[birth rate]]s of the 34 shire [[Counties of England|English counties]], at 8.7 births per 1000, compared to the [[England and Wales]] average of 12.1/1000.<ref name="dorsetforyou" /> It has the third highest mortality rate (12.0/1000), behind East Sussex and [[Devon]].<ref name="dorsetforyou" /> In 1996 deaths exceeded births by 1,056, giving a natural population decline of 2.7 per 1000, however, in 1997 there were 7,200 migrants moving to Dorset and the [[South East Dorset conurbation|Poole-Bournemouth conurbation]], giving Dorset the second highest net population growth, behind [[Cambridgeshire]], at 17.3‰.<ref name="2001census">{{cite web | year = 2001 | url = http://www1.dorsetcc.gov.uk/LIVING/FACTS/Census2001.nsf | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060523161843/http://www1.dorsetcc.gov.uk/LIVING/FACTS/Census2001.nsf | archivedate=2006-05-23 | title = 2001 Census | publisher = [[Office for National Statistics]] | accessdate = 2005-04-22}}</ref><ref name="countyfacts">{{cite web | year = 2005 | url =http://www1.dorsetcc.gov.uk/Living/Facts/DorsetDataOnLine.nsf/-/A48DF589F0FD530E0025678B005CBBE3?OpenDocument | archiveurl =http://web.archive.org/web/20060523161855/http://www1.dorsetcc.gov.uk/Living/Facts/DorsetDataOnLine.nsf/-/A48DF589F0FD530E0025678B005CBBE3?OpenDocument | archivedate=2006-05-23 | title = Dorset Count Council Facts & Figures | publisher = Dorset County Council | accessdate = 2005-04-22}}</ref>
==Politics==
Dorset County Council is based at County Hall in Dorchester. Following the local council elections in May 2005, 24 [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]], 16 [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]], four [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] and one independent councillor sit on the county council. All Labour councillors were elected in the built up area of [[Weymouth and Portland]]; rural areas elected Conservatives and Liberal Democrat councillors.
This pattern is repeated at the national level. [[South Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|South Dorset]] is represented in Parliament by Labour MP [[Jim Knight]], though this constituency was Labour's smallest majority and was one of the most fiercely contested seats in the General Election of 2005.<ref name="dorsetsouth">{{cite web | year = 2005 | url = http://politics.guardian.co.uk/election/story/0,15803,1475000,00.html | title = A print-out-and-keep guide to election night | publisher = Guardian News and Media Limited | accessdate = 2007-07-03}}</ref> In the event, the seat went against the national trend and Mr Knight's majority increased slightly on a swing from the Conservatives.<ref name="election2005">{{cite web | year = 2005 | url = http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/E/election2005_blogs/dobson_blog.html | title = Channel 4 -Election 2005 | publisher = Channel 4 | accessdate = 2006-11-12}}</ref> In all other Dorset constituencies, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are the most successful parties: [[Mid Dorset and North Poole (UK Parliament constituency)|Mid-Dorset and North Poole]] is represented by the Liberal Democrats, and [[West Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|West Dorset]], [[Christchurch (UK Parliament constituency)|Christchurch]] and [[North Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|North Dorset]] by the Conservatives.
The built up area of Poole and Bournemouth is divided into three constituencies, [[Bournemouth East (UK Parliament constituency)|Bournemouth East]], [[Bournemouth West (UK Parliament constituency)|Bournemouth West]] and [[Poole (UK Parliament constituency)|Poole]], all of which are represented by Conservative MPs. Dorset, the rest of the [[South West England|south west]], and [[Gibraltar]] are in the [[South West England (European Parliament constituency)|South West England]] [[constituency]] of the [[European Parliament]].<ref name="euparliament">{{cite web | year = 2006 | url = http://www.europarl.org.uk/uk_meps/MembersMain.htm | title = UK MEPs | publisher = UK Office of the [[European Parliament]] | accessdate = 2007-12-16}}</ref>
==Economy and industry==
[[Image:Abbotsbury, Dorset - Tithe Barn.jpg|thumb|right|[[Abbotsbury]] Great Barn]]
In 2003 the [[gross value added]] (GVA) for the county was [[Pound sterling|£]]4,673 million, with an additional £4,705 million for Poole and Bournemouth.<ref name="GVA">{{cite web | year = 2003 | url = http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/RegionalGVA.pdf | title = Regional Gross Value Added (pp.240–253) | publisher = Office for National Statistics | format = PDF | accessdate = 2007-08-14}}</ref> 4% of GVA was produced by [[primary industry]], 26% from [[secondary industry]] and 70% from [[tertiary industry]]. The average GVA for the 16 [[South West England#Sub-divisions|regions]] of [[South West England]] was £6,257 million. The GVA per person is £11,475 for Dorset, £15,532 for Poole and Bournemouth, £15,235 for the South West and £16,100 for the UK.
The principal industry in Dorset was once agriculture. It has not, however, been the largest employer for many decades as [[mechanisation]] has substantially reduced the number of workers required. Agriculture has become less profitable and the industry has declined further. Between 1995 and 2003 GVA for primary industry (largely agriculture with some fishing and quarrying) declined from £229 to 188 million—7.1% to 4.0% of the county's GVA. In 2002, {{convert|1903|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} of the county was in agricultural use, down from {{convert|1986|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} in 1989, although the figure has fluctuated somewhat. [[Cattle]] is the most common animal stock in the county, their numbers fell from 240,413 to 178,328 in the same period; the [[dairy]] herds fell from 102,589 to 73,476. [[Sheep]] and [[pig]] farming has declined similarly.
West Dorset General Hospitals [[NHS Trust]] employs around 2,500 multi-disciplinary staff; the majority at the 500-bed [[Dorset County Hospital]] which provides a turnover of £76 million.<ref name="DCH">{{cite web | year = 2005 | url = http://www.dch.org.uk/about/trust-profile.html | title = Trust Profile | format = PDF | publisher = West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust | accessdate = 2007-08-14}}</ref> This new hospital was a larger replacement for [[Dorchester Hospital]], which was built in 1840, and closed in 1998.
One of Dorset's famous products is the [[Dorset Knob]], a hard biscuit. It can be used as an accompaniment to [[cheese]], especially the local Dorset cheese, [[Dorset Blue Vinney cheese|Blue Vinney]].
[[Tourism]] has grown as an industry in Dorset since the early 19th century. 4.2 million British tourists and 260,000 foreign tourists visited the county in 2002, spending a combined total of [[Pound sterling|£]]768 million. Foreign tourism declined in 1999 (310,000, down from 410,000 in 1998), and again in 2002 (down from 320,000 in 2001), the latter decline being blamed on the effects of the global economy and security.
Dorset has little manufacturing industry, at 14.6% of employment (compared to 18.8% for the UK), and is ranked 30th out the 34 non-metropolitan English counties. The [[gross domestic product]] for the county is 84% that of the national average.
Dorset will host an Olympic event at the [[2012 Summer Olympics]] – [[sailing]] – at the [[Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy]] in [[Portland Harbour]]. [[Weymouth Bay|Weymouth and Portland's waters]] have been credited by the [[Royal Yachting Association]] as the best in Northern [[Europe]].<ref name="wpnsa">{{cite web | year = 2005 | url = http://www.weymouth.gov.uk/London2012/home.asp?svid=14 | title = 2012 Olympic Games sailing venue | publisher = Weymouth and Portland Borough Council | accessdate = 2006-11-12}}</ref>
==Culture==
[[Image:Dorset ca mh.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Cerne Abbas]] manor house]]
As a largely rural county, Dorset has fewer major cultural institutions than larger or more densely populated areas. Major venues for concerts and theatre include Poole Borough Council's Lighthouse arts centre, Bournemouth's [[Bournemouth International Centre|BIC]] and [[Pavilion Theatre (Bournemouth)|Pavilion Theatre]], Wimborne's [[Tivoli Theatre (Wimborne Minster)|Tivoli Theatre]], and the [[Weymouth Pavilion|Pavilion]] theatre in Weymouth. Dorset's most famous cultural institution is perhaps the [[Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra]], founded in 1893 and now one of the country's most celebrated orchestras.
Dorset is not especially famous in sport, though [[football (soccer)|Football]] [[League One]] [[A.F.C. Bournemouth]], [[Conference National]] [[Weymouth F.C.]], and minor [[county cricket]] club [[Dorset County Cricket Club|Dorset CCC]] play in the county. The county is notable for its watersports, however, which take advantage of the sheltered waters of [[Weymouth Bay|Weymouth]] and [[Poole Bay|Poole]] bays, and [[Poole Harbour|Poole]] and [[Portland Harbour|Portland]] Harbours.
Dorset is famed in [[literature]] for being the native county of [[author]] and [[poet]] [[Thomas Hardy]], and many of the places he describes in his novels in the fictional [[Thomas Hardy's Wessex|Wessex]] are in Dorset, which he renamed ''South Wessex''. The [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] owns [[Thomas Hardy's Cottage]], in woodland east of Dorchester, and [[Max Gate]], his former house in Dorchester. Several other writers have called Dorset home, including [[Douglas Adams]] (author of ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''), who lived in [[Stalbridge]] for a time; [[Ian Fleming]] (''[[James Bond]]''), who boarded at [[The Old Malthouse|Durnford School]], poet [[William Barnes]]; [[Theodore Francis Powys]]; [[John le Carré]], author of espionage novels; [[Tom Sharpe]] of ''[[Wilt]]'' fame lives there as does [[P.D. James]] (''[[Children of Men]]''); [[satire|satirical]] novelist [[Thomas Love Peacock]]; [[John Fowles]] (''[[The French Lieutenant's Woman]]''), lived in [[Lyme Regis]] before he died in late 2005; [[John Cowper Powys]], who set a number of his most famous novels in Dorset and Somerset; and [[Robert Louis Stevenson]] wrote ''[[The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]]'' while living in [[Bournemouth]].
Dorset is also the birthplace of [[artist]] Sir [[James Thornhill]], musicians [[John Eliot Gardiner]], [[P.J. Harvey]] and [[Robert Fripp]], [[photography|photographer]] [[Jane Bown]], [[palaeontologist]] [[Mary Anning]] and [[archbishop]]s [[John Morton]] and [[William Wake]]. Explorer Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] lived in Dorset for some of his life, while [[scientist]] and [[philosopher]] [[Robert Boyle]] lived in Stalbridge Manor for a time; the naturalist [[Alfred Russell Wallace]] was also a resident, and is buried at Broadstone. Dorset is a popular home for celebrities. Those who have moved to or own second homes in Dorset include [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] and [[Guy Ritchie]], actor [[Martin Clunes]], singer-songwriter [[Billy Bragg]], [[Jonathan Ross (television presenter)|Jonathan Ross]], [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] singer [[Noel Gallagher]] and footballer [[Jamie Redknapp]].<ref name="celebrities">{{cite web | year = 2004 | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/dorset/content/articles/2004/10/13/celebrities_feature.shtml | title = Dorset Celebrities | publisher = [[British Broadcasting Corporation]] | accessdate = 2004-10-13}}</ref> Many of [[Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall]]'s television programmes are filmed at his home, just outside of [[Bridport]]. [[Tim Berners-Lee]], inventor of the [[World Wide Web]] lived in [[Colehill]] near [[Wimborne]]. Classical composer [[Muzio Clementi]] lived and worked near Blandford in Dorset.
==Settlements and communications==
{{main|List of places in Dorset|Transport in Dorset}}
[[Image:Gold Hill, Shaftsbury, Dorset, England.JPG|thumb|right|Gold Hill, [[Shaftesbury]]]]
[[Image:Uk dor portharbour.JPG|thumb|right|[[Fortuneswell]] and [[Chesil Beach]]]]
[[Image:Weymouth Promenade.jpg|thumb|right|[[Weymouth]] promenade]]
Dorset is largely rural with many small villages, few large towns, and no cities. The largest [[conurbation]] is the [[South East Dorset conurbation]] which consists of the [[seaside resort]] of [[Bournemouth]], the historic port of [[Poole]] and the town of [[Christchurch, Dorset|Christchurch]] plus many villages. Bournemouth was created in the [[Victorian era]] when sea bathing became popular. As an example of how affluent the area has become, [[Sandbanks]] in Poole was worthless land unwanted by farmers in the nineteenth century, but is said to be amongst the highest land values by area in the world.<ref name="sandbanks">{{cite web | year = 2005 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/dorset/4440107.stm | title = Island on the market for £2.5 million | publisher = [[British Broadcasting Corporation]] | accessdate = 2005-04-13}}</ref> Bournemouth and Christchurch were added to the county from [[Hampshire]] in the county boundary changes of 1974.
The other two major settlements in the county are [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]], (the county town), and [[Weymouth]], one of the first [[tourism|tourist towns]], frequented by [[George III of Great Britain|George III]], and still very popular today. [[Blandford Forum]], [[Sherborne]], [[Gillingham, Dorset|Gillingham]], [[Shaftesbury]] and [[Sturminster Newton]] are historical [[market town]]s which serve the farms and villages of the Blackmore Vale (Hardy's ''Vale of the Little Dairies''). Blandford is home to the Badger brewery of [[Hall and Woodhouse]]. [[Bridport]], [[Lyme Regis]], [[Wareham, Dorset|Wareham]] and [[Wimborne Minster]] are also market towns. Lyme Regis and [[Swanage]] are small coastal towns popular with tourists.
Still in construction on the western edge of Dorchester is the experimental [[new town]] of [[Poundbury]], commissioned and co-designed by [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Prince Charles]]. The suburb is designed to integrate residential and retail buildings and counter the growth of dormitory towns and car-oriented development.
Dorset is connected to [[London]] by two main [[railway]] lines. The [[West of England Main Line]] runs through the north of the county at Gillingham and Sherborne. The [[South Western Main Line]] runs through the south at Bournemouth, Poole, Dorchester and the terminus at Weymouth. Additionally, the [[Heart of Wessex Line]] runs from Weymouth to [[Bristol]]. Dorset is one of only four non metropolitan counties in England not to have a single motorway. The [[A303 road|A303]], [[A31 road|A31]] and [[A35 road|A35]] [[trunk road]]s run through the county. The only passenger [[airport]] in the county is [[Bournemouth International Airport]], and there are two passenger [[sea port]]s, at Poole and Weymouth, however the development of these towns both as ports and as industrial centres has over the years been severely constrained by under investment in infra-structure. There are no major trunk routes to the North and both towns remain cut off from the UK motorway network.
==Education==
Responsibility for education in Dorset is divided between three local authorities: Bournemouth and Poole [[unitary authorities]] and Dorset County Council, which covers the rest of the county.
The county of Dorset has a [[Comprehensive school|comprehensive]] education system, primarily based on [[First school|First]], [[Middle school|Middle]] and [[Upper school|Upper]] schools, with transfer between schools at age 9 and 13. This system has allowed the predominantly rural county to provide early years education close to home, and to minimise transport requirements for older students. As school populations have fallen in parts of the county, however, the authority has begun to reintroduce a [[Primary education|primary]]/[[Secondary education|secondary]] system with transfer at age 11, particularly in the more urban areas such as in [[Blandford Forum|Blandford]]. There are 19 [[State school|state]] and 8 [[Independent school|independent]] upper or secondary schools in Dorset, with year sizes in the state schools of around 200.
Bournemouth has a [[Selective school|selective]] system, with 10 state and 2 independent secondary schools, with transfer at age 11. Poole also has a selective system, with 8 state and 2 independent secondary schools, but primarily based on a Middle School system, transferring at age 8 and 12. Both councils have two single-sex selective [[Grammar schools in the United Kingdom|grammar]] schools.
There are further education colleges in [[The Bournemouth and Poole College|Bournemouth and Poole]], and in [[Kingston Maurward College|Dorchester]] and [[Weymouth College|Weymouth]].
[[Bournemouth University]] is Dorset's only university-level institution.
== See also ==
*[[Flag of Dorset]]
*[[List of Dorset beaches]]
*[[List of schools in the South West of England#Dorset|List of Dorset schools]]
*[[List of places in Dorset#Places of interest|List of places of interest and tourist attractions in Dorset]]
*[[List of Parliamentary constituencies in Dorset]]
*[[West Country dialects]]
==References and notes==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|2}}
===References===
{{Refbegin}}
* Arkell, W.J., 1978. ''The Geology of the Country around Weymouth, Swanage, Corfe & Lulworth''. London: Geological Survey of Great Britain, [[HMSO]].
* Davies, G.M., 1956. ''A Geological Guide to the Dorset Coast, 2nd ed.'' London: [[A & C Black]].
* [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], 1911. ''[http://2.1911encyclopedia.org/D/DO/DORSETSHIRE.htm Dorsetshire]''.
* Perkins, John W., 1977. ''Geology Explained in Dorset''. London: [[David & Charles]].
* Pitt-Rivers, Michael, 1968. ''Dorset''. London: [[Faber & Faber]].
* Taylor, Christopher, 1970. ''The making of the Dorset landscape''. London: [[Hodder & Stoughton]].
* West, Ian, 2004. ''[http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/ Geology of the Wessex Coast and Southern England]'', [[Southampton University]], (Accessed between September 2003 and October 2004).
{{Refend}}
==External links==
<!-- Please do not add links to specific town or village websites here, this page is for links relevant to the county as a whole only. Wiki is not a directory - thanks -->
{{commonscat|Dorset}}
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Dorset.ogg|2005-04-22}}
* [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Dorset/ Full list of Dorset links at dmoz.org]
* {{wikitravel|Dorset}}
* [http://www.dorsetforyou.com/ Dorset County Council]
* [http://www.dorsetcountymuseum.org/ Dorset County Museum]
* [http://www.thisisdorset.net/ The Dorset Echo]
* [http://www.dch.org.uk/ Dorchester County Hospital]
* [http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/dorset/ Dorset Wildlife Trust]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dorset/ BBC Dorset 'Where I Live' website]
* [http://www.dorset-opc.com/ Dorset Family History - Online Parish Clerk Project (OPC)]
* [http://www.dorsetbeaches.co.uk/ Dorset Echo — Dorset Beach Guide]
* [http://www.uk-genealogy.org.uk/england/Dorset/ Dorset Genealogy heraldry and history]
* [http://www.flagfordorset.org.uk FlagForDorset website forum]
; '''Photographs'''
* [http://www.westbay.co.uk/aerialphotos/ Aerial photographs]
* [http://gallery.beautifulengland.net/main.php?g2_itemId=233 Information and photographs of Dorset]
* [http://www.cotch.net/dorset Photographs by Wikipedian Steinsky]
* [http://www.imagesofdorset.org.uk/ Photographs]
* [http://www.dorsetphotos.co.uk/ Photographs]
* [http://www.dorset-pictures.co.uk/ Photographs]
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