Sydling St Nicholas
Encyclopedia
Sydling St Nicholas is a village in the county of Dorset
in southwest England
. It is situated in the West Dorset
district of the county, about nine miles northwest of the county town of Dorchester. It is sited on Sydling Water
, a tributary
of the River Frome
. Sydling Water divides upon entering the village, and many cottages are reached across small bridges. The valley of Sydling Water is one of several roughly parallel valleys which cut into the Dorset Downs
, a line of chalk
hills that run across the centre of the county. The village lies at an altitude of 110 metres (360 feet), the surrounding chalk hills rise to approximately 225 to 265 metres (740 to 870 feet). The A37 Dorchester-Yeovil
main road runs along the top of the hills about 1 mile to the west. the village had a population of 401, with 9.6% of dwellings being second homes.
Sydling St Nicholas once constituted a liberty
, containing only the parish itself. The 15th century parish church has a waggon roof and Norman
font. In 1905 Sir Frederick Treves
described the village as "the most charming in the district".
North of the village is the hamlet of Up Sydling
.
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...
in southwest England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is situated in the West Dorset
West Dorset
West Dorset is a local government district and parliamentary constituency in Dorset, England. Its council is based in Dorchester. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, and was a merger of the boroughs of Bridport, Dorchester and Lyme Regis, along with...
district of the county, about nine miles northwest of the county town of Dorchester. It is sited on Sydling Water
Sydling Water
The Sydling Water is an eight km long river in Dorset, England, which flows from north to south from Up Sydling until it joins the River Frome near Grimstone....
, a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of 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:...
. Sydling Water divides upon entering the village, and many cottages are reached across small bridges. The valley of Sydling Water is one of several roughly parallel valleys which cut into the Dorset Downs
Dorset Downs
The Dorset Downs are an area of Chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger Chalk Formation which also includes Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, Hampshire Downs, Chiltern Hills, North Downs and South Downs.The Dorset...
, a line of chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
hills that run across the centre of the county. The village lies at an altitude of 110 metres (360 feet), the surrounding chalk hills rise to approximately 225 to 265 metres (740 to 870 feet). The A37 Dorchester-Yeovil
Yeovil
Yeovil is a town and civil parish in south Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 27,949 at the 2001 census, although the wider urban area had a population of 42,140...
main road runs along the top of the hills about 1 mile to the west. the village had a population of 401, with 9.6% of dwellings being second homes.
Sydling St Nicholas once constituted a 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...
, containing only the parish itself. The 15th century parish church has a waggon roof and Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
font. In 1905 Sir Frederick Treves
Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet
Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet, GCVO, CH, CB was a prominent British surgeon of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, now most famous for his friendship with Joseph Merrick, "the Elephant Man".-Eminent surgeon:...
described the village as "the most charming in the district".
North of the village is the hamlet of Up Sydling
Up Sydling
Up Sydling is a hamlet in west Dorset, England, at the head of Sydling Water, a tributary of the River Frome, ten miles north of Dorchester. The hamlet is in the parish of Sydling St Nicholas, about a mile north of the village....
.