North Dorset is a local government district in Dorset, England. It is largely rural, but includes the towns of Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Stalbridge and Sturminster Newton. Much of North Dorset is in the River Stour valley and is called the Blackmore Vale. The economy of North Dorset is largely dairy agriculture based.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, from the municipal boroughs of Blandford Forum, Shaftesbury, Blandford Rural District, Shaftesbury Rural District and Sturminster Rural District.
At the 2001 UK census North Dorset had a population of 61,905, a rise of 8,300 from 1991, with 25,248 households.
North Dorset is home to North Dorset Rugby Football Club
Read more about North Dorset: Settlements
Famous quotes containing the word north:
“We have heard all of our lives how, after the Civil War was over, the South went back to straighten itself out and make a living again. It was for many years a voiceless part of the government. The balance of power moved away from it—to the north and the east. The problems of the north and the east became the big problem of the country and nobody paid much attention to the economic unbalance the South had left as its only choice.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)