Symondsbury
| Symondsbury | |
|---|---|
 Parish church of St John the Baptist |
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 Symondsbury
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| Symondsbury shown within Dorset | |
| Population | 1,059 |
| OS grid reference | SY445936 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Bridport |
| Postcode district | DT6 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament |
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Symondsbury is a village and civil parish in southwest Dorset, England, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Bridport and 16 miles (26 km) west of Dorchester. The village is located just to the north of the A35 trunk road, which runs between Southampton and Honiton. The village has a pub (the Ilchester Arms), a pottery and a primary school. The village is the head of Symondsbury Parish which extends from Eype and West Cliff (West Bay) in the south, to the Marshwood Vale in the north. The village is set in the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 1,059.
The name Symondsbury derives from Old English and means the hill or barrow (beorg) belonging to a man named Sigemund. It was listed in the Domesday Book as Simondesberge.
Symondsbury is recorded in the Domesday Book as having 31 households, with the lord of the manor being Cerne Abbey, which was also the lord at the time of the Norman Conquest.
In historical times the main economy of the village was the production of flax and hemp for Bridport's rope and net manufacturing trade.
More recently the main business has been milk, beef, sheep, pigs and arable production and, since the decline of agriculture in the late 20th century, the village has hosted two colleges, many small workshops and several large self-catering holiday lets. The village still has several orchards, two cider presses, one apple juice business, an orchard conservation company, artists, potters, an outdoor toddler group and a primary school. Many of the inhabitants still work in the village on the two business parks and other converted agricultural buildings.
The small River Simene passes through the parish. A tributary stream also wanders through the village itself, coming from a spring that is believed still to have healing properties. In the medieval age, people from miles around came to bathe their eyes, that were then allegedly healed. There is an old road from the sea through the village, that used to take pilgrims to the shrine of St Wite at Whitchurch Canonicorum.
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