Bere Regis
Encyclopedia
Bere Regis is a village
in the Purbeck district of Dorset
, England
, situated 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Wareham
.
The village has one shop, a post office and two pubs, The Royal Oak and The Drax Arms. The parish church is St. John the Baptist Church. The village features in the Domesday Book
.
(Guildford - Bere Regis) and A35
(Southampton - Honiton) which both bypass the Village. The local travel hubs are Wareham railway station
, 6 miles (9.7 km) from the village, and Bournemouth Airport
, 17 miles (27.4 km) away.
To the south east of the town a large conifer plantation, Wareham Forest
, stretches several miles to Wareham
. To the west is Dorchester, North is Blandford and east is Bournemouth
. Further to the South is a chalk ridge, the Purbeck Hills
, and 10 miles (16.1 km) to the south is the World Heritage Jurassic Coast
on the English Channel
.
, protected by the Bere River from the fires, still retains an extensive selection of older buildings, predominantly thatch. Amongst them is the oldest residential building in the parish; the 550 year old Honeycombe Cottage.
The oldest parts of the parish church of St John Baptist are of the 12th century but additions were made in the following three centuries. The tower is built of stone and flint chequerwork and the timber roof of the nave is said to have been the gift of Cardinal John Morton. Features of interest include the arcades, some 16th-century seating and a number of Purbeck marble monuments. The Victorian and later stained glass is of poor quality.
, the village has a population of 1,984 (1,007 male, 977 female).
.
, most notably, Tess of the D'Urbervilles
. The village was portrayed as 'Kingsbere' and the D'Urberville family was based on the now extinct Turberville Family of Bere Regis.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the Purbeck district of Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, situated 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Wareham
Wareham, Dorset
Wareham is an historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles southwest of Poole.-Situation and geography:...
.
The village has one shop, a post office and two pubs, The Royal Oak and The Drax Arms. The parish church is St. John the Baptist Church. The village features in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
.
Geography
The village is built on the side of the Bere River and sits on the line dividing chalk from the river valley sand, clay and gravel rocks. It is situated at the western terminus of the A31A31 road
The A31 is a major trunk road in southern England that runs from Guildford in Surrey to Bere Regis in Dorset.-Route of road:The road begins in the centre of Guildford, meeting the A3 road before running south west along the Hog's Back. It continues past Farnham, Alton and New Alresford before...
(Guildford - Bere Regis) and A35
A35 road
The A35 is a trunk road in southern England, running from Honiton in Devon, that then passes through Dorset and terminates in Southampton, Hampshire...
(Southampton - Honiton) which both bypass the Village. The local travel hubs are Wareham railway station
Wareham railway station
Wareham railway station serves the town of Wareham in Dorset, England. It is situated about one kilometre north of the town centre.- History :...
, 6 miles (9.7 km) from the village, and Bournemouth Airport
Bournemouth Airport
Bournemouth Airport is an airport located north-northeast of Bournemouth, in southern England...
, 17 miles (27.4 km) away.
To the south east of the town a large conifer plantation, Wareham Forest
Wareham Forest
Wareham Forest is a large coniferous plantation beside the A35 road near Wareham, between Poole and Dorchester, in Dorset, England. The forest is managed by the Forestry Commission for conservation and recreation....
, stretches several miles to Wareham
Wareham, Dorset
Wareham is an historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles southwest of Poole.-Situation and geography:...
. To the west is Dorchester, North is Blandford and east is Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
. Further to the South is a chalk ridge, the Purbeck Hills
Purbeck Hills
The Purbeck Hills and South Dorset Downs are a ridge of chalk downs in Dorset, England. The hills extend from the Dorset Downs west of Dorchester, where the River Frome begins to form a valley dividing them from the larger area of downland to the north. The ridge then runs east through the Isle...
, and 10 miles (16.1 km) to the south is the World Heritage Jurassic Coast
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....
on the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
.
Architecture
Having suffered extensive fires throughout its history, including the most serious in 1777, the village has lost many of its older buildings. There is however a selection of Georgian and Victorian buildings. The nearby the hamlet of ShittertonShitterton
Shitterton is a hamlet nestling at the edge of the village of Bere Regis in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England, near the junction of the A31 and A35 trunk roads halfway between Poole and Dorchester...
, protected by the Bere River from the fires, still retains an extensive selection of older buildings, predominantly thatch. Amongst them is the oldest residential building in the parish; the 550 year old Honeycombe Cottage.
The oldest parts of the parish church of St John Baptist are of the 12th century but additions were made in the following three centuries. The tower is built of stone and flint chequerwork and the timber roof of the nave is said to have been the gift of Cardinal John Morton. Features of interest include the arcades, some 16th-century seating and a number of Purbeck marble monuments. The Victorian and later stained glass is of poor quality.
Demographics
According to the 2001 CensusUnited Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, the village has a population of 1,984 (1,007 male, 977 female).
Education
The village has one village school – Bere Regis First School. This is a mixed primary school for children aged 4–9.Governance
The Parish Council meets the first Thursday of every month. On a district level, the village comes under the control of Purbeck District Council The village comes under Dorset County Council and sits within the Parliamentary constituency of Mid Dorset and North Poole. Its Member of Parliament since 2001 is the Liberal Democrat Annette BrookeAnnette Brooke
Annette Lesley Brooke is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She has been the Member of Parliament for Mid Dorset and North Poole since 2001.-Early life:...
.
Literature
The village featured in several novels of Thomas HardyThomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
, most notably, Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, also known as Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman, Tess of the d'Urbervilles or just Tess, is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1891. It initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British...
. The village was portrayed as 'Kingsbere' and the D'Urberville family was based on the now extinct Turberville Family of Bere Regis.
Sport and recreation
Bere Regis has an active village sports club and playing fields which can be used for different sports.See also
- Bere Regis (hundred)Bere Regis (hundred)Bere Regis Hundred was a hundred in the county of Dorset, England, containing the following parishes:*Bere Regis*Winterborne KingstonMilborne Stileham was created from Bere Regis and Winterborne Kingston in 1866...
- Regis (Place)Regis (Place)Regis, Latin for "of the king", occurs in numerous English place names. The name usually recalls the historical ownership of lands or manors by the Crown. - in other places it honours Royal associations rather than ownership...
- List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom