Witchampton

Witchampton is a village and civil parish in East Dorset, England, situated on the River Allen 5 miles (8 km) north of Wimborne Minster. The 2011 census recorded a population of 398.[1]

Witchampton
Parish church of St Mary, St Cuthburga & All Saints
Witchampton Location within Dorset
Population	398
OS grid reference	ST988064
Civil parish	Witchampton
District	East Dorset
Shire county	Dorset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WIMBORNE
Postcode district	BH21
Dialling code	01258
Police	Dorset
Fire	Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	North Dorset

Witchampton lies close to where the dip slope of the chalk hills of Cranborne Chase is overlain by newer deposits of London Clay. Although Witchampton is sited within the area of the chalk, where cob and thatch are the traditional building materials, the nearness of the clay has resulted in many of the older houses in the village being built from brick.[2] The early 16th-century Abbey House contains some of the earliest brickwork in the county.[3]

To the northeast of the village there used to be a paper mill by the river. In 1980 it was described by writer Roland Gant as a "discreet industrial oasis in an agricultural plain".[4] It had been in operation since the early 18th century, but has now been converted to residential accommodation.[3]

11th-century whalebone chess pieces have been found within the parish, and are some of the best surviving early English chess pieces.[5]