River Tarrant

The River Tarrant is a 12 km long tributary of the River Stour in Dorset. The valley lies to the east of Blandford Forum and runs through Cranborne Chase, an area of chalk downland. The eight Tarrant Valley villages all bear the name of the river. Listed in order from the river's source they are:

• Tarrant Gunville: the source of the river is in the grounds of Gunville House, now demolished
• Tarrant Hinton: a village at a crossroads, with a parish church
• Tarrant Launceston: a hamlet with a 3-arched 17th-century bridge.
• Tarrant Monkton: a village with a parish church
• Tarrant Rawston: a very small settlement
• Tarrant Rushton: a village with a parish church. Near here was a World War II RAF airfield.
• Tarrant Keyneston: this is the largest village of the eight; has a parish church
• Tarrant Crawford, the final settlement, lies at the confluence of the rivers Tarrant and Stour. Here there is the church of St Mary the Virgin and Tarrant Abbey farm, where once stood a nunnery.

There were three other Tarrant Communities;

• Tarrant Stubhampton north of Tarrant Gunville and part of that Parish: This is now known as Stubhampton.
• Tarrant Antioch which may have been an earlier name for Tarrant Rawston, or may have been a distinct community just north of Tarrant Rawston. Tarrant Antioch was served by St Mary Tarrant Crawford, where there was a devotion to St Margaret of Antioch.
• Tarrant Preston: This was a hamlet and still exists marked by Preston Farm.

Churches also existed once at Tarrant Launceston (the site is on Higher Dairy Farm), and Tarrant Rawston (which still exists but in private ownership). In the Middle Ages there was a Church at Tarrant Stubhampton. The Church at Tarrant Crawford is looked after by the Redundant Churches Commission, and the Parish is united with Tarrant Keyneston.

A Roman road followed the valley and there are many tumuli on the hills on both sides of the river, evidence of long occupation.

External links

• Media related to River Tarrant at Wikimedia Commons
• Article on Tarrant Valley
• Tarrant Rushton airfield