Verwood

St Michael & All Angels, Verwood
  © Copyright Chris Downer and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Verwood is a town and civil parish in eastern Dorset. The town lies 10 miles north of Bournemouth and 13 miles north east of Poole. The civil parish comprises the town of Verwood together with the extended village of Three Legged Cross, and in 2014 had a population of 15,170. The Parish was originally formed in 1894, having previously been part of the parish of Cranborne.

Verwood was originally recorded as Beau Bois (Norman French: "beautiful wood") in 1288, and it was not until 1329 that it got the name Verwood, which developed from Fairwood or The Fayrewood. Verwood is recorded as "Fairwod" (1329) and as "Fayrwod" (1436); this name has the meaning "fair wood" and the modern form shows the change of initial "f" to "v" characteristic of many Southwestern English dialects.

The East Dorset pottery industry, known collectively as Verwood Pottery, thrived from early times on the clay soils of the neighbourhood which had ample firing material close at hand. The major production was of domestic earthenware although finer and more unusual pieces have been found from earlier times. In the latter days ornamental and novelty items were produced.

Stephens Castle is an Iron Age barrow set in a SSSI site (site of special scientific interest), to the North of Verwood and at the top of an old sand and gravel quarry. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The barrow was excavated by archaeologists in 1828, where human remains dating back to the Iron Age were found. The Stephen Stone is now well hidden amongst pine trees, surrounded by boggy ground. Located approximately 400m north-east from Stephen's Castle, legend has it that Stephen was a local tribal chief of great strength. He was supposed to have hurled the 'Stephen stone' half a mile into Ringwood Forest, no mean feat as the stone weighs around 3 tonnes. In 1220 Stephen's Stone was recorded as "LE HORESTONE" and there was a boundary point in this area so it could be a boundary stone.

Town Council Offices and Methodist Church, Verwood
  © Copyright Chris Downer and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

The post of Online Parish Clerk (OPC) is currently vacant
If you would like to volunteer for the role, please contact the OPC Project Co-ordinator
Contributions of additional resource materials for the site are always welcome