Long Bredy

Long Bredy is a village in the civil parish of Long Bredy and Kingston Russell, in the county of Dorset in south-west England, situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of the county town Dorchester. It is sited in the valley of the small River Bride, beneath chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 208.^[1] On 1 April 2024 the parish was abolished and merged with Kingston Russell to form "Long Bredy and Kingston Russell".^[2]

Long Bredy
St Peter's church, Long Bredy
Long Bredy Location within Dorset
Population	208 [1]
OS grid reference	SY569903
Civil parish	Long Bredy and Kingston Russell
Unitary authority	Dorset
Shire county	Dorset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Dorchester
Postcode district	DT2
Police	Dorset
Fire	Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	West Dorset
List of places UK England Dorset 50.7082°N 2.6118°W / 50.7082; -2.6118

The environs of Long Bredy have some prehistoric history, including a burial chamber known as The Grey Mare and her Colts. The village itself is thought to have been established around the 9th century, and in 1086 was recorded in the Domesday Book as 'Langebride', which would have been pronounced 'Langabridda'.^[3] To the east of the village is Kingston Russell house, a 17th-century mansion.

Bottle Knap Cottage, owned by the National Trust, is a Grade II listed building.^[4] In May 2013 human skeletal remains were discovered near the cottage^[5] which dated back to approximately 800 to 600 BC, according to radiocarbon dating. Martin Papworth, an archaeologist with the National Trust, said, "The remains are of three teenage or young adults, probably crouched, are all from around the period when the first iron was being used in this country. No other burials in Dorset have been identified from this time."^[6]

Notable people

• George Richards (died 1746) Member of Parliament for Bridport was born in Long Bredy.^[7]

Notes

1. "Area: Long Bredy (Parish), Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
2. "Dorset Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
3. C. J. Bailey (1982). "Extracts from C.J. Bailey's Book "The Bride Valley"". www.burtonbradstock.org.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
4. Stuff, Good. "Bottle Knap Cottage, Long Bredy, Dorset". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk.
5. "Lacock". Archaeology National Trust SW.
6. "Ancient bones found in West Dorset dig are 'significant find'". Dorset Echo.
7. "RICHARDS, George (d.1746), of Long Bredy, nr. Bridport, Dorset. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 20 April 2024.

External links