Frampton, Dorset

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title: "Frampton, Dorset" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-dorset"] description: "Village and civil parish in Dorset, England" topic_path: "general/villages-in-dorset" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frampton,_Dorset" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village and civil parish in Dorset, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]

Field	Value
static_image_name	Houses in Frampton - geograph.org.uk - 534056.jpg
static_image_caption	Houses in Frampton
country	England
coordinates
map_type	Dorset
official_name	Frampton
population	524
population_ref
unitary_england	Dorset
lieutenancy_england	Dorset
post_town	Dorchester
postcode_area	DT
postcode_district	DT2
constituency_westminster	West Dorset
region	South West England
os_grid_reference	SY627949
dial_code	01300
::

| static_image_name = Houses in Frampton - geograph.org.uk - 534056.jpg | static_image_caption = Houses in Frampton | country = England | coordinates = | map_type = Dorset | official_name = Frampton | population = 524 | population_ref = | unitary_england = Dorset | lieutenancy_england = Dorset | post_town = Dorchester | postcode_area = DT | postcode_district = DT2 | constituency_westminster = West Dorset | region = South West England | os_grid_reference = SY627949 | dial_code = 01300 Frampton is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated approximately 5 mi northwest of the county town Dorchester. It is sited in the Frome valley among chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. The village's name is a derivation from "Frome Town".

The A356 main road and the Heart of Wessex railway line run through the village; the nearest railway station is approximately 2.5 mi away at Maiden Newton. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 524. Frampton was once the centre of a Liberty of the same name.

Roman tessellated pavements have been found at Frampton, depicting one of the earliest known Christian symbols in England. In 1704 Robert Browne built Frampton Court in the vicinity of the village. The site was where there had at one time been a cell of the Abbey of Saint-Étienne in Caen, Normandy. In the nineteenth century the Game Laws, which govern English field sports, were drafted at the Court. Many of the cottages in the village are from the Frampton estate. Around 1840 the owner of the Court demolished many houses in the village (on the south side of the main road) and replaced them with trees, to improve the view from the Court. Today the legacy of the Court and its park is that the valley around Frampton is still well-wooded, and most of the houses in the village lie to the north of the main road. Frampton Court itself was demolished in 1935.

Frampton includes the small hamlet of Southover on the south side of the river. This previously comprised two farms—Southover Farm and Longlands Farm—and accompanying labourers cottages, plus a large private house with tiered gardens and an orchard. Today the agricultural basis of Southover has declined and most of the cottages and houses are in private hands.

Nunnery Mead, a nature reserve managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust, is near the village. It includes the site of Frampton Roman Villa, a scheduled monument.

References

References

1. "Area: Frampton (Parish), Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". [[Office for National Statistics]].
2. Sir Frederick Treves. (1905). "Highways and Byways in Dorset". Macmillan & Co. Ltd.
3. (c. 1983). "West Dorset, Holiday and Tourist Guide". West Dorset District Council.
4. (November 2013). "'Frampton', An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 1: West (1952), pp. 114-117". University of London & History of Parliament Trust.
5. Ralph Wightman. (1983). "Portrait of Dorset". Robert Hale Ltd.
6. Roland Gant. (1980). "Dorset Villages". Robert Hale Ltd.
7. "Nunnery Mead {{!}} Dorset Wildlife Trust".
8. "Frampton Roman villa, Maiden Newton - 1002683 {{!}} Historic England".

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