Bere Regis, United Kingdom
Bere Regis is a town of 1,304 people in England, United Kingdom.
Why visit Bere Regis
Townapedia lists 9 museums and landmarks, 1 park or trail, 3 places to eat, 1 place to stay and 5 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Clouds Hill and Duropolis.
Weather in Bere Regis
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Bere Regis
Bere Regis () is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Wareham. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 1,745.
From the Wikipedia article Bere Regis (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do5
Museums and landmarks9
Clouds Hill
Museum · 2.9 mi
Home of Lawrence of Arabia located in Dorset, England.
Duropolis
Monument and historic site · 1.8 mi
Archaeological site in Winterborne Kingston, Dorset, England, UK
Woodbury Hill Camp
Monument and historic site · 0.5 mi
Hillfort in Dorset, England, UK
Parks, trails and playgrounds1
Restaurants and cafes3
History
Woodbury Hill, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) east of Bere Regis village, is the site of an Iron Age contour hill-fort, the ramparts of which enclose 12 acres (4.9 ha) on a flat-topped spur of land.
The original settlements in the parish were Shitterton, Bere Regis village and Dodding's Farm, which are all sited by the Bere or Milborne Stream. Later settlements were small farms in the Piddle Valley to the south, first recorded between the mid 13th and mid 14th centuries.
Edward I made Bere Regis a free borough and it was an important market town for a long period, though all domestic buildings built before 1600 have since been destroyed by serious fires in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
In 1905 or 1906, the Bere Regis Arts and Crafts Association was set up by Sarah Bere, who was the wife of the vicar. The group's aim was to revitalise the traditional crafts of raffia basket-making and smock-frock-making. A smock made by the group was bought by or presented to Queen Alexandra in 1910. The association ceased to function about 1919. Some smocks made by its members are in the Museum of English Rural Life; they have Dorset buttons.
Read more of the history
Having suffered extensive fires throughout its history, including the most serious in 1777, the village has lost many of its older buildings. There is, however, a selection of Georgian and Victorian buildings. The nearby hamlet of Shitterton, protected by the Bere River from the fires, still retains an extensive selection of older buildings, predominantly thatch.
The oldest parts of the parish church of St John the Baptist are of the 12th century, but additions were made in the following three centuries. The tower is built of stone-and-flint chequerwork, and the timber roof of the nave is said to have been the gift of Cardinal John Morton. Features of interest include the arcades, some 16th-century seating and a number of Purbeck marble monuments. The Victorian and later stained glass is of poor quality.
From the History section of Bere Regis on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
More about Bere Regis
Geography
Bere Regis village is sited by the side of the small Bere River or Bere Stream, a tributary of the River Piddle, where the chalk of the Dorset Downs, to the north, dips beneath newer deposits of clay, sands and gravels. The village is situated at the western terminus of the A31 road (Guildford – Bere Regis), where it joins the A35 (Southampton – Honiton), although both roads now bypass the village. The local travel hubs are Wareham railway station, 6 miles (9.7 km) from the village, and Bournemouth Airport, 17 miles (27 km) away.
To the south-east of the village a large conifer plantation, Wareham Forest, stretches several miles to Wareham. To the west is Dorchester, north is Blandford Forum and east is Bournemouth. Further to the south is the chalk ridge of the Purbeck Hills, and 10 miles (16 km) to the south is the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site on the English Channel.
Arts and culture
The village has one village school: Bere Regis Primary & Pre-School located in Southbrook. This is a mixed primary school for children aged 4–10.
The village featured in several novels of Thomas Hardy, most notably, Tess of the D'Urbervilles. The village was portrayed as 'Kingsbere', and the D'Urberville family was based on the de Turberville family of Bere Regis.
The village has sheltered housing accommodation, Cyril Wood Court, for older people who have worked in the arts. It was opened in 1988. The accommodation was refurbished in 2010.
Bere Regis has a village sports club and playing fields which can be used for different sports. Bere Regis FC are one of the oldest Football Clubs in England and in Dorset, having been formed in 1885 when they were known as the 'Arabs'.
From the Wikipedia article Bere Regis, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to stay1
Churches and places of worship5
Shopping1
Gas and EV charging1
Schools, colleges and libraries1
Map of Bere Regis
27 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Bournemouth Airport (BOH) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 16 miles away.
- Puddletown 6 mi west, about 9 min by car
- Charlton Marshall 7 mi northeast, about 10 min by car
- Sturminster Marshall 7 mi northeast, about 11 min by car
- Blandford Forum 8 mi north, about 12 min by car
- Poole 10 mi east, about 17 min by car
- Dorchester 10 mi west, about 16 min by car
- Broadstone 10 mi east, about 16 min by car
- Wimborne Minster 10 mi east, about 17 min by car
- Shillingstone 10 mi north, about 16 min by car
- Charminster 10 mi west, about 17 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Bere Regis
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Bere Regis Church (roof), Hadrianus1959, CC BY-SA 4.0
- CloudsHill1, LordHarris at English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5
- Duropolis 7, Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry, CC BY-SA 4.0
- St Andrew's Church, Winterborne Tomson, Trish Steel, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Street-level photo, noid, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
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