Blandford Forum in History and Literature

The parish church of St Peter and St Paul is a classical building with a copula on top of the tower and was built in 1732.

Blandford has been a fording point since Anglo-Saxon times, when it was recorded as Blaen-y-ford and as Blaneford in the Domesday Book, meaning ford of the river of blay or gudgeon. By the 13th century it had become an important market town, with a livestock market serving the nearby Blackmore Vale with its many Dairy farms. The Latin word Forum, meaning market, was recorded in 1540. It was an important break on the journey between the port of Weymouth and the capital London. There is still a bi-weekly market held in the town.

In 1731 much of the town was destroyed in a fire. John Bastard and William Bastard rebuilt the town over the following 30 years and the town centre is an excellent example of Georgian architecture from the 1730s to 1760s.

Blandford is the "Shottesford Forum" of Thomas Hardy's novels.

In 1590, Edmund Spenser mentioned the town in The Faerie Queene.

Blandford Forum railway station was mentioned in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann.

(Source: Wikipedia 13/07/2006)