Fordington is a part of the town of Dorchester, Dorset; originally a separate village, it has now become a suburb. Taking its name from a ford across the River Frome

River Frome, Dorset

The River Frome is a river in Dorset in the south of England. At 30 miles long it is the major chalkstream in southwest England. It is navigable upstream from Poole Harbour as far as the town of Wareham.-Geography:...

, it grew up around the church of St. George (where Henry Moule

Henry Moule

Henry Moule was a priest in the Church of England and inventor of the dry earth closet.-Education and priesthood:Moule, sixth son of George Moule, solicitor and banker, was born at Melksham, Wiltshire, on 27 January 1801, and educated at Marlborough grammar school. He was elected a foundation...

 was once Vicar), though the parish was much larger and surrounded Dorchester on three sides. It was part of the liberty

Liberty (division)

Originating in the Middle Ages, a liberty was traditionally defined as an area in which regalian rights were revoked and where land was held by a mesne lord...

 of Fordington

Fordington (liberty)

Fordington Liberty was a liberty in the county of Dorset, England, containing the following parishes:* Fordington* Hermitage* Minterne Magna * Stockland...

The will of Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...

 is said to make an early reference to Saint George

Saint George

Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...

 of England, in the context of the church of Fordington

Fordington

Fordington may refer to:*Fordington, Dorset, a suburb of Dorchester, England* Fordington, Lincolnshire, England...

, Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

. Certainly at Fordington a stone over the south door records the miraculous appearance of St George to lead crusaders into battle.