163-561: Shaftesbury ( / ˈ ʃ ɑː f t s b ər i , ˈ ʃ æ f t s -/ ) is a town and civil parish in Dorset , England. It is on the A30 road , 20 miles (32 kilometres) west of Salisbury and 23 miles (37 kilometres) north-northeast of Dorchester , near the border with Wiltshire . It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about 215 metres (705 feet) above sea level on
326-471: A Danegeld amounting to the colossal sum of £72,000 levied nationwide, with an additional £10,500 extracted from London, Cnut paid off his army and sent most of them home. He retained 40 ships and their crews as a standing force in England. An annual tax called heregeld (army payment) was collected through the same system Æthelred had instituted in 1012 to reward Scandinavians in his service. Cnut built on
489-522: A London borough . (Since the new county was beforehand a mixture of metropolitan boroughs , municipal boroughs and urban districts, no extant parish councils were abolished.) In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 retained rural parishes, but abolished most urban parishes, as well as the urban districts and boroughs which had administered them. Provision was made for smaller urban districts and boroughs to become successor parishes , with
652-417: A civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government . It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes , which for centuries were the principal unit of secular and religious administration in most of England and Wales. Civil and religious parishes were formally split into two types in
815-521: A greensand hill on the edge of Cranborne Chase . The town looks over the Blackmore Vale , part of the River Stour basin. Shaftesbury is the site of the former Shaftesbury Abbey , which was founded in 888 by King Alfred and became one of the richest religious establishments in the country, before being destroyed in the dissolution in 1539. Adjacent to the abbey site is Gold Hill ,
978-503: A Christian king, Cnut says he went to Rome to repent for his sins, to pray for redemption and the security of his subjects, and to negotiate with the Pope for a reduction in the costs of the pallium for English archbishops, and for a resolution to the competition between the archdioceses of Canterbury and Hamburg-Bremen for superiority over the Danish dioceses. He also sought to improve
1141-525: A Northumbrian rival, Thurbrand the Hold , to massacre Uhtred and his retinue. Eiríkr Hákonarson , most likely with another force of Scandinavians, came to support Cnut at this point, and the veteran Norwegian jarl was put in charge of Northumbria. Prince Edmund remained in London, still unsubdued behind its walls , and was elected king after the death of Æthelred on 23 April 1016. Cnut returned southward, and
1304-548: A Polish princess as Cnut's mother, whom they call Gunhild , a daughter of Burislav , the king of Vindland . Since in the Norse sagas the king of Vindland is always Burislav , this is reconcilable with the assumption that her father was Mieszko (not his son Bolesław ). Adam of Bremen in Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum is unique in equating Cnut's mother (for whom he also produces no name) with
1467-515: A Special Expense, to residents of the unparished area to fund those activities. If the district council does not opt to make a Special Expenses charge, there is an element of double taxation of residents of parished areas, because services provided to residents of the unparished area are funded by council tax paid by residents of the whole district, rather than only by residents of the unparished area. Parish councils comprise volunteer councillors who are elected to serve for four years. Decisions of
1630-458: A Wendish encampment. His hold on the Danish throne presumably stable, Cnut was back in England in 1020. He appointed Ulf Jarl , the husband of his sister Estrid Svendsdatter , as regent of Denmark, further entrusting him with his young son by Queen Emma, Harthacnut , whom he had designated the heir of his kingdom. The banishment of Thorkell the Tall in 1021 may be seen in relation to the attack on
1793-736: A banquet in Roskilde when an argument arose between them, and the next day, Christmas 1026, one of Cnut's housecarls killed the jarl with his blessing, in Trinity Church, the predecessor to Roskilde Cathedral . His enemies in Scandinavia subdued, and apparently at his leisure, Cnut was able to accept an invitation to witness the accession in Rome of the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II . He left his affairs in
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#17327653535211956-565: A battle known as the Battle of the Helgeå , Cnut and his men fought the Norwegians and Swedes at the mouth of the river Helgeå, probably in 1026, and the apparent victory left Cnut as the dominant leader in Scandinavia. Ulf the usurper's realignment and participation in the battle did not, in the end, earn him Cnut's forgiveness. Some sources state that the brothers-in-law were playing chess at
2119-576: A boundary coterminous with an existing urban district or borough or, if divided by a new district boundary, as much as was comprised in a single district. There were 300 such successor parishes established. In urban areas that were considered too large to be single parishes, the parishes were simply abolished, and they became unparished areas . The distinction between types of parish was no longer made; whether parishes continued by virtue of being retained rural parishes or were created as successor parishes, they were all simply termed parishes. The 1972 act allowed
2282-464: A campaign of an intensity not seen since the days of Alfred the Great . A passage from Queen Emma's Encomium provides a picture of Cnut's fleet: [T]here were there so many kinds of shields, that you could have believed that troops of all nations were present. ... Gold shone on the prows, silver also flashed on the variously shaped ships. ... For who could look upon the lions of the foe, terrible with
2445-422: A city council (though most cities are not parishes but principal areas, or in England specifically metropolitan boroughs or non-metropolitan districts ). The chairman of a town council will have the title "town mayor" and that of a parish council which is a city will usually have the title of mayor . When a city or town has been abolished as a borough, and it is considered desirable to maintain continuity of
2608-462: A city council. According to the Department for Communities and Local Government , in England in 2011 there were 9,946 parishes. Since 1997 around 100 new civil parishes have been created, in some cases by splitting existing civil parishes, but mostly by creating new ones from unparished areas. Parish or town councils have very few statutory duties (things they are required to do by law) but have
2771-559: A city was Hereford , whose city council was merged in 1998 to form a unitary Herefordshire . The area of the city of Hereford remained unparished until 2000 when a parish council was created for the city. As another example, the charter trustees for the City of Bath make up the majority of the councillors on Bath and North East Somerset Council. Civil parishes cover 35% of England's population, with one in Greater London and few in
2934-481: A civil parish which has no parish council, the parish meeting may levy a council tax precept for expenditure relating to specific functions, powers and rights which have been conferred on it by legislation. In places where there is no civil parish ( unparished areas ), the administration of the activities normally undertaken by the parish becomes the responsibility of the district or borough council. The district council may make an additional council tax charge, known as
3097-636: A claim laid upon it by the Holy Roman Empire 's Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen – was a source of great prestige and leverage within the Catholic Church and among the magnates of Christendom (gaining notable concessions such as one on the price of the pallium of his bishops, though they still had to travel to obtain the pallium, as well as on the tolls his people had to pay on the way to Rome ). After his 1026 victory against Norway and Sweden, and on his way back from Rome where he attended
3260-467: A deed of surrender, the (by then extremely wealthy) abbey was demolished, and its lands sold, leading to a temporary decline in the town. Sir Thomas Arundell purchased the abbey and much of the town in 1540, but when he was later exiled for treason his lands were forfeit, and the lands passed to Pembroke then Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury , and finally to the Grosvenors. Shaftesbury
3423-516: A defence in the struggle with the Danish invaders. The burgh is recorded in the early-10th-century Burghal Hidage as one of only three that existed in the county (the others being at Wareham and 'Bredy' – which is probably Bridport ). In 888 Alfred founded Shaftesbury Abbey , a Benedictine nunnery by the town's east gate, and appointed his daughter Ethelgifu as the first abbess . Æthelstan founded two royal mints, which struck pennies bearing
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#17327653535213586-973: A flying accident in 1930. Most of Shaftesbury's buildings date from no earlier than the 18th century, as the Saxon and most of the medieval buildings have not survived. In the United Kingdom national parliament , Shaftesbury is in the North Dorset parliamentary constituency , represented since 2015 by Simon Hoare of the Conservative Party . In local government, Shaftesbury is administered by Dorset Council (a unitary authority ) and Shaftesbury Town Council, which has responsibilities that include open spaces and recreational facilities, allotments, litter, street markets, public conveniences, grants to voluntary organisations, cemetery provision, bus shelters, crime prevention initiatives, civic events and
3749-484: A gracious lord and a faithfull observer of God's rights and just secular law. (He exhorts his ealdormen to assist the bishops in the maintenance of) God's rights ... and the benefit of the people. If anyone, ecclesiastic or layman, Dane or Englishman, is so presumptuous as to defy God's law and my royal authority or the secular laws, and he will not make amends and desist according to the direction of my bishops, I then pray, and also command, Earl Thurkil, if he can, to cause
3912-529: A new code. In either case the code must comply with the Nolan Principles of Public Life . A parish can be granted city status by the Crown . As of 2020 , eight parishes in England have city status, each having a long-established Anglican cathedral: Chichester , Ely , Hereford , Lichfield , Ripon , Salisbury , Truro and Wells . The council of an ungrouped parish may pass a resolution giving
4075-431: A new smaller manor, there was a means of making a chapel which, if generating or endowed with enough funds, would generally justify foundation of a parish, with its own parish priest (and in latter centuries vestry ). This consistency was a result of canon law which prized the status quo in issues between local churches and so made boundary changes and sub-division difficult. The consistency of these boundaries until
4238-484: A number of English noblemen whom he considered suspect. Æthelred 's son Eadwig Ætheling fled from England but was killed on Cnut's orders. Edmund Ironside's sons likewise fled abroad. Æthelred's sons by Emma of Normandy went under the protection of their relatives in the Duchy of Normandy . In July 1017, Cnut wed Queen Emma, the widow of Æthelred and daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandy . In 1018, having collected
4401-849: A parish (a "detached part") was in a different county . In other cases, counties surrounded a whole parish meaning it was in an unconnected, "alien" county. These anomalies resulted in a highly localised difference in applicable representatives on the national level , justices of the peace , sheriffs, bailiffs with inconvenience to the inhabitants. If a parish was split then churchwardens, highway wardens and constables would also spend more time or money travelling large distances. Some parishes straddled two or more counties, such as Todmorden in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Cnut Cnut ( / k ə ˈ nj uː t / ; Old Norse : Knútr Old Norse pronunciation: [ˈknuːtr] ; c. 990 – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with
4564-416: A parish council, and instead will only have a parish meeting : an example of direct democracy . Alternatively several small parishes can be grouped together and share a common parish council, or even a common parish meeting. A parish council may decide to call itself a town council, village council, community council, neighbourhood council, or if the parish has city status, the parish council may call itself
4727-431: A pensive melancholy, which the stimulating atmosphere and limitless landscape around him can scarcely dispel." In the 1970s Ridley Scott used Gold Hill , a steep cobbled street in the town, as the setting for a television advertisement for Hovis bread, in which a bread delivery boy is seen pushing his bicycle up the street before freewheeling back down. The advertisement made the street nationally famous. Shaftesbury
4890-639: A pledge of allegiance to the English in 1012 – some explanation for this shift of allegiance may be found in a stanza of the Jómsvíkinga saga that mentions two attacks against Jomsborg's mercenaries while they were in England, with a man known as Henninge, a brother of Thorkell, among their casualties. If the Flateyjarbók is correct that this man was Cnut's childhood mentor, it explains his acceptance of his allegiance – with Jomvikings ultimately in
5053-431: A population in excess of 100,000 . This scope is similar to that of municipalities in continental Europe, such as the communes of France . However, unlike their continental European counterparts, parish councils are not principal authorities , and in most cases have a relatively minor role in local government. As of September 2023 , there are 10,464 parishes in England, and in 2020 they covered approximately 40% of
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5216-503: A population of between 100 and 300 could request their county council to establish a parish council. Provision was also made for a grouped parish council to be established covering two or more rural parishes. In such groups, each parish retained its own parish meeting which could vote to leave the group, but otherwise the grouped parish council acted across the combined area of the parishes included. Urban civil parishes were not given their own parish councils, but were directly administered by
5379-569: A presence in the town include the Body Shop , Boots , Somerfield, Superdrug , Tesco and WHSmith . A site has been identified for a projected parkway station on the West of England main railway line. It would be situated to the north of the town, beneath the A350 road, and a bus service would connect it with the town. Currently the nearest railway station is located in neighbouring Gillingham . In
5542-1079: A range of discretionary powers which they may exercise voluntarily. These powers have been defined by various pieces of legislation. The role they play can vary significantly depending on the size, resources and ability of the council, but their activities can include any of the following: Parish councils have powers to provide and manage various local facilities; these can include allotments , cemeteries, parks, playgrounds, playing fields and village greens , village halls or community centres , bus shelters, street lighting, roadside verges, car parks, footpaths, litter bins and war memorials. Larger parish councils may also be involved in running markets , public toilets and public clocks, museums and leisure centres . Parish councils may spend money on various things they deem to be beneficial to their communities, such as providing grants to local community groups or local projects, or fund things such as public events, crime prevention measures, community transport schemes, traffic calming or tourism promotion. Parish councils have
5705-409: A role in the planning system; they have a statutory right to be consulted on any planning applications in their areas. They may also produce a neighbourhood plan to influence local development. The Localism Act 2011 allowed eligible parish councils to be granted a " general power of competence " which allows them within certain limits the freedom to do anything an individual can do provided it
5868-545: A set number of guardians for each parish, hence a final purpose of urban civil parishes. With the abolition of the Poor Law system in 1930, urban parishes became a geographical division only with no administrative power; that was exercised at the urban district or borough council level. In 1965 civil parishes in London were formally abolished when Greater London was created, as the legislative framework for Greater London did not make provision for any local government body below
6031-943: A small village or town ward to a large tract of mostly uninhabited moorland in the Cheviots, Pennines or Dartmoor. The two largest as at December 2023 are Stanhope (County Durham) at 98.6 square miles (255 km ), and Dartmoor Forest (Devon) at 79.07 square miles (204.8 km ). The two smallest are parcels of shared rural land: Lands Common to Axminster and Kilmington (Devon) at 0.012 square miles (0.031 km ; 3.1 ha; 7.7 acres), and Lands Common to Brancepeth and Brandon and Byshottles (County Durham) at 0.0165 square miles (0.043 km ; 4.3 ha; 10.6 acres). The next two smallest are parishes in built up areas: Chester Castle (Cheshire) at 0.0168 square miles (0.044 km ; 4.4 ha; 10.8 acres) (no recorded population) and Hamilton Lea (Leicestershire) at 0.07 square miles (0.18 km ; 18 ha; 45 acres) (1,021 residents at
6194-521: A spur to the creation of new parishes in some larger towns which were previously unparished, in order to retain a local tier of government; examples include Shrewsbury (2009), Salisbury (2009), Crewe (2013) and Weymouth (2019). In 2003 seven new parish councils were set up for Burton upon Trent , and in 2001 the Milton Keynes urban area became entirely parished, with ten new parishes being created. Parishes can also be abolished where there
6357-474: A steep cobbled street used in the 1970s as the setting for Ridley Scott ' s television advertisement for Hovis bread. In the 2021 census the town's civil parish had a population of 9,162. Shaftesbury has acquired a number of names throughout its history. Writing in 1906, Sir Frederick Treves referred to four of these names from Celtic, Latin and English traditions in his book Highways & Byways in Dorset : The city has had many names. It was, in
6520-507: Is at present the only part of England where civil parishes cannot be created. If enough electors in the area of a proposed new parish (ranging from 50% in an area with less than 500 electors to 10% in one with more than 2,500) sign a petition demanding its creation, then the local district council or unitary authority must consider the proposal. Since the beginning of the 21st century, numerous parish councils have been created, including some relatively large urban ones. The main driver has been
6683-539: Is evidence that this is in response to "justified, clear and sustained local support" from the area's inhabitants. Examples are Birtley , which was abolished in 2006, and Southsea , abolished in 2010. Every civil parish has a parish meeting, which all the electors of the parish are entitled to attend. Generally a meeting is held once a year. A civil parish may have a parish council which exercises various local responsibilities prescribed by statute. Parishes with fewer than 200 electors are usually deemed too small to have
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6846-475: Is home to a volunteer-run community radio station, Alfred, broadcasting local news, speech programming and music on 107.3 FM and online. It was awarded an Ofcom licence in 2020, having grown from a weekly podcast which went daily during the COVID-19 pandemic . The podcast won the gold award in the community radio awards in 2021. Thomas Hardy used the names Shaston or Palladour to describe Shaftesbury in
7009-458: Is known for sure of Cnut's life until the year he was part of a Scandinavian force under his father, King Sweyn, in his invasion of England in summer 1013. Cnut was likely part of his father's 1003 and 1004 campaigns in England, although the evidence is not firm. The 1013 invasion was the climax to a succession of Viking raids spread over a number of decades. Following their landing in the Humber ,
7172-405: Is not prohibited by other legislation, as opposed to being limited to the powers explicitly granted to them by law. To be eligible for this, a parish council must meet certain conditions such as having a clerk with suitable qualifications. Parish councils receive funding by levying a " precept " on the council tax paid by the residents of the parish (or parishes) served by the parish council. In
7335-545: Is served by the A30 , between Salisbury and Yeovil , and the A350 , which connects Poole and Chippenham . The town is 7 miles (11 km) south of the main A303 trunk road between London and South West England . Shaftesbury has never had a direct railway connection. The challenging topography likely played a significant role in this, as constructing a railway up the steep slopes would have been difficult and costly. In 1859,
7498-567: Is the fact that Cnut and the King of Burgundy went alongside the emperor in the imperial procession and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him on the same pedestal. Cnut and the emperor, in accord with various sources, took to one another's company like brothers, for they were of a similar age. Conrad gave Cnut lands in the Mark of Schleswig – the land-bridge between the Scandinavian kingdoms and
7661-591: Is unknown. Contemporary works such as the Chronicon and the Encomium Emmae , do not mention this. Even so, in a Knútsdrápa by the skald Óttarr svarti , there is a statement that Cnut was "of no great age" when he first went to war. It also mentions a battle identifiable with Sweyn Forkbeard's invasion of England and attack on the city of Norwich , in 1003–04, after the St. Brice's Day massacre of Danes by
7824-504: The 'Standards Board regime' with local monitoring by district, unitary or equivalent authorities. Under new regulations which came into effect in 2012 all parish councils in England are required to adopt a code of conduct with which parish councillors must comply, and to promote and maintain high standards. A new criminal offence of failing to comply with statutory requirements was introduced. More than one 'model code' has been published, and councils are free to modify an existing code or adopt
7987-472: The 2011 census Shaftesbury's civil parish had 3,493 dwellings, 3,235 households and a population of 7,314. The average age of inhabitants was 43, compared to 39.3 for England as a whole. 22.1% of inhabitants were age 65 or older, compared to 16.4% for England as a whole. 92% of Shaftesbury's residents were born in the United Kingdom, compared to 86.2% for England as a whole. Previous census figures for
8150-511: The Battle of Assandun , fought at either Ashingdon , in south-east, or Ashdon , in north-west Essex . In the ensuing struggle, Eadric Streona, whose return to the English side had perhaps only been a ruse, withdrew his forces from the fray, bringing about a decisive English defeat. Edmund fled westwards, and Cnut pursued him into Gloucestershire , with another battle probably fought near the Forest of Dean , for Edmund had an alliance with some of
8313-438: The Battle of Svolder , in 999. Eiríkr's participation in the invasion left his son Hakon to rule Norway, with Sweyn. In the summer of 1015, Cnut's fleet set sail for England with a Danish army of perhaps 10,000 in 200 longships. Cnut was at the head of an array of Vikings from all over Scandinavia . The invading army was composed primarily of mercenaries. The invasion force was to engage in often close and grisly warfare with
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#17327653535218476-710: The Civil War , but was in Royalist hands. Wardour Castle fell to Parliamentary forces in 1643; Parliamentary forces surrounded the town in August 1645, when it was a centre of local clubmen activity. The clubmen were arrested and sent to trial in Sherborne . Shaftesbury took no part in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. In the 17th century the cloth industry formed part of Shaftesbury's economy, though much of
8639-519: The Hwicce under Æthelred, but certainly soon to his son Leofric . In 1021, Thorkel also fell from favour and was outlawed. Following his death in the 1020s, Erik of Hlathir was succeeded as Earl of Northumbria by Siward , whose grandmother, Estrid (married to Úlfr Thorgilsson ), was Cnut's sister. Bernicia , the northern part of Northumbria, was theoretically part of Erik and Siward's earldom, but throughout Cnut's reign it effectively remained under
8802-1010: The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) to become the smallest geographical area for local government in rural areas. The act abolished the civil (non-ecclesiastical) duties of vestries . Parishes which straddled county boundaries or sanitary districts had to be split so that the part in each urban or rural sanitary district became a separate parish (see List of county exclaves in England and Wales 1844–1974 ). The sanitary districts were then reconstituted as urban districts and rural districts , with parishes that fell within urban districts classed as urban parishes, and parishes that fell within rural districts were classed as rural parishes. The 1894 act established elected civil parish councils as to all rural parishes with more than 300 electors, and established annual parish meetings in all rural parishes. Civil parishes were grouped to form either rural or urban districts which are thereafter classified as either type. The parish meetings for parishes with
8965-654: The Marquis of Westminster , whose widow donated the site. The town has a public library operated by Dorset Council. Cnut the Great , King of England, Denmark, and Norway, died in Shaftesbury on 12 November 1035; he was buried in Winchester . Poet William Chamberlayne lived there his whole life, from 1619 to 1689. Philosopher Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713), an influential thinker on modern aesthetics. Civil parish In England,
9128-465: The Middle Ages the abbey was the central focus of the town; the abbey's great wealth was acknowledged in a popular saying at the time, which stated that "If the abbot of Glastonbury could marry the abbess of Shaftesbury their heir would hold more land than the king of England". In 1260 a charter to hold a market was granted. By 1340 the mayor had become a recognised figure, sworn in by the steward of
9291-520: The Salisbury and Yeovil Railway established a station at Semley , 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (4.0 km) north of Shaftesbury. This station allowed residents and visitors to access the broader railway network. Semley station closed in the Beeching cuts of 1966. The closest railway station to Shaftesbury is now Gillingham railway station (Dorset) , 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of the town, on
9454-769: The Wends . With the death of Olof Skötkonung in 1022, and the succession to the Swedish throne of his son Anund Jacob bringing Sweden into alliance with Norway, there was cause for a demonstration of Danish strength in the Baltic. Jomsborg , the legendary stronghold of the Jomsvikings (thought to be on an island off the coast of Pomerania ), was probably the target of Cnut's expedition. Successful, after this clear display of Cnut's intentions to dominate Scandinavian affairs, it seems that Thorkell reconciled with Cnut in 1023. When
9617-429: The West of England line from London Waterloo to Exeter. Local bus services connect the town to surrounding villages and towns. Shaftesbury has a non-League football club, Shaftesbury F.C. , who play at Cockrams. The Shaftesbury Lido, an open air swimming pool at Barton Hill, is open during the summer months. Shaftesbury has a community hospital, opened in 1874 and named Westminster Memorial Hospital in memory of
9780-472: The break with Rome , parishes managed ecclesiastical matters, while the manor was the principal unit of local administration and justice. Later, the church replaced the manor court as the rural administrative centre, and levied a local tax on produce known as a tithe . In the medieval period, responsibilities such as relief of the poor passed increasingly from the lord of the manor to the parish's rector , who in practice would delegate tasks among his vestry or
9943-581: The coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor , Cnut deemed himself "King of all England and Denmark and the Norwegians and of some of the Swedes" in a letter written for the benefit of his subjects. Medieval historian Norman Cantor called him "the most effective king in Anglo-Saxon history". He is popularly invoked in the context of the legend of King Canute and the tide . Cnut was a son of
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#173276535352110106-472: The duke of Poland (later crowned king) and a relative to the Danish royal house. He lent some Polish troops, likely to have been a pledge made to Cnut and his brother Harald when, in the winter, they "went amongst the Wends " to fetch their mother back to the Danish court. She had been sent away by their father after the death of the Swedish king Eric the Victorious in 995, and his marriage to Sigrid
10269-531: The lord of the manor , but not all were willing and able to provide, so residents would be expected to attend the church of the nearest manor with a church. Later, the churches and priests became to a greater extent the responsibility of the Catholic Church thus this was formalised; the grouping of manors into one parish was recorded, as was a manor-parish existing in its own right. Boundaries changed little, and for centuries after 1180 'froze', despite changes to manors' extents. However, by subinfeudation , making
10432-403: The monarch ). A civil parish may be equally known as and confirmed as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council, a right not conferred on other units of English local government. The governing body of a civil parish is usually an elected parish council (which can decide to call itself a town, village, community or neighbourhood council, or a city council if
10595-468: The scarp edge of a range of hills that extend south and east into Cranborne Chase and neighbouring Wiltshire . The town's built-up area extends down the promontory slopes to lower ground at St James, Alcester and Enmore Green, and eastwards across the watershed towards the hill's dip slope. Shaftesbury's altitude is between about 165 metres (541 feet) at the lowest streets below the promontory, to about 235 m (771 ft) at Wincombe Business Park on
10758-470: The (often well-endowed) monasteries. After the dissolution of the monasteries , the power to levy a rate to fund relief of the poor was conferred on the parish authorities by the Poor Relief Act 1601 . Both before and after this optional social change, local (vestry-administered) charities are well-documented. The parish authorities were known as vestries and consisted of all the ratepayers of
10921-411: The 17th and 18th centuries, and like other Dorset towns such as Dorchester and Blandford Forum , Shaftesbury became known for its beer. The railways however bypassed the town, which had consequences for Shaftesbury's economy; during the 19th century the town's brewing industry was reduced to serving only local markets, as towns elsewhere in the country could transport their produce more cheaply. During
11084-403: The 19th century and are now entirely separate. Civil parishes in their modern form came into being through the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73), which established elected parish councils to take on the secular functions of the parish vestry . A civil parish can range in size from a sparsely populated rural area with fewer than a hundred inhabitants, to a large town with
11247-564: The 19th century is useful to historians, and is also of cultural significance in terms of shaping local identities; reinforced by the use of grouped parish boundaries, often, by successive local authority areas; and in a very rough, operations-geared way by most postcode districts. There was (and is) wide disparity in parish size. Writtle , Essex traditionally measures 13,568 acres (21 sq mi) – two parishes neighbouring are Shellow Bowells at 469 acres (0.7 sq mi), and Chignall Smealy at 476 acres (0.7 sq mi) Until
11410-407: The 19th century the population of the town grew little. The town hall was built in 1837 by Earl Grosvenor after the guildhall was pulled down to widen High Street. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. Shaftesbury Town Hall is next to the 15th-century St Peter's Church which is Grade II* listed. The Westminster Memorial Hospital was constructed on Bimport in
11573-591: The 2011 census, Newland with Woodhouse Moor and Beaumont Chase reported inhabitants, and there were no new deserted parishes recorded. Nearly all instances of detached parts of civil parishes (areas not contiguous with the main part of the parish) and of those straddling counties have been ended. 14 examples remain in England as at 2022, including Barnby Moor and Wallingwells , both in Nottinghamshire. Direct predecessors of civil parishes are most often known as "ancient parishes", although many date only from
11736-511: The 2021 census). The 2001 census recorded several parishes with no inhabitants. These were Chester Castle (in the middle of Chester city centre), Newland with Woodhouse Moor , Beaumont Chase , Martinsthorpe , Meering , Stanground North (subsequently abolished), Sturston , Tottington , and Tyneham (subsequently merged). The lands of the last three were taken over by the Armed Forces during World War II and remain deserted. In
11899-781: The Cann Sand, on the lower slopes of the hill to the north, west and south of the town, are extensive landslip deposits. In 2012 there were 3,400 people employed in Shaftesbury, 65% of whom were working full-time and 35% part-time. Excluding agriculture, the most important employment sectors were public administration, education and health (31% of non-agricultural employment), production and construction (29%), and distribution, accommodation and food (26%). Significant employers include Dorset County Council , Pork Farms , Guys Marsh Prison , Royal Mail , Tesco , Port Regis School , Wessex Electricals, Stalbridge Linen Services, Blackmore Press and Dorset Chilled Foods. There are two industrial estates in
12062-681: The Confessor licensed a third mint for the town. By the time of the Norman conquest in 1066 Shaftesbury had 257 houses, though many were destroyed in the ensuing years of conflict, and by the time the Domesday Book was compiled twenty years later, there were only 177 houses remaining, though this still meant that Shaftesbury was the largest town in Dorset at that time. In the first English civil war (1135–1154) between Empress Matilda and King Stephen , an adulterine castle or fortified house
12225-647: The Danes again brought London under siege, but after another unsuccessful assault they withdrew into Kent under attack by the English, with a battle fought at Otford . At this point Eadric Streona went over to King Edmund, and Cnut set sail northwards across the Thames estuary to Essex , and went from the landing of the ships up the River Orwell to ravage Mercia. On 18 October 1016, the Danes were engaged by Edmund's army as they retired towards their ships, leading to
12388-529: The Danish army evidently divided, some dealing with Edmund, who had broken out of London before Cnut's encirclement of the city was complete, and had gone to gather an army in Wessex , the traditional heartland of the English monarchy. Part of the Danish army besieged London, constructing dikes on the northern and southern flanks and a channel dug across the banks of the Thames to the south of the city, enabling their longships to cut off communications up-river. There
12551-399: The Danish crown, stating his intention to avert attacks against England in a letter in 1019 ( see above ). It seems there were Danes in opposition to him, and an attack he carried out on the Wends of Pomerania may have had something to do with this. In this expedition, at least one of Cnut's Englishmen, Godwin, apparently won the king's trust after a night-time raid he personally led against
12714-552: The Danish prince Sweyn Forkbeard , who was the son and heir to King Harald Bluetooth and thus came from a line of Scandinavian rulers central to the unification of Denmark. Neither the place nor the date of his birth are known. Harthacnut I was the semi-legendary founder of the Danish royal house at the beginning of the 10th century, and his son, Gorm the Old , became the first in the official line (the "Old" in his name indicates this). Harald Bluetooth, Gorm's son and Cnut's grandfather,
12877-521: The Danish throne in 1018 brought the crowns of England and Denmark together. Cnut sought to keep this power base by uniting Danes and English under cultural bonds of wealth and custom. After a decade of conflict with opponents in Scandinavia , Cnut claimed the crown of Norway in Trondheim in 1028. In 1031, Malcolm II of Scotland also submitted to him, though Anglo-Norse influence over Scotland
13040-509: The Emperor agreed and likewise King Robert who governs most of these same toll gates. And all the magnates confirmed by edict that my people, both merchants, and the others who travel to make their devotions, might go to Rome and return without being afflicted by barriers and toll collectors, in firm peace and secure in a just law. "Robert" in Cnut's text is probably a clerical error for Rudolph ,
13203-721: The English for the next fourteen months. Practically all of the battles were fought against the eldest son of Æthelred, Edmund Ironside . According to the Peterborough Chronicle manuscript, one of the major witnesses of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , early in September 1015 "[Cnut] came into Sandwich, and straightway sailed around Kent to Wessex , until he came to the mouth of the Frome , and harried in Dorset and Wiltshire and Somerset ", beginning
13366-515: The English population. For historical reasons, civil parishes predominantly cover rural areas and smaller urban areas, with most larger urban areas being wholly or partly unparished ; but since 1997 it has been possible for civil parishes to be created within unparished areas if demanded by local residents . In 2007 the right to create civil parishes was extended to London boroughs , although only one, Queen's Park , has so far been created. Eight parishes also have city status (a status granted by
13529-583: The English, in 1002. If Cnut indeed accompanied this expedition, his birthdate may be near 990, or even 980. If not, and if the skald's poetic verse references another assault, such as Sweyn's conquest of England in 1013–14, it may even suggest a birth date nearer 1000. There is a passage of the Encomiast (as the author of the Encomium Emmae is known) with a reference to the force Cnut led in his English conquest of 1015–16. Here ( see below ) it says all
13692-483: The English, turning the prows of the longships towards Scandinavia. He reinstated the Laws of King Edgar to allow for the constitution of a Danelaw , and for the activity of Scandinavians at large. Cnut reinstituted the extant laws with a series of proclamations to assuage common grievances brought to his attention, including: On Inheritance in case of Intestacy , and On Heriots and Reliefs . He also strengthened
13855-506: The Haughty , the Swedish queen mother . This wedlock formed a strong alliance between the successor to the throne of Sweden, Olof Skötkonung , and the rulers of Denmark, his in-laws. Swedes were certainly among the allies in the English conquest. Another in-law to the Danish royal house, Eiríkr Hákonarson , was the earl of Lade and the co-ruler of Norway with his brother Sweyn Haakonsson – Norway having been under Danish sovereignty since
14018-516: The Norwegian king Olaf Haraldsson and Anund Jakob took advantage of Cnut's commitment to England and began to launch attacks against Denmark, Ulf gave the Danish freemen cause to accept Harthacnut , still a child, as king. This ruse resulted in Ulf ruling the kingdom as regent . Upon news of these events, Cnut set sail for Denmark to restore himself and to deal with Ulf, who then got back in line. In
14181-754: The Spears) and Thomas Gale records the name as Caer Palladour in his work of 1709. Though "Palladour" was described by one 19th-century directory as "mere invention", it has continued to be used as a poetic and alternative name for the town. The English name was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Sceptesberie, and the use of "Shaston" ( / ˈ ʃ æ s t ən / ) was recorded in 1831 in Samuel Lewis's A Topographical Dictionary of England and in 1840 in The parliamentary gazetteer of England and Wales . Thomas Hardy used both "Shaston" and "Palladour" to refer to
14344-656: The Vikings and the people of the Danelaw immediately elected Cnut as king in England. However, the English nobility took a different view, and the Witenagemot recalled Æthelred from Normandy . The restored king swiftly led an army against Cnut, who fled with his army to Denmark, along the way mutilating the hostages they had taken and abandoning them on the beach at Sandwich in Kent . Cnut went to Harald and supposedly made
14507-440: The Vikings were of "mature age" under Cnut "the king". A description of Cnut appears in the 13th century Icelandic Knýtlinga saga : Knut was exceptionally tall and strong, and the handsomest of men, all except for his nose, that was thin, high-set, and rather hooked. He had a fair complexion and a fine, thick head of hair. His eyes were better than those of other men, being both more handsome and keener-sighted. Hardly anything
14670-469: The Welsh. On an island near Deerhurst , Cnut and Edmund, who had been wounded, met to negotiate terms of peace. It was agreed that all of England north of the Thames was to be the domain of the Danish prince, while all to the south was kept by the English king, along with London. Accession to the reign of the entire realm was set to pass to Cnut upon Edmund's death. Edmund died on 30 November, within weeks of
14833-514: The abbess. In 1392 Richard II confirmed a grant of two markets on different days. Edwardstowe, Shaftesbury's oldest surviving building, was built on Bimport at some time between 1400 and 1539. Also in this period a medieval farm owned by the Abbess of Shaftesbury was established, on a site now occupied by the Tesco supermarket car park. In 1539, the last Abbess of Shaftesbury, Elizabeth Zouche, signed
14996-476: The abbey grounds. Gold Hill Museum was founded in 1946 and displays many artefacts that relate to the history of Shaftesbury and the surrounding area, including Dorset's oldest fire engine, dating from 1744. Shaftesbury Abbey Museum tells the story of the abbey and also has a herb garden and medieval orchard. Shaftesbury Snowdrops is a Diamond Jubilee Community Legacy with the aim of creating a series of free and accessible snowdrop walks by planting snowdrops within
15159-506: The actual production took place as a cottage industry in the surrounding area. In the 18th century the town produced a coarse white woollen cloth called 'swanskin', that was used by fishermen of Newfoundland and for uniforms. Buttonmaking also became important around this time, though with the later advent of industrialisation this subsequently declined, resulting in unemployment, starvation and emigration, with 350 families leaving for Canada. Malting and brewing were also significant in
15322-738: The administration of the poor laws was the main civil function of parishes, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 , which received royal assent on 10 August 1866, declared all areas that levied a separate rate or had their own overseer of the poor to be parishes. This included the Church of England parishes (until then simply known as "parishes"), extra-parochial areas , townships and chapelries . To have collected rates this means these beforehand had their own vestries, boards or equivalent bodies. Parishes using this definition subsequently became known as "civil parishes" to distinguish them from
15485-670: The army brought the Englishmen together, and they were met this time by the king, although "it came to nothing as so often before", and Æthelred returned to London with fears of betrayal. Edmund then went north to join Uhtred the Earl of Northumbria and together they harried Staffordshire , Shropshire and Cheshire in western Mercia, possibly targeting the estates of Eadric Streona. Cnut's occupation of Northumbria meant Uhtred returned home to submit himself to Cnut, who seems to have sent
15648-444: The arrangement. Some sources claim Edmund was murdered, although the circumstances of his death are unknown. The West Saxons now accepted Cnut as king of all of England, and he was crowned by Lyfing, Archbishop of Canterbury , in London in 1017. Cnut ruled England for nearly two decades. The protection he lent against Viking raiders – many of them under his command – restored the prosperity that had been increasingly impaired since
15811-662: The beginning, Caer Palladour. By the time of the Domesday Book it was Sceptesberie. It then, with all the affectation of a lady in an eighteenth-century lyric, called itself Sophonia. Lastly it became Shaston, and so the people call it to this day, while all the milestones around concern themselves only with recording the distances to "Shaston". The original Celtic name is first recorded in Medieval Welsh literature as Caer Vynnydd y Paladr (The Mountain Fort/City of
15974-508: The brightness of gold, who upon the men of metal, menacing with golden face, ... who upon the bulls on the ships threatening death, their horns shining with gold, without feeling any fear for the king of such a force? Furthermore, in this great expedition, there was present no slave, no man freed from slavery, no low-born man, no man weakened by age; for all were noble, all strong with the might of mature age, all sufficiently fit for any type of fighting, all of such great fleetness, that they scorned
16137-399: The charter, the charter may be transferred to a parish council for its area. Where there is no such parish council, the district council may appoint charter trustees to whom the charter and the arms of the former borough will belong. The charter trustees (who consist of the councillor or councillors for the area of the former borough) maintain traditions such as mayoralty . An example of such
16300-489: The conditions for pilgrims, as well as merchants, on the road to Rome. In his own words: ... I spoke with the Emperor himself and the Lord Pope and the princes there about the needs of all people of my entire realm, both English and Danes, that a juster law and securer peace might be granted to them on the road to Rome and that they should not be straitened by so many barriers along the road, and harassed by unjust tolls; and
16463-697: The continent – as a token of their treaty of friendship. Centuries of conflict in this area between the Danes and the Germans led to the construction of the Danevirke , from Schleswig, on the Schlei , an inlet of the Baltic Sea , to the North Sea . Cnut's visit to Rome was a triumph. In the verse of Knútsdrápa , Sigvatr Þórðarson praises Cnut, his king, as being "dear to the Emperor, close to Peter". In
16626-510: The control of the English dynasty based at Bamburgh , which had dominated the area at least since the early 10th century. They served as junior Earls of Bernicia under the titular authority of the Earl of Northumbria. By the 1030s Cnut's direct administration of Wessex had come to an end, with the establishment of an earldom under Godwin , an Englishman from a powerful Sussex family. In general, after initial reliance on his Scandinavian followers in
16789-537: The council are carried out by a paid officer, typically known as a parish clerk. Councils may employ additional people (including bodies corporate, provided where necessary, by tender) to carry out specific tasks dictated by the council. Some councils have chosen to pay their elected members an allowance, as permitted under part 5 of the Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003. The number of councillors varies roughly in proportion to
16952-464: The council of the urban district or borough in which they were contained. Many urban parishes were coterminous (geographically identical) with the urban district or municipal borough in which they lay. Towns which included multiple urban parishes often consolidated the urban parishes into one. The urban parishes continued to be used as an electoral area for electing guardians to the poor law unions . The unions took in areas in multiple parishes and had
17115-466: The council will an election be held. However, sometimes there are fewer candidates than seats. When this happens, the vacant seats have to be filled by co-option by the council. If a vacancy arises for a seat mid-term, an election is only held if a certain number (usually ten) of parish residents request an election. Otherwise the council will co-opt someone to be the replacement councillor. The Localism Act 2011 introduced new arrangements which replaced
17278-525: The creation of town and parish councils is encouraged in unparished areas . The Local Government and Rating Act 1997 created a procedure which gave residents in unparished areas the right to demand that a new parish and parish council be created. This right was extended to London boroughs by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 – with this, the City of London
17441-514: The currency, initiating a series of coins of equal weight to those being used in Denmark and other parts of Scandinavia. He issued the Law codes of Cnut known now as I Cnut and II Cnut, though these seem primarily to have been produced by Wulfstan of York . In his royal court, there were both Englishmen and Scandinavians. Harald II died in 1018, and Cnut went to Denmark to affirm his succession to
17604-460: The days of Christendom, a king seen to be in favour with God could expect to be ruler over a happy kingdom. He was surely in a stronger position, not only with the Church and the people, but also in the alliance with his southern rivals he was able to conclude his conflicts with his rivals in the north. His letter not only tells his countrymen of his achievements in Rome, but also of his ambitions within
17767-463: The desire to have a more local tier of government when new larger authorities have been created, which are felt to be remote from local concerns and identity. A number of parishes have been created in places which used to have their own borough or district council; examples include Daventry (2003), Folkestone (2004), Kidderminster (2015) and Sutton Coldfield (2016). The trend towards the creation of geographically large unitary authorities has been
17930-439: The ecclesiastical parishes. The Church of England parishes, which cover more than 99% of England, have become officially (and to avoid ambiguity) termed ecclesiastical parishes . The limits of many of these have diverged; most greatly through changes in population and church attendance (these factors can cause churches to be opened or closed). Since 1921, each has been the responsibility of its own parochial church council . In
18093-478: The epithet the Great , was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rule are referred to together as the North Sea Empire by historians. As a Danish prince, Cnut won the throne of England in 1016 in the wake of centuries of Viking activity in northwestern Europe . His later accession to
18256-534: The established English Church, which for a few years after Henry VIII alternated between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England , before settling on the latter on the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558. By the 18th century, religious membership was becoming more fractured in some places, due in part to the progress of Methodism . The legitimacy of the parish vestry came into question, and
18419-467: The evil-doer to do right. And if he cannot, then it is my will that with the power of us both he shall destroy him in the land or drive him out of the land, whether he be of high or low rank. And it is my will that all the nation, ecclesiastical and lay, shall steadfastly observe Edgar's laws, which all men have chosen and sworn at Oxford. Since I did not spare my money, as long as hostility was threatening you, I with God's help have put an end to it. Then I
18582-496: The existing English trend for multiple shires to be grouped together under a single ealdorman , thus dividing the country into four large administrative units whose geographical extent was based on the largest and most durable of the separate kingdoms that had preceded the unification of England. The officials responsible for these provinces were designated earls , a title of Scandinavian origin already in localised use in England, which now everywhere replaced that of ealdorman. Wessex
18745-545: The fact that he was in an arguably sinful relationship, with two wives, and the harsh treatment he dealt his fellow Christian opponents. Under his reign, Cnut brought together the English and Danish kingdoms, and the Scandinavic and Saxon peoples saw a period of dominance across Scandinavia , as well as within the British Isles . His campaigns abroad meant the tables of Viking supremacy were stacked in favour of
18908-485: The fictional Wessex of his novels. In Jude the Obscure he described the loss of the town's former architectural glories, principally the abbey: "Vague imaginings of its castle, its three mints, its magnificent apsidal abbey, the chief glory of south Wessex, its twelve churches, its shrines, chantries, hospitals, its gabled freestone mansions—all now ruthlessly swept away—throw the visitor, even against his will, into
19071-620: The first years of his reign, Cnut allowed those Anglo-Saxon families of the existing English nobility who had earned his trust to assume rulership of his Earldoms. At the Battle of Nesjar , in 1016, Olaf Haraldsson won the kingdom of Norway from the Danes. It was at some time after Erik left for England, and on the death of Svein while retreating to Sweden, maybe intent on returning to Norway with reinforcements, that Erik's son Hakon went to join his father and support Cnut in England, too. Cnut's brother Harald may have been at Cnut's coronation, in 1016, returning to Denmark as its king, with part of
19234-452: The fleet, at some point thereafter. It is only certain, though, that there was an entry of his name, alongside Cnut's, in confraternity with Christ Church, Canterbury , in 1018. This is not conclusive, though, for the entry may have been made in Harald's absence, perhaps by the hand of Cnut himself, which means that, while it is usually thought that Harald died in 1018, it is unsure whether he
19397-460: The former queen of Sweden , wife of Eric the Victorious and by this marriage mother of Olof Skötkonung . To complicate the matter, Heimskringla and other sagas also have Sweyn marrying Eric's widow, but she is distinctly another person in these texts, named Sigrid the Haughty , whom Sweyn only marries after Gunhild , the Slavic princess who bore Cnut, has died. Different theories regarding
19560-455: The government at the time of the Local Government Act 1972 discouraged their creation for large towns or their suburbs, but there is generally nothing to stop their establishment. For example, Birmingham has two parishes ( New Frankley and Sutton Coldfield ), Oxford has four, and the Milton Keynes urban area has 24. Parishes could not however be established in London until the law was changed in 2007. A civil parish can range in area from
19723-409: The great dangers which were approaching us that we need fear no danger to us from there; but we may reckon on full help and deliverance if we need it. Cnut was generally remembered as a wise and successful king of England, although this view may in part be attributable to his good treatment of the Church, keeper of the historic record. Accordingly, he is considered, even today, as a religious man despite
19886-497: The hilltop in the north, with the promontory and town centre being at about 215 m (705 ft). Below the town to the west is the Blackmore Vale , which undulates between about 60 and 110 m (200 and 360 ft). About 2 mi (3 km) west of the town and within the Blackmore Vale is the conical mound of Duncliffe Hill , visible for miles and home to Duncliffe Wood and a nature reserve. The countryside east of
20049-572: The key fringe festivals in the country. The fringe is always held on the first weekend in July and attracts an eccentric mix of performers from local singers to celebrity comics heading for Edinburgh. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West and ITV West Country . Television signals are received from the Mendip TV transmitter. Shaftesbury's local radio stations are BBC Radio Solent , Vale FM , and Heart West Country . The town
20212-537: The kingdom fell to the Vikings quickly, and near the end of the year King Æthelred fled to Normandy , leaving Sweyn Forkbeard in possession of England. In the winter, Sweyn was in the process of consolidating his kingship, with Cnut left in charge of the fleet and the base of the army at Gainsborough in Lincolnshire . On the death of Sweyn Forkbeard after a few months as king, on Candlemas (Sunday 3 February 1014), Harald succeeded him as King of Denmark, while
20375-603: The last ruler of an independent Kingdom of Burgundy . Hence, the solemn word of the Pope, the Emperor and Rudolph was given with the witness of four archbishops, twenty bishops, and "innumerable multitudes of dukes and nobles", suggesting it was before the ceremonies were completed. Cnut without doubt threw himself into his role with zest. His image as a just Christian king, statesman and diplomat and crusader against unjustness, seems rooted in reality, as well as one he sought to project. A good illustration of his status within Europe
20538-476: The late 19th century, most of the "ancient" (a legal term equivalent to time immemorial ) irregularities inherited by the civil parish system were cleaned up, and the majority of exclaves were abolished. The census of 1911 noted that 8,322 (58%) of "parishes" in England and Wales were not geographically identical when comparing the civil to the ecclesiastical form. In 1894, civil parishes were reformed by
20701-465: The mid 19th century. Using a longer historical lens the better terms are "pre-separation (civil and ecclesiastical) parish", "original medieval parishes" and "new parishes". The Victoria County History , a landmark collaborative work mostly written in the 20th century (although incomplete), summarises the history of each English "parish", roughly meaning late medieval parish. A minority of these had exclaves , which could be: In some cases an exclave of
20864-501: The mid-19th century with a legacy from the wife of the Duke of Westminster . In 1918 Lord Stalbridge, 2nd Baron Stalbridge, Hugh Grosvenor, sold a large portion of the town, which was purchased by a syndicate and auctioned piece by piece over three days. The entire Stalbridge Estate of some 13,500 acres was sold and the title became extinct with the death of Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Baron Stalbridge in 1949. His only son and heir had been killed in
21027-465: The new district councils (outside London) to review their parishes, and many areas left unparished in 1972 have since been made parishes, either in whole or part. For example, Hinckley , whilst entirely unparished in 1974, now has four civil parishes, which together cover part of its area, whilst the central part of the town remains unparished. Some parishes were sub-divided into smaller territories known as hamlets , tithings or townships . Nowadays
21190-431: The north and went from Denmark to the coronation at Easter 1027, which would have been of considerable prestige for rulers of Europe in the Middle Ages . On the return journey he wrote his letter of 1027, like his letter of 1019, informing his subjects in England of his intentions from abroad and proclaiming himself "king of all England and Denmark and the Norwegians and of some of the Swedes". Consistent with his role as
21353-408: The number and ancestry of Sweyn's wives (or wife) have been advanced (see Sigrid the Haughty and Gunhild ). But since Adam is the only source to equate the identity of Cnut's and Olof Skötkonung's mother, this is often seen as an error on Adam's part, and it is often assumed that Sweyn had two wives, the first being Cnut's mother, and the second being the former Queen of Sweden. Cnut's brother Harald
21516-401: The oldest and lowest is a layer of Cann Sand, which is found in the lower parts of the town, such as St James and Alcester, that are below the promontory; above this is a layer of Shaftesbury Sandstone, which generally forms the steepest slopes around the promontory, and on top of this is a layer of Boyne Hollow Chert, which is found on top of the hill and on which most of the town is built. Below
21679-488: The other conurbations. Civil parishes vary greatly in population: some have populations below 100 and have no settlement larger than a hamlet , while others cover towns with populations of tens of thousands. Weston-super-Mare , with a population of 71,758, is the most populous civil parish. In many cases small settlements, today popularly termed villages , localities or suburbs, are in a single parish which originally had one church. Large urban areas are mostly unparished, as
21842-448: The parish has city status). Alternatively, in parishes with small populations (typically fewer than 150 electors) governance may be by a parish meeting which all electors may attend; alternatively, parishes with small populations may be grouped with one or more neighbours under a common parish council. Wales was also divided into civil parishes until 1974, when they were replaced by communities , which are similar to English parishes in
22005-401: The parish the status of a town, at which point the council becomes a town council . Around 400 parish councils are called town councils. Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 , a civil parish may be given one of the following alternative styles: As a result, a parish council can be called a town council, a community council, a village council or occasionally
22168-404: The parish. As the number of ratepayers of some parishes grew, it became increasingly difficult to convene meetings as an open vestry. In some, mostly built-up, areas the select vestry took over responsibility from the entire body of ratepayers. This innovation improved efficiency, but allowed governance by a self-perpetuating elite. The administration of the parish system relied on the monopoly of
22331-562: The parish; the church rate ceased to be levied in many parishes and became voluntary from 1868. During the 17th century it was found that the 1601 Poor Law did not work well for very large parishes, which were particularly common in northern England. Such parishes were typically subdivided into multiple townships , which levied their rates separately. The Poor Relief Act 1662 therefore directed that for poor law purposes 'parish' meant any place which maintained its own poor, thereby converting many townships into separate 'poor law parishes'. As
22494-486: The people of Shaftesbury and displayed in Shaftesbury Abbey during the annual Snowdrop Festival. The collection is being built through sponsorship and donations. Gold Hill Fair usually occurs in the first weekend of July and has food stalls, arts stalls and local music that can be found in the abbey ruins. In 2016, Shaftesbury's first open arts fringe festival was organised and has since grown to become one of
22657-499: The perceived inefficiency and corruption inherent in the system became a source for concern in some places. For this reason, during the early 19th century the parish progressively lost its powers to ad hoc boards and other organisations, such as the boards of guardians given responsibility for poor relief through the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 . Sanitary districts covered England in 1875 and Ireland three years later. The replacement boards were each entitled to levy their own rate in
22820-411: The population of the parish. Most rural parish councillors are elected to represent the entire parish, though in parishes with larger populations or those that cover larger areas, the parish can be divided into wards. Each of these wards then returns councillors to the parish council (the numbers depending on their population). Only if there are more candidates standing for election than there are seats on
22983-624: The publicly open spaces and along the pathways throughout the town. The project was started in the winter of 2012 with the planting of 60,000 bulbs. Since 2013 there has been an annual Snowdrop Festival to encourage tourists to see the snowdrops in flower. Highlights of the festival include the Snowdrop Art Exhibition and the Snowdrop Lantern Parade. In 2014 Shaftesbury Snowdrops started a heritage collection of rare and unusual snowdrops. These are held in trust for
23146-404: The resumption of Viking attacks in the 980s . In turn, the English helped him to establish control over the majority of Scandinavia , too. Under his rule, England did not experience serious external attacks. As Danish King of England, Cnut was quick to eliminate any prospective challenge from the survivors of the mighty Wessex dynasty. The first year of his reign was marked by the executions of
23309-547: The service of Jomsborg . The 40 ships Eadric came with, often thought to be of the Danelaw , were probably Thorkell's. Early in 1016, the Vikings crossed the Thames and harried Warwickshire , while Edmund Ironside's attempts at opposition seem to have come to nothing – the chronicler says the English army disbanded because the king and the citizenry of London were not present. The mid-winter assault by Cnut devastated its way northwards across eastern Mercia . Another summons of
23472-547: The speed of horsemen. Wessex , long ruled by the dynasty of Alfred and Æthelred, submitted to Cnut late in 1015, as it had to his father two years earlier. At this point Eadric Streona , the Ealdorman of Mercia , deserted Æthelred together with 40 ships and their crews and joined forces with Cnut. Another defector was Thorkell the Tall , a Jomsviking chief who had fought against the Viking invasion of Sweyn Forkbeard , with
23635-455: The suggestion they might have a joint kingship, although this found no favour with his brother. Harald is thought to have offered Cnut command of his forces for another invasion of England, on the condition he did not continue to press his claim. In any case, Cnut succeeded in assembling a large fleet with which to launch another invasion. Among the allies of Denmark was Bolesław I the Brave ,
23798-438: The total population of the civil parish are shown in the table below: Shaftesbury Arts Centre was established in 1957 and stages a variety of exhibitions, performances, workshops and training courses. It is based in the old covered market in the town centre and is a charitable company that is run wholly by its volunteer members. Shaftesbury has two museums: Gold Hill Museum at the top of Gold Hill, and Shaftesbury Abbey Museum in
23961-429: The town hall, planning (as a consultee) and the war memorial. Shaftesbury is covered by an electoral ward called Shaftesbury Town, which elects two members to Dorset Council. Prior to changes in 2019 , the town elected one member of Dorset County Council and four members of North Dorset District Council . The old centre of Shaftesbury is sited on a westward-pointing promontory of high ground in northeast Dorset, on
24124-425: The town in the fictional Wessex of his novels such as Jude the Obscure . There is no substantive evidence that Shaftesbury was the "Caer Palladur" (or "Caer Palladwr") of Celtic and Roman times, and instead the town's recorded history dates from Anglo-Saxon times . By the early eighth century there was an important minster church here, and in 880 Alfred the Great founded a burgh (fortified settlement) here as
24287-649: The town is part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . Geologically, Shaftesbury's hill mostly comprises Upper Greensand , which is overlain by Lower Chalk in the east. These date from the Cretaceous , with the greensand having been formed in the Albian and early Cenomanian , and the chalk also in the Cenomanian. The greensand is composed of three beds :
24450-469: The town's name, and the abbey became the wealthiest Benedictine nunnery in England. On 20 February 981 the relics of St Edward the Martyr , the teenage King of England, were transferred from Wareham and received at the abbey with great ceremony, thereafter turning Shaftesbury into a major site of pilgrimage for miracles of healing. King Canute died here in 1035, though he was buried at Winchester . Edward
24613-403: The town: Longmead Industrial Estate, covering 7.7 hectares (19 acres), and Wincombe Business Park, covering 6.5 hectares (16 acres). In 2005 there were 75 shops in the town, with a total floorspace of 7,200 square metres (78,000 sq ft). The retail catchment area for major food shopping extends about 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi (7 km) in all directions. National retail chains with
24776-613: The way they operate. Civil parishes in Scotland were abolished for local government purposes by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 ; the Scottish equivalent of English civil parishes are the community council areas established by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which have fewer powers than their English and Welsh counterparts. There are no equivalent units in Northern Ireland . The parish system in Europe
24939-614: Was a battle fought at Penselwood in Somerset – with a hill in Selwood Forest as the likely location – and a subsequent battle at Sherston , in Wiltshire , which was fought over two days but left neither side victorious. Edmund was able to temporarily relieve London, driving the enemy away and defeating them after crossing the Thames at Brentford . Suffering heavy losses, he withdrew to Wessex to gather fresh troops, and
25102-481: Was a parliamentary constituency returning two members from 1296 to the Reform Act of 1832 , when it was reduced to one, and in 1884 the separate constituency was abolished. In Survey of Dorsetshire , written in about 1630 by Thomas Gerard of the Dorset village of Trent , Shaftesbury is described as a "faire Thorough Faire, much frequented by Travellers to and from London". The town was broadly Parliamentarian in
25265-523: Was built on a small promontory at the western edge of the hill on which the old town was built. The site on Castle Hill, also known locally as Boltbury, is now under grass and is a scheduled monument . In 1240 Cardinal Otto of Tonengo , legate to the Apostolic See of Pope Gregory IX visited the abbey and confirmed a charter of 1191, the first entered in the Glastonbury chartulary. During
25428-498: Was established between the 8th and 12th centuries, and an early form was long established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest . These areas were originally based on the territory of manors , which, in some cases, derived their bounds from Roman or Iron Age estates; some large manors were sub-divided into several parishes. Initially, churches and their priests were the gift and continued patronage (benefaction) of
25591-410: Was informed that greater danger was approaching us than we liked at all; and then I went myself with the men who accompanied me to Denmark, from where the greatest injury had come to us, and with God's help I have made it so that never henceforth shall hostility reach you from there as long as you support me rightly and my life lasts. Now I thank Almighty God for his help and his mercy, that I have settled
25754-428: Was initially kept under Cnut's personal control, while Northumbria went to Erik of Hlathir , East Anglia to Thorkell the Tall , and Mercia remained in the hands of Eadric Streona . This initial distribution of power was short-lived. The chronically treacherous Eadric was executed within a year of Cnut's accession. Mercia passed to one of the leading families of the region, probably first to Leofwine , ealdorman of
25917-558: Was off the English or Danish shores. He himself mentions troubles in his 1019 letter (to England, from Denmark), written as the King of England and Denmark. These events can be seen, with plausibility, to be in connection with the death of Harald. Cnut says he dealt with dissenters to ensure Denmark was free to assist England: King Cnut greets in friendship his archbishop and his diocesan bishops and Earl Thurkil and all his earls ... ecclesiastic and lay, in England ... I inform you that I will be
26080-461: Was still alive at this point. Entry of his brother's name in the Canterbury codex may have been Cnut's attempt to make his vengeance for Harald's murder good with the Church. This may have been just a gesture for a soul to be under the protection of God. There is evidence Cnut was in battle with "pirates" in 1018, with his destruction of the crews of thirty ships, although it is unknown if this
26243-546: Was the Danish king at the time of the Christianization of Denmark ; he became one of the first Scandinavian kings to accept Christianity . The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg and the Encomium Emmae report Cnut's mother as having been Świętosława , a daughter of Mieszko I of Poland . Norse sources of the High Middle Ages , most prominently Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson , also give
26406-497: Was the younger of the two brothers according to Encomium Emmae . Some hint of Cnut's childhood can be found in the Flateyjarbók , a 13th-century Icelandic source that says he was taught his soldiery by the chieftain Thorkell the Tall , brother to Sigurd , Jarl of Jomsborg , and the legendary Jomsvikings , at their stronghold on the island of Wollin , off the coast of Pomerania . His date of birth, like his mother's name,
26569-506: Was weak and ultimately did not last by the time of Cnut's death. Dominion of England lent the Danes an important link to the maritime zone between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland , where Cnut, like his father before him, had a strong interest and wielded much influence among the Norse–Gaels . Cnut's possession of England's dioceses and the continental Diocese of Denmark – with
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