| Gillingham | |
|---|---|
 High Street, Gillingham | |
  Gillingham Location withinDorset | |
| Population | 11,756 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | ST805265 |
| • London | 98.4 mi (158.4 km)ENE |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | GILLINGHAM |
| Postcode district | SP8 |
| Dialling code | 01747 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°02′15″N2°16′29″W / 51.0375°N 2.2748°W /51.0375; -2.2748 | |
Gillingham (/ˈɡɪlɪŋəm/ ⓘGHIL-ing-əm) is a town andcivil parish in theBlackmore Vale area ofDorset, England. It lies on the B3095 and B3081 roads, approximately four miles (six kilometres) south of theA303 trunk road and five miles (eight kilometres) northwest ofShaftesbury. It is the most northerly town in the county. In the2011 census the civil parish had a population of 11,756. The neighbouring hamlets ofPeacemarsh, Bay and Wyke have become part of Gillingham as it has expanded.
Gillingham is pronounced with a hard initial "g" (/ɡ/), unlikeGillingham, Kent, which is pronounced with a soft "g" (/dʒ/).
There is aStone Agebarrow[2] in the town, and evidence ofRoman settlement in the 2nd and 3rd centuries; however the town was established by theSaxons. Thechurch of St Mary the Virgin has aSaxoncross shaft dating from the 9th century.[3]
The name Gillingham was used for the town in its 10th century Saxoncharter, and also in an entry for 1016 in the annals, as the location of a battle between KingEdmund Ironside and Danish KingCnut.[citation needed] In theDomesday Book in 1086 it is recorded asGelingeham,[4] and later spellings includeGellingeham in 1130,Gyllingeham in 1152 andGilingeham in 1209.[citation needed] The name derives from a personal name plus theOld Englishinga andhām, and means a homestead of the family or followers of a man called Gylla.[4]
Half of the town's population of 2,000 died of theBlack Death in the four months following October 1348.[5]
In theMiddle Ages, Gillingham was the site of a royal hunting lodge, visited by KingsHenry I,Henry II,John andHenry III. A nearby royal forest,Gillingham Forest, was set aside for the king'sdeer. The lodge fell into disrepair and was destroyed in 1369 byEdward III.
Edward Rawson, the first secretary to theMassachusetts Bay Colony, was born in Gillingham.
Gillingham became a local farming centre, gained the firstgrammar school in Dorset in 1516 and asilk mill in 1769. Gillingham's church has a 14th-centurychancel, though most of the rest of the building was built in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many other buildings in the town are ofTudor origin.
In the 1820s, the artistJohn Constable stayed at Gillingham vicarage and, being impressed by the beauty of the countryside, executed several local sketches and paintings. His painting of the old town bridge is in theTate Gallery.[6] In the 1850s, the arrival of the railway to the town brought prosperity and new industries includingbrickmaking, cheese production,printing, soap manufacture and at the end of the 19th century one of the firstpetrol engine plants in the country. In theSecond World War Gillingham's position on the railway from London toExeter was key to its rapid growth. In 1940 and 1941 there was large-scaleevacuation of London and other industrial cities to rural towns, particularly in the north, southwest andWales. Gillingham grew rapidly because of this.[citation needed]
Gillingham was the centre of aliberty of the same name.
In the 2011 census Gillingham civil parish had 5,345 dwellings,[7] 5,107 households and a population of 11,756.[1]
The population of the parish in the censuses between 1921 and 2011 is shown in the table below:
| Census Population of Gillingham Parish 1921—2011(except 1941) | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census | 1921 | 1931 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | |||||
| Population | 3,294 | 3,274 | 3,352 | 3,619 | 4,050 | 5,440 | 6,740 | 9,340 | 11,756 | |||||
| Source:Dorset County Council[8] | ||||||||||||||
Gillingham is divided into fourelectoral wards for Town Council: Gillingham Town, Lodbourne, Milton and Wyke. Their total population in the2011 census was 9,799. They form part of theconstituency ofNorth Dorset, which is currently represented in the UK parliament by theConservativeSimon Hoare.[9]
After2019 structural changes to local government in England, theGillingham ward has elected three councillors toDorset Council.[10]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved. Find sources: "Gillingham, Dorset" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
_-_Gillingham_Bridge%2c_Dorset_-_NG1244_-_Tate.jpg)
Gillingham has good transport links, being 4 miles (6 kilometres) south of theA303, the main road from London to theSouth West, and having arailway station on theExeter to London railway line.Salisbury is about 30 minutes away by train, and 50 minutes by car. It is approximately two hours into central London, with trains arriving atWaterloo.
The town has 70 shops and two commercial estates (Brickfields Business Park and Brickfields Industrial Estate) and the Gillingham education area has 7 primary schools[citation needed](4 in the town) and 1 secondary school.
The town plays host to the annual 'Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show', which is an agricultural show held every August at the showground on the outskirts of the town. Gillingham Town Carnival is held every October.
The biggest sports club in the town isNorth Dorset Rugby Club. This is located at Slaughtergate on the west side of Gillingham. The town also has aNon-League football club,Gillingham Town, which plays at Woodwater Lane.
Until 2009, when it ceased for financial reasons, Gillingham hosted an annual 10-day festival of music and sport. Gillingham has had a brass band since 1928 and perform at civic events and carnivals.
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC West andITV West Country. Television signals are received from theMendip TV transmitter.[11]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Solent,BBC Radio Somerset can also be received,Heart West,Greatest Hits Radio South (formerlyVale FM) and Alfred Radio, a community radio station which broadcast fromShaftesbury.[12]
The town is served by the local newspapers, Gillingham News andDorset Echo.[13]
Porter, John (2013).Gillingham's royal forest : the medieval centuries. Gillingham: Gillingham Museum.ISBN 9780992706302.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
