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Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in the North Dorset district of Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about northwest of Poole. It is the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District Council. Blandford is notable for its Georgian architecture, the result of rebuilding after the majority of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1731. The rebuilding work was assisted by an Act of Parliament and a donation by George II, and the rebuilt town centre—to designs by local architects John and William Bastard—has survived to the present day largely intact. Blandford Camp, a military base, is sited on the hills two miles to the north east of the town. It is the base of the Royal Corps of Signals, the communications wing of the British Army, and the site of the Royal Signals Museum. Dorset County Council estimates that in 2013 the town's civil parish had a population of 10,610. The town's economy is based on a mix of the service sector and light industry, and provides employment for about 4,000 people. ==History== 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. The name Blandford derives from the Old English ''blǣge'', and probably means ford where gudgeon or blay are found.〔''OED, ''s.v.'' "blay".〕 By the 13th century it had become a market town with a livestock market serving the nearby Blackmore Vale with its many dairy farms. At the start of the 14th century it returned two members of parliament and was also known as ''Cheping Blandford''. The Latin word ''Forum'', meaning ''market'', was recorded in 1540.〔Mills, A. D., 1986. ''Dorset Place Names''. Ensign, Southampton.〕 In ''Survey of Dorsetshire'', written by Thomas Gerard of Trent in the early 1630s, Blandford was described as "a faire Markett Towne, pleasantlie seated upon the River ... well inhabitted and of good Traffique".〔Bettey, pp.68, 128-9〕 In the 17th-century English Civil War Blandford was a Royalist centre; most inhabitants supported the king.〔Bettey, p.111〕 In the 18th century Blandford was one of several lace-making centres in the county; Daniel Defoe stated that lace made in the town was "the finest bonelace in England... I think I never saw better in Flanders, France or Italy".〔Bettey, p.76〕 In the 17th and 18th centuries Blandford was also a malting and brewing centre of some significance.〔Bettey, p.81〕 Almost all of Blandford's buildings were destroyed on 4 June 1731 by the "great fire", which was the last of several serious fires that occurred in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The fire began in a tallow chandler's workshop on a site that is now The King's Arms public house. Within a few hours almost 90% of the town's fabric had gone; all fire-fighting equipment had been lost to the fire and the church's lead roof had melted. Even properties west of the river in Blandford St Mary and Bryanston were burned, though notable buildings that survived in the town include the Ryves Almshouses and Dale House in Salisbury Street, Old House in The Close, and much of East Street. An Act of Parliament was introduced that stated that rebuilding work must be in brick and tile and should begin within four years. With assistance from the rest of the country—including £1,000 given by George II—the town was rebuilt over the next ten years to the designs of local architects John and William Bastard. Bottlenecks were removed and streets realigned in the new town plan, which also provided a wider market place. As well as residential and commercial property, new buildings included a new town hall, school and church. The redesigned town centre has survived to the present day virtually intact.〔 After the post-fire reconstruction Blandford remained a thriving market town.〔 Wool spinning and button making were also significant, and the brewing and hostelry trades expanded.〔 The turnpike road between Salisbury and Dorchester was made in 1756 and passed through the town,〔Bettey, p85〕 and the arrival of the coaching era increased the town's prosperity,〔 though the built fabric of the town changed little until the first half of the 19th century, when houses for wealthier inhabitants were built to the north alongside the roads to Salisbury and Shaftesbury. Later in the 19th century, perhaps following the installation of piped water, more densely packed buildings were built to the northeast, replacing gardens and barracks for the poor (that had been erected following the fire) between the roads to Salisbury and Wimborne Minster. Rail transport arrived in Blandford in the 1860s, though this didn't impact greatly on the town's economy.〔 Blandford's weekly animal market disappeared in the 20th century, perhaps a casualty of motorised transport that enabled larger markets to be held in fewer centres (the market at nearby Sturminster Newton increased significantly). By the middle of the 20th century Blandford Fair, a seasonal sheep fair held in summer and autumn, had also disappeared, due to changes in animal husbandry and a reduction in sheep numbers in the county. In the early 21st century a number of private housing developments were built in and around the town. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blandford Forum」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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