Population 252 (in 2011) Civil parish West Dean Region South West Local time Friday 11:21 PM Ceremonial county Wiltshire UK parliament constituency South West Wiltshire | OS grid reference SU257273 Unitary authority Country England Dialling code 01794 Post town Salisbury | |
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Weather 10°C, Wind SE at 13 km/h, 86% Humidity | ||
West Dean is a village, civil parish and former manor in Wiltshire (historically in Hampshire), England, situated on the Wiltshire/Hampshire border. The village is on the River Dun about 7 miles (11 km) east of Salisbury.
Contents
Map of West Dean, Salisbury, UK
History
A Roman villa site straddles the present-day Wiltshire/Hampshire border. The village was mentioned in the Cartularium saxonicum for the year 880 as (æt) Deone, as Duene in the Domesday Book of 1086 (one of the 51 holdings of Waleran the Hunter), as Westdone in 1265, and as Westdune in 1270.
The Salisbury and Southampton Canal was opened through the parish in 1802 or 1803 but was never completed as far as Salisbury; it closed in 1806.
The Wessex Main Line railway was built through the village in 1847, with Dean station where it crosses the road at a level crossing. The station is still in use.
From 1941 to 2003, chalk caverns under Dean Hill to the south of the village were used as a Royal Naval Armaments Depot for munitions storage and maintenance.
Religious sites
Borbach Chantry was built in 1333. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building and is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
The Anglican Church of St Mary was built in 1866 and is Grade II listed.
A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built c.1870 and closed in 1971.
Woodland
Much of the northern half of the parish is woodland, including Bentley Wood which contains a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.