Dinton | |
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Dinton Lodge |
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Dinton shown within Wiltshire | |
Population | 696 (in 2011) |
OS grid reference | SU014315 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Salisbury |
Postcode district | SP3 |
Dialling code | 01722 |
Police | Wiltshire |
Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
Ambulance | South Western |
EU Parliament | South West England |
UK Parliament | |
Website | Parish |
Dinton is a village, civil parish and former manor in Wiltshire, England, in the Nadder valley on the B3089 road about 8 miles (13 km) west of Salisbury. The population was 696 at the 2011 census.
The civil parish encompasses the small village of , about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Dinton village.
The northern boundary of the parish follows a prehistoric ditch boundary, known as Grim's Ditch, through downland overlooking the Wylye valley further north. Hanging Langford Camp, an Iron Age settlement, is just beyond the parish boundary. The hillfort known as Wick Ball Camp lies near the western boundary of the parish, partly within Dinton Park.
A Roman road from the Mendip lead mines to Old Sarum passed east-west, just south of the ditch. The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded a settlement of 37 households at Dinton, held by Shaftesbury Abbey.
After the Dissolution in 1540, much of Dinton's land was acquired by the Earls of Pembroke; later other land was purchased by the Wyndham family, who created Dinton Park. All Pembroke and Wyndham land was sold in the 20th century.
Dinton had a school from an early date, with some 80 children attending in 1818. A National School was built in 1872 and took children of all ages until 1935, when those over 11 transferred to Wilton. The school became a Church of England voluntary controlled school in 1945.
The Salisbury and Yeovil Railway was built across the parish in 1859, passing to the south of Dinton and Baverstock. Dinton station was southwest of the village, on the lane towards Fovant; the station closed in 1966. A branch called the Fovant Military Railway, 2 1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) in length, ran south from near the station to the military camps around Fovant; it was opened in 1915 and closed in 1920.