| Shapwick | |
|---|---|
 Shapwick village centre | |
  Shapwick Location within Dorset | |
| Population | 190 [1] |
| OS grid reference | ST939020 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BLANDFORD FORUM |
| Postcode district | DT11 |
| Dialling code | 01258 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
Shapwick is a village and civil parish in east Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour five miles south-east of Blandford Forum and eight miles north of Poole. The village had a population of 190 in 2001.
Within the parish, about a mile to the north-east of the village, is the Iron Age hill fort of Badbury Rings.[2]
In Roman times there was a Roman Fort at Crab Farm, between Shapwick and Badbury Rings. Just to the west of the fort was a small Romano-British town, believed to be that listed in the Antonine Itinerary as Vindocladia.[3]
Shapwick lay on the important Roman Road from Old Sarum to Durnovaria (now High Street and New Road), and the river Stour was forded here, being a major crossing-point in Roman times. This was the highest navigable point on the river Stour, where boats would anchor, and is therefore the likely origin of the name of the village pub - the Anchor - which is just 200m across the meadows from the river.[4]
House numbers above 200 in the High Street contrast with the smaller number of houses there at present. As the village declined, burnt down thatched cottages were not replaced.
In 1983 Shapwick was used as one of the two real life locations for the Doctor Who story The Awakening.[5] The other village used was Martin in Hampshire.
One of its most famous residents was Charles Bennett, who won the 1500 metres at the 1900 Summer Olympics.
- ^ Census, 2001
- ^ Badbury Archived 26 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Castle Facts
- ^ Vindocladia Badbury Rings, Dorset Archived 10 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, www.romanmap.com
- ^ "Inn With Freddie — The Anchor | Dorset Life - The Dorset Magazine".
- ^ The Awakening, www.doctorwholocations.net