Wool, Dorset
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Wool is a village in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. The village has a population of 4,118 (2001), though the population has fluctuated over the past 15 years, due to the proximity of military institutions, reaching a high of 4,300 in 1992. The village lies at a historic bridging point on the River Frome, half way between Dorchester and Wareham. A 17th century Manor House, Woolbridge Manor, is a prominent feature in the village and the location of Tess' honeymoon in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Other prominent features of the village include the medieval church, the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth, and the thatched cottages along Spring Street.
Nearby, to the east of the village, are the ruins of Bindon Abbey, which was demolished in the Dissolution of the Monasteries of 1539, the stone being used to build castles in Portland, Lulworth and Sandsfoot.
According to local knowledge, but one building was destroyed during the war on the 3rd of May, 1941. The building was a small bungalow by the name of "Two Birches", located on Bailey's Drove. The house later rebuilt.
Local places of interest include the Tank Museum at Bovington and Monkey World.
External links
- Census data (http://www1.dorsetcc.gov.uk/LIVING/FACTS/Census2001.nsf/6cadf4da179fc19500256663004afece/c26f6473fcae844380256ec5004fa4f8?OpenDocument)
- Images of Dorset (http://www.imagesofdorset.org.uk/Dorset/085/intro.htm)
References
- Pitt-Rivers, Michael, 1968. Dorset. London: Faber & Faber.