Editing Affpuddle (section)

==History==
The village was established during or before the [[Saxon people|Saxon]] era, and was mentioned in the [[Domesday Book]] as ''Affapidela'', having a [[manor house]] belonging to the [[Abbot]] of [[Cerne Abbas|Cerne]].  After the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|Dissolution]] the village became an estate of the Lawrence family, an ancestor of whom married the heiress of a branch of the Washington family, from another branch of which descended [[George Washington]]. The Washington [[coat of arms|arms]] was quartered by the Lawrences and thus appears on the north wall of the [[chancel]] in the village church on a Lawrence monument.  The church of St Laurence is noted for its elaborate [[pew]]s, dated 1545 or 1547, and the finely carved [[pulpit]], undated but in a very similar style. The church dates from the 13th century but was enlarged by an aisle and a tower in the 15th century. Other features of interest are the Norman font and south doorway.<ref>Betjeman, John, ed. (1968) ''Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches; the South''. London: Collins; p. 171</ref>

The earliest records in Dorset of the agricultural practice of flooding fields to form [[watermeadow]]s refer to Affpuddle in the early 17th century; Edward Lawrence, the lord of the manor at the time, was interested in agricultural improvement and favoured the use of flooding here and in neighbouring [[Briantspuddle|Briantspiddle]] and Pallington, where he also had manors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bahs.org.uk/AGHR/ARTICLES/25n1a5.pdf|accessdate=6 November 2013|author=J H Bettey|publisher=bahs.org.uk (British Agricultural History Society) (scan)|title=The Development of Water Meadows in Dorset during the Seventeenth Century|pages=37–8}}</ref>

The village later belonged to the Framptons of [[Moreton, Dorset|Moreton]], noted for their involvement with the [[Tolpuddle Martyrs]]. John Lock who gave key evidence against them also lived in the village.