Compton Valence

Compton Valence
Parish church of St Thomas à Becket
Compton Valence is located in Dorset
Compton Valence
Compton Valence
Location within Dorset
Population50 [1]
OS grid referenceSY594932
Unitary authority
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDorchester
Postcode districtDT2
PoliceDorset
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Dorset
50°44′14″N 2°34′38″W / 50.7373°N 2.5772°W / 50.7373; -2.5772

Compton Valence is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) 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]

  1. ^ a b "Parish Population Data". Dorset County Council. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  2. ^ Gant, R., Dorset Villages, Hale, 1980, p138 ISBN 0 7091 8135 3
  3. ^ "Compton Valence, An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 1: West (1952), pp. 104-105". University of London & History of Parliament Trust. 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  4. ^ "CHURCH OF ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY, Compton Valence - 1214304 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  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. ^ Snowdrops signal the first stirrings of spring The Independent. Retrieved May 2, 2012
  7. ^ Dorset Life. Retrieved 2 May 2012