Purbeck District

Purbeck Purbeck District
Non-metropolitan district
Purbeck shown within Dorset
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South West England
Non-metropolitan county	Dorset
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Wareham
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	Purbeck District Council
• Leadership	Leader and Cabinet (TBA (council NOC))
• MPs	Annette Brooke Richard Drax
Area
• Total	156.1 sq mi (404.4 km2)
Area rank	102nd (of 326)
Population (mid-2014 est.)
• Total	45,679
• Rank	322nd (of 326)
• Density	290/sq mi (110/km2)
• Ethnicity	98.8% White
Time zone	GMT (UTC0)
• Summer (DST)	BST (UTC+1)
ONS code	19UG (ONS) E07000051 (GSS)
OS grid reference	SY9223587441
Website	www.dorsetforyou.com

Purbeck is a local government district in Dorset, England. The district is named after the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula that forms a large proportion of the district's area. However the district extends significantly further north and west than the traditional boundary of the Isle of Purbeck along the River Frome. The district council is based in the town of Wareham, which is itself north of the River Frome.

The district was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, from the former municipal borough of Wareham, Swanage urban district and Wareham and Purbeck Rural District.

Its name is recorded in 948 AD as Anglo-Saxon Purbicinga = "of the people of Purbic", where Purbic may be a former Celtic name, or may contain a supposed Anglo-Saxon word *pur = "male lamb".

Settlements

Settlements with a population over 2,500 are in bold.

• Affpuddle, Arne
• Bere Regis, Bloxworth
• Chaldon Herring, Church Knowle, Coombe Keynes, Corfe Castle
• East Lulworth, East Stoke
• Harman's Cross
• Kingston, Kimmeridge
• Langton Matravers, Lytchett Matravers, Lytchett Minster
• Morden, Moreton
• Ridge
• Steeple, Stoborough, Stoborough Green, Studland, Swanage
• Turners Puddle
• Wareham, West Lulworth, Winfrith Newburgh, Wool, Worgret, Worth Matravers
• Upton Lytchett Minster and Upton

Places of interest

• Ballard Down, Blue Pool, Brownsea Island
• Chaldon Down, Chapman's Pool, Clouds Hill, Corfe Castle
• Dancing Ledge, Dunshay Manor, Durdle Door, Durlston Country Park
• Godlingstone Heath, Godlingstone Manor
• Hambury Tout
• Jurassic Coast (A World Heritage Site)
• Lulworth Castle, Lulworth Cove
• Kimmeridge
• Nine Barrow Down
• Old Harry Rocks
• Poole Harbour, Purbeck Heritage Coast
• Smedmore Hill, South West Coast Path, St Aldhelm's Head, Studland Bay, Swanage Railway, Swyre Head
• Tyneham
• Worbarrow Tout, Wareham Forest, Winspit, Wytch Farm

See also

• Purbeck Marble
• Purbeck Ball Clay

External links

• Purbeck District Council
• National Coastwatch Institution St Alban's Head Website
• Links to all the Museums on the Isle of Purbeck