Worth Matravers

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Worth Matravers
latitude= 50.59722
longitude= -2.03668
map_type=Dorset
population=644 (parish)
civil_parish=Worth Matravers
shire_district= Purbeck
shire_county= Dorset
region= South West England
constituency_westminster=South Dorset
os_grid_reference= SY975775

Worth Matravers is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The village is situated on the cliffs west of Swanage. It comprises limestone cottages and farm houses and is built around a pond, which is a regular feature on postcards of the Isle of Purbeck.

The civil parish stretches from the coast northwards to, and just beyond, the A351 road from Corfe Castle to Swanage. The village of Worth Matravers is situated on side roads towards the south of the parish, which also includes the village of Harman's Cross on the main road to the north.cite book | title = OS Explorer Map OL15 - Purbeck & South Dorset | publisher = Ordnance Survey | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-0-319-23865-3 ]

Geography

To the south of Worth Matravers village are the limestone cliffs of the English Channel coast. These are situated on the South West Coast Path and the Jurassic Coast (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). This coastline is popular with tourists in the Summer months, with the rocky beaches of Winspit, Seacombe and Chapman's Pool situated within walking distance of the village.

To the north of the village, but still within the parish, are the chalk Purbeck Hills. Many tourists pass through this area on the Swanage Railway, a steam locomotive operated heritage railway. Harman's Cross railway station on that railway is within the parish, but a significant distance from the village of Worth Matravers.

The parish has an area of 10.98 square kilometres. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 644 living in 341 dwellings. The parish forms part of the Purbeck local government district. It is within the South Dorset constituency of the House of Commons and the South West England constituency of the European Parliament.cite web | title = Worth Matravers - Dorset For You | url = http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=324171 | publisher = Dorset For You Partnership | accessdate = 2007-08-14] cite book | title = OS Explorer Map OL15 - Purbeck & South Dorset | publisher = Ordnance Survey | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-0-319-23865-3 ] cite web | url = http://www.purbeck.gov.uk/pdf/Parish%20Statistics1.pdf | title = Parish Statistics | publisher = Purbeck District Council | date = 2007-01-11 | accessdate = 2007-08-12]

Economy

Traditionally the village's economy was based on farming, quarrying and fishing. Today, two quarries - Swanworth and St. Aldhelm's - are still in operation, with Swanworth due to close within the next five years. Both arable and pasture farming are still central to the village's economy.

Places of interest

A monument on St Aldhelm's head, about a mile from the village, commemorates the development of radar by the Telecommunications Research Establishment at RAF Worth Matravers during World War II, which proved decisive in the allied victory of that war.

The village is also well known for its popular pub, the "Square and Compass" , which holds an annual week-long stone carving festival and accommodates a small museum exhibiting fossils and other local artefacts. The "Square and Compass" , has become a non smoking pub, from early summer 2006. As of 2007, The "Square and Compass" has been in same family hands for 100 years, at present being run by Charlie Newman, successor to his father Raymond.

Miscellaneous

*In 2004, local fishermen were targeted with a vicious sabotage campaign by the so-called "Lobster Liberation Front", a fringe animal rights group operating in the area.

*The tombs of Benjamin Jesty, a farmer who is reported to have vaccinated his family against Smallpox having made the same observations as Edward Jenner and a while earlier, but kept quiet about it, and his wife are side by side in the churchyard. Jesty's family may be the first recorded deliberate attempt to induce immunity to Smallpox using Cowpox, or it may have been a more widespread activity prior to its systematisation.

*The Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Phillips, took Worth Matravers as the territorial designation of his title. He speaks highly of the Square and Compass.

References

External links

* [http://www.nci-st-albans.org.uk National Coastwatch Institution St Alban's Head Official Website]
* [http://www.purbeckradar.org.uk/ Purbeck Radar Museum Trust website] - Early radar development at Worth Matravers 1940-1942
* [http://www.worthmatravers.org.uk/ Worth Matravers official site] - "a picturesque stone village in the heart of the Purbeck Hills"
* [http://www.keeping-chickens.co.uk/looking-after-chickens-whilst-on-holiday Description of Worth Matravers village and the Square & Compass Pub] - Description of the Square & Compass pub in Worth Matravers and their pub chickens.

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