Chettle
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox UK place Chettle is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies Template:Convert northeast of Blandford Forum.<ref>Chettle village website Template:Webarchive</ref> It is sited at the head of a gently sloping valley on the dip slope of the chalk formation called Cranborne Chase. The A354 trunk road crosses the valley about 1 km to the south. In 2013 the estimated population of the civil parish was 90.<ref name=dcc/>
A 2008 report indicated that the entire village was owned by the Bourke family and operated in the mode of "benevolent feudalism". A news item from 2015 confirmed the ownership and provided the following update about the community:<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The tiny hamlet, with its hotel, manor house, 40 cottages, farms and lumber yard has belonged to the Bourke family for more than 400 years, in a benign throwback to feudal times.
Chettle House, the village manor, is a red brick Baroque mansion designed by Thomas Archer, a pupil of Vanbrugh, and built by the Bastard brothers of Blandford Forum during the reign of Queen Anne.<ref name= Gant>Gant, R., Dorset Villages, Hale, 1980, p40</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Pevsner called it "the plum among Dorset houses of the early 18th century, and even nationally outstanding as a specimen of English Baroque".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Two rounded ends were added to the house in 1912.<ref name= Gant/>
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From the 1950s to 2015 the house was a series of flats. After 2015, extensive renovations were completed by new owners; the house and gardens were closed to the public.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A book about Chettle, "Enduring Village", was published in August, 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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