Alton Pancras
| Alton Pancras | |
|---|---|
 Alton Pancras parish church |
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 Alton Pancras
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| Alton Pancras shown within Dorset | |
| Population | 175 |
| OS grid reference | ST699022 |
| • London | 130 miles (209 km) |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DORCHESTER |
| Postcode district | DT2 |
| Dialling code | 01300 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Alton Pancras is a small village and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset, England. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 175.
The village church is dedicated to Saint Pancras, which provides part of the village name. The parish was formerly a liberty, containing only the parish itself.
Evidence of prehistoric human activity within the parish includes two round barrows on the hills to the east of the village (one on West Hill and one on Church Hill), the remains of 'Celtic' fields and strip lynchets on many of the surrounding hills, and a possible settlement just south of the summit of Church Hill. Dating is not definite but the 'Celtic' fields were probably in use between the Bronze Age and the end of the Romano-British period. The possible settlement is probably Romano-British. Subsequent cultivation, particularly in modern times, has destroyed much of the evidence.
The village itself was likely first settled by Saxons during the expansion of the Kingdom of Wessex. The name of the village was then Awultune, meaning in West Saxon 'village at the source of the river' (the River Piddle). The village was previously two separate settlements: Barcombe and Alton, both of which had their own open field system. In 1086 in the Domesday Book the village was recorded as Altone. It had 26 households, was in Cerne, Totcombe and Modbury Hundred, and the tenant-in-chief was the Bishop of Salisbury. After conversion to Christianity, the village name incorporated the little-known St Pancras and by the time of the Battle of Agincourt was known as Aulton Pancras.
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Wikipedia