Abbotsbury

Abbotsbury
Rodden Row, Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is located in Dorset
Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury
Location within Dorset
Population451 [1]
OS grid referenceSY576853
• London139 miles (224 km)
Civil parish
  • Abbotsbury
Unitary authority
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWEYMOUTH
Postcode districtDT3
Dialling code01305
PoliceDorset
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
Websitehttp://www.abbotsbury.co.uk/
List of places
UK
England
Dorset
50°39′59″N 2°36′02″W / 50.6664°N 2.60063°W / 50.6664; -2.60063

Abbotsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The village is located around 7+12 miles (12.1 km) west southwest of Dorchester and 1 mile (1.6 km) inland from the English Channel coast. In the 2021 census the civil parish had a population of 451.

Abbotsbury has been described as a tourism honeypot, known for its picturesque historic buildings and thatched cottages, its variety of tourist attractions, and as a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and Dorset National Landscape.[2][3] Abbotsbury is known for its swannery, subtropical gardens and surviving abbey buildings, including St Catherine's Chapel, a 14th-century pilgrimage chapel that stands on a hill between the village and the coast. The coastline within the parish includes a section of Chesil Beach, and the South West Coast Path and Macmillan Way long-distance footpaths pass through the village.

The Ilchester Estate owns much of the village,[4] including the swannery and subtropical gardens. The estate owns 61 square kilometres (15,000 acres) of land in Dorset.

  1. ^ "Parish data, England and Wales". Census 2021. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  2. ^ Kelly, Tony (8 October 1993). "Travel: A swan through clotted cream country: Jane Austen meets the Jurassic period on the rigorous but rewarding West Dorset Coastal path. Tony Kelly explores". The Independent. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  3. ^ Ayres, Ken (July 2007). "Abbotsbury". Dorset Life. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Abbotsbury". Marshwood Vale Magazine. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2024.