| Seaborough | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Seaborough Location within Dorset | |
| Population | 60 [1] |
| OS grid reference | ST429060 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament |
|
Seaborough is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southwest England. It is sited in the valley of the River Axe and lies approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Crewkerne in Somerset. The parish was previously part of the hundred of Crewkerne,[2] but was transferred to within Dorset in 1896.[3] In 2013 the estimated population of the civil parish was 60.[1]
The village church is small and mostly not of ancient construction. Ralph Wightman, broadcaster, agriculturist and a native of Dorset, described it as "delightful", and claimed that the round arch of the porch was so low it "would remove the hat of any man of average height."[4]
Seaborough lies on the northern side of the Axe valley, beneath the 204-metre-high (669 ft) Seaborough Hill. The minor lane which passes through the village and up the hill is noted for being particularly steep.[3] At the bottom of the village the river is crossed by a small stone bridge, close to which is an old ducking pool, into which scolding wives would historically have been dipped in an attempt to 'cure' them of their condition.[5]
In March 2013 a fire at the 100-metre-long (330 ft) piggery at Seaborough Manor destroyed the building and killed about nine hundred pigs. Fifty firefighters took about three hours to tackle the blaze.[6]
- ^ a b "Parish Population Data". Dorset County Council. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- ^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ^ a b "Seaborough". Dorset Online Parish Clerk. 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ Ralph Wightman (1983). Portrait of Dorset (4 ed.). Robert Hale Limited. p. 151. ISBN 0 7090 0844 9.
- ^ West Dorset Holiday and Tourist Guide. West Dorset District Council. c. 1983. p. 17.
- ^ "Hundreds of pigs die in Beaminster farm fire". BBC. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.