Donhead St Mary
| Donhead St Mary | |
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 Donhead St Mary
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| Donhead St Mary shown within Wiltshire | |
| Population | 1,155 (in 2011) |
| OS grid reference | ST907244 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Shaftesbury |
| Postcode district | SP7 |
| Dialling code | 01747 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | The Donheads |
Donhead St Mary is a village and civil parish in southwest Wiltshire, England, on the county border with Dorset. The village lies about 2 1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) east of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury and stands on high ground above the River Nadder, which rises in the parish.
In the south of the parish, on the A30 Salisbury-Shaftesbury road, are the village of Ludwell and its neighbouring hamlet of Birdbush; Charlton hamlet is south of the road, and to the north is the dispersed hamlet of Coombe, comprising Higher Coombe, Middle Coombe and Lower Coombe.
Castle Rings, an Iron Age hillfort, is in the far north of the parish. A Roman road between Bath and Badbury Rings ran north-south through the parish, past the future sites of St Mary's church and Ludwell village.
Donhead St Mary and its neighbour Donhead St Andrew were once part of a single Donhead estate which belonged to Shaftesbury Abbey. The boundary between the two parishes was drawn in the 11th century and each had a church in the 12th century.
Donhead Hall, a country house, was built in the early 18th century and was owned by Sir Godfrey Kneller, portrait painter.
At Charlton a National School was built close to St John's church in 1842, replacing an earlier school; it closed in 1876 after the opening of a new school at Ludwell, which continues in use as Ludwell Community Primary School.
Another National School was built near St Mary's Church in 1875, replacing a school of 1840. This school closed in 1922 and its pupils transferred to Ludwell. The building became the village hall.
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Wikipedia