Blandford Forum

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"Blandford" redirects here. For the town in Massachusetts, see Blandford, Massachusetts.

Blandford Forum

Coordinates: 50.856° N 2.168° W
Population	8,755 (2001)
OS grid reference	ST881064
District	North Dorset
Shire county	Dorset
Region	South West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BLANDFORD
Postcode district	DT11
Dial code	01258
Police	Dorset
Fire	Dorset
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	North Dorset Constituency
European Parliament	South West England
List of places: UK • England • Dorset

Blandford Forum, or Blandford is a market town on the River Stour in Dorset, England. In the 2001 census the population was 8,755 people. Blandford is the location of North Dorset's district council, though it is situated in the far south-east of the district. Nearby is the small village of Blandford St Mary. Blandford is situated between Cranborne Chase and the Dorset Downs, at the south eastern corner of the Blackmore Vale, 25 km (16 miles) north-west of Poole and 34 km (21 miles) south-west of Salisbury. The town lies at the junction of the A350 and A354 main roads but is skirted by an eastern bypass.

A number of renowned private schools are located near Blandford, such as Knighton House, Bryanston School and Canford School.

Thousands of people attend the Georgian Fayre which fills the town centre and is held in the first week of May each year.

One less pleasant local resident is 'The Blandford Fly', a local biting insect which has caused several fatalities. In recent years the weed beds in the river have had to be sprayed to stop it breeding.

1 History
2 Architecture
3 Economy
4 Literature
5 References
6 External links
- 6.1 Photographs

[edit] History

Blandford has been a fording point since Anglo-Saxon times, when it was recorded as Blaen-y-ford and as Blaneford in the Domesday Book, meaning ford of the river of blay or gudgeon. By the 13th century it had become an important market town, with a livestock market serving the nearby Blackmore Vale with its many dairy farms. The Latin word Forum, meaning market, was recorded in 1540.^[1] It was an important break on the journey between the port of Weymouth and the capital London. There is still a bi-weekly market held in the town.

In 1731 much of the town was destroyed in a fire. John and William Bastard rebuilt the town over the following 30 years and the town centre is an excellent example of Georgian architecture from the 1730s to 1760s.

[edit] Architecture

The town hall

Blandford Forum is often given as an example of a Georgian town, as the entire centre was rebuilt at once in the 1700s, due to a fire, and is hence uniformly Georgian. All facades remain in fair to good condition, and notable buildings include The Corn Exchange, and the 1732 parish church of St Peter and St Paul, a classical building with a copula on top of the tower. To the south of the town a six arch stone bridge spans the slow-moving River Stour.

[edit] Economy

One of the largest industries in the town is the Badger Brewery which supplies beer and ale to public houses across the region.

Some 2 km northeast of the town lies Blandford Camp, which has long been home to the Royal Corps of Signals, the communications wing of the British Army. The base incorporates a modern technology training college plus a cinema for military personnel, and the National Signals Museum (a museum of items relating to the history of the Royal Signals since its inception) which is open to the public. The museum contains many items of interest including uniforms, medals, signals equipment, (some of which is interactive) and not least, an Enigma cryptographic machine, famous for cracking the German High Level ciphers during World War 2.