West Parley
| West Parley | |
|---|---|
 Parley Cross road junction |
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 West Parley
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| West Parley shown within Dorset | |
| Population | 3,585 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SZ081984 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FERNDOWN |
| Postcode district | BH22 |
| Dialling code | 01202 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
West Parley is a village and civil parish in south-east Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour between Bournemouth and Ferndown and off of the B3073 road. The parish of West Parley covers an area of 4.52 square kilometres (1,120 acres). It is also about 4 miles (6.4 km) to the closest city of Bournemouth. West Parley has a primary school, a post office, a garden centre and a church. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 3,585.
West Parley is older than both Bournemouth and Ferndown, it features in the Doomsday book when it had 60 inhabitants. At that time it had a Saxon Church, replaced by the present All Saints Church in the 12th century. There is evidence of West Parley being much older as Dudsbury Rings, to the South West of West Parley is the remains of a hill fort dated to the Iron Age, it can be seen as a defensive site that overlooks the River Stour. The walls of the fort can still be seen today.
In 1870–1872 West Parley was described by John Marius Wilson in the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales as
"The living is a rectory in the diocese of Salisbury. The church is ancient; and there is an Independent chapel".
In the 1800s the main source of materials were gravel and clay and these were important in helping build within West Parley, the materials enabled the local community to create tracks that were passable and the clay meant that the workers could use the bricks to build houses within West Parley as well as supplying the city of Bournemouth with bricks for the construction.
Over the last 200 years the population of West Parley has changed dramatically, In 1801 the population of West Parley was 180, since then the population has mainly increased, the total population decreased three times since then, once where the population went from 180 in 1801 to 175 in 1811. The second time went from 336 in 1881 to 334 in 1891, the largest increases were during the Baby Boom from 1921 to 1951, this was when everyone was procreating tenfold due to welfare benefits and due to lower income jobs. From 1921 to 1931 the population rose from 1,130 to 1,671 and then from 1931 to 1951 the population rose to a huge 2,947, this may also be due to the fact that children were also moved to small areas in the countryside and this can also account for the drop to 2,002 people in 1961.
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Wikipedia