Dorset is a ceremonial county on the south coast of England, facing the English Channel. It covers 2,653 km2 (1,024 sq mi) and had 781,400 residents at the 2021 census. Dorchester is the county town; Bournemouth is the largest settlement.
Two unitary authorities have run Dorset since April 2019. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council covers the conurbation in the south-east, and Dorset Council covers everything else.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | South West England |
| Area | 2,653 km2 (1,024 sq mi) |
| Population (2021 census) | 781,400 |
| Density | 295 people per km2 (763 per sq mi) |
| County town | Dorchester |
| Largest settlement | Bournemouth |
| Councils | Dorset Council; Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council |
| Highest point | Lewesdon Hill, 279 m (915 ft) |
| Postcode areas | DT, BH, and parts of SP and TA |
Towns and Villages in Dorset
Dorset has 628 named towns, villages and hamlets on record. The list below gives 256 of them, grouped by the council that runs each part of the county and running alphabetically within each group.
Dorset Council area (215 of 587 listed)
- Abbotsbury
- Acton
- Alderholt
- Aller
- Anderson
- Arne
- Ashley Heath
- Atrim
- Beaminster
- Beaumont Village
- Belchalwell Street
- Bere Regis
- Bingham’s Melcombe
- Bishop’s Down
- Blandford Forum
- Bloxworth
- Bourton
- Bovington Camp
- Boys Hill
- Bradford Abbas
- Bridport
- Broad Oak
- Broadwindsor
- Brockhampton Green
- Buckhorn Weston
- Buckland Ripers
- Burstock
- Burton Bradstock
- Cashmoor
- Caundle Marsh
- Cerne Abbas
- Chalmington
- Charlton Marshall
- Charminster
- Charmouth
- Cheselbourne
- Chesil
- Chetnole
- Chickerell
- Chideock
- Child Okeford
- Chilfrome
- Cocknowle
- Combe Almer
- Compton Abbas
- Corfe Castle
- Corscombe
- Coryates
- Cranborne
- Creech Bottom
- Cross Lanes
- Dean
- Dorchester
- Dottery
- Durweston
- East Creech
- East Lulworth
- East Melbury
- East Stour
- Easton
- Eccliffe
- Farnham
- Ferndown
- Fiddleford
- Filford
- Folly
- Fontmell Magna
- Fortuneswell
- Frome St Quintin
- Furzehill
- Gaunts
- Gillingham
- Godmanstone
- Greenham
- Gussage St Andrew
- Halstock
- Hammoon
- Hartgrove
- Hazelbury Bryan
- Hemsworth
- Higher Bockhampton
- Higher Kingcombe
- Higher Sandford
- Hill Street
- Hinton Martell
- Holmebridge
- Holway
- Hopsfield
- Huntingford
- Ilsington
- Iwerne Courtney
- Iwerne Minster
- Kingston
- Kit Hill
- Knob’s Crook
- Langham
- Laymore
- Lillington
- Littlewindsor
- Loders
- Long Burton
- Longham
- Lower Kingcombe
- Lower Whatcombe
- Lyme Regis
- Lyon’s Gate
- Lytchett Matravers
- Maiden Newton
- Mannington
- Manston
- Margaret Marsh
- Marnhull
- Matchams
- Melbury Osmond
- Melplash
- Milborne St Andrew
- Milton Abbas
- Minterne Parva
- Moorside
- Morcombelake
- Mosterton
- Motcombe
- Nether Cerne
- Nether Compton
- Netherbury
- New Town
- Norden
- North Wootton
- Organford
- Osmington
- Overcombe
- Owermoigne
- Oxbridge
- Penn
- Piddlehinton
- Pilsdon
- Pimperne
- Poolestown
- Portesham
- Portland
- Poundbury
- Preston
- Puddletown
- Puxey
- Radipole
- Rew
- Ridge
- Rodwell
- Saint Ives
- Sandhills
- Seatown
- Shaftesbury
- Shave Cross
- Sherborne
- Shillingstone
- Silkhay
- Sixpenny Handley
- Sockety
- Southover
- Spetisbury
- St Leonards
- Stalbridge
- Stallen
- Stinsford
- Stoke Wake
- Stour Provost
- Stourpaine
- Stourton Caundle
- Studland
- Sturminster Marshall
- Sturminster Newton
- Sutton Holms
- Swanage
- Symondsbury
- Tarrant Hinton
- Tarrant Launceston
- Tarrant Monkton
- The Common
- Thornford
- Three Legged Cross
- Todber
- Tollerford
- Tolpuddle
- Trent
- Turnworth
- Up Cerne
- Uppington
- Verwood
- Walditch
- Wareham
- Waytown
- West Bay
- West Holme
- West Lulworth
- West Moors
- West Stafford
- Weston
- Weymouth
- Whitchurch Canonicorum
- White Post
- Whitmore
- Winfrith Newburgh
- Winterborne Clenston
- Winterborne Kingston
- Winterborne Muston
- Winterborne Stickland
- Winterbourne Abbas
- Winyard’s Gap
- Woodlands
- Wool
- Woolcombe
- Wooth
- Worth Matravers
- Wraxall
- Yetminster
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (41 of 41 listed)
- Ashley Cross
- Bearwood
- Boscombe
- Bournemouth
- Branksome
- Broadstone
- Burton
- Canford Cliffs
- Canford Heath
- Canford Magna
- Charminster
- Christchurch
- East Parley
- Hamworthy
- Highcliffe
- Hillbourne
- Hinton
- Holdenhurst
- Hurn
- Iford
- Kinson
- Lower Hamworthy
- Merley
- Moordown
- Mudeford
- Northbourne
- Oakdale
- Oakley
- Parkstone
- Poole
- Southbourne
- Stanley Green
- Stanpit
- Tuckton
- Wallisdown
- Waterloo
- Westbourne
- Wick
- Wimborne Minster
- Winkton
- Winton
Geography
Dorset sits between Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and north-east, and Hampshire to the east. The Isle of Wight lies offshore to the south-east.
Chalk downland runs across the middle of the county from Shaftesbury to Dorchester, with clay vales to the north and heathland behind Poole Harbour. The three main rivers are the Frome, the Piddle and the Stour.
The coast is the county’s defining feature. The Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site runs 96 miles from Exmouth in Devon to Studland. It takes in Lyme Regis, Chesil Beach, the Isle of Portland, Lulworth Cove and Old Harry Rocks. Poole Harbour is one of the largest natural harbours in the world.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 400,155 people in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area and 381,245 in the Dorset Council area. Roughly half the county’s population therefore lives in the South East Dorset conurbation, on about a tenth of the land.
Dorset has an older age profile than England as a whole. Retirement migration to the coast is the main reason, and it shows in the median age of the rural districts as well as the resorts.
Outside the conurbation the largest towns are Weymouth, Dorchester, Ferndown, Verwood, Bridport, Blandford Forum and Swanage. Most other places on the list above are villages of a few hundred people.
Economy and Local Life
Tourism is the biggest employer, supporting around 37,500 jobs across the county. Weymouth, Swanage, Lyme Regis and Bournemouth carry the summer trade, and the Jurassic Coast draws walkers and fossil hunters year round.
Bournemouth has a substantial financial services cluster. Poole handles ferries to France and the Channel Islands, and Portland Port takes cruise calls and cargo. Dairy and arable farming work the Blackmore Vale and the chalk, and the Ministry of Defence remains a large employer at Bovington, Lulworth and Blandford.
Market days still structure the week inland: Dorchester on Wednesdays, Sturminster Newton and Bridport on Saturdays.
History
The first recorded Viking raid on the British Isles landed at Portland in 789. The Black Death entered England at Melcombe Regis, now part of Weymouth, in 1348.
The Monmouth Rebellion began when the Duke of Monmouth came ashore at Lyme Regis in 1685; the Bloody Assizes followed at Dorchester. In 1834 six farm labourers from Tolpuddle were transported for swearing a union oath, an episode that shaped the British trade union movement.
In 1944 the county’s beaches and harbours were sealed off as embarkation points for the D-Day landings. Thomas Hardy set his Wessex novels here, and his birthplace at Higher Bockhampton is open to visitors.
Getting There
Dorset has no motorway. The A31 enters from Hampshire and feeds the A35, which runs the length of the county through Bere Regis, Dorchester and Bridport into Devon. The A350 links Poole to Blandford Forum and Shaftesbury, and the A37 runs north from Dorchester to Yeovil.
The South Western Main Line from London Waterloo serves Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth. The West of England line calls at Gillingham and Sherborne. The Heart of Wessex line links Weymouth and Dorchester to Yeovil, Castle Cary and Bristol.
Bournemouth Airport at Hurn handles scheduled flights. Southampton, Bristol and Exeter airports are the next closest. Ferries run from Poole to Cherbourg, Jersey and Guernsey.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Dorset?
781,400 at the 2021 census: 400,155 in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and 381,245 in the Dorset Council area.
What is the largest town in Dorset?
Bournemouth. Poole, Christchurch and Weymouth follow, and Dorchester is the county town rather than the largest town.
How many villages are there in Dorset?
Gazetteers record about 628 named towns, villages and hamlets across the ceremonial county.
Which councils cover Dorset?
Two unitary authorities: Dorset Council, based in Dorchester, and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Both started work in April 2019.
What are the postcodes for Dorset?
DT covers Dorchester, Weymouth, Bridport and Sherborne. BH covers Bournemouth, Poole and the east of the county. Parts of the north fall into SP (Salisbury) and the far west into TA (Taunton).
Where is Dorset?
In south-west England on the Channel coast, between Devon to the west and Hampshire to the east, about 120 miles from London.