Briantspuddle

Briantspuddle is a small village in the Piddle Valley in Dorset, England, near the villages of Affpuddle and Tolpuddle and about 8 miles (13 km) east of the county town of Dorchester. It forms part of the civil parish of Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle in the non-metropolitan district of Purbeck.

The village takes its name from Brian de Turberville, who was lord of the manor during the reign of Edward III. It falls within the Piddle Valley Conservation Area and contains 35 listed buildings.

The first known reference to the village can be found in the Geld, an assessment made for land tax purposes in 1083. The village was then known as "Pidele" and was held by a priest named Godric. The village was later mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 as having "land for three ploughs, a mill, thirty eight acres (15 ha) of meadow, 12 acres (4.9 ha) of woodland, eleven furlongs (2.2 km) of pasture in length and 12 in width." This was valued at £4 and Godric was in charge of "about a dozen people who worked the land".

By the 13th century, the village was known as "Priestpidele" (probably through its association with Godric), and by the 14th century it was owned by several parties, including the Prior of Christchurch, the Frampton family and the Turberville family. In 1683 William Frampton united the manors of Throop, Briantspuddle and Affpuddle into a single estate.

In 1914 financial hardship forced the Frampton family to sell part of their estate, including the village of Briantspuddle, to Sir Ernest Debenham, (grandson of William Debenham, founder of the British department store Debenhams).

Briantspuddle once consisted of twelve cottages (which still exist within the village today) until Ernest Debenham expanded the village under the concept of creating a self-sufficient agricultural enterprise. By 1929 forty new cottages had been built to house the estate workers. His vision was that every house would have an inside toilet and at least a quarter of an acre of garden. Work was delayed by the First War.

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