Editing Litton Cheney

{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Dorset, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
|static_image_name = Litton Cheney, parish church of St. Mary - geograph.org.uk - 516491.jpg
|static_image_caption = Parish church of St Mary
|country = England
|coordinates = {{coord|50.7139|-2.6358|display=inline,title}}
|map_type = Dorset
|official_name = Litton Cheney
|population = 359
|population_ref = <ref name=ons>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11125785&c=Litton+Cheney&d=16&e=62&g=6418383&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1393275131002&enc=1|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]|title=Area: Litton Cheney (Parish), Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|access-date=24 February 2014}}</ref>
|unitary_england = [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset]]
|lieutenancy_england = [[Dorset]]
|post_town = Dorchester
|postcode_area = DT
|postcode_district = DT2
|constituency_westminster = [[West Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|West Dorset]]
|region = South West England
|os_grid_reference = SY552907
|website = [http://www.littoncheney.org.uk/ Village website]
}}

'''Litton Cheney''' is a village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the county of [[Dorset]] in south-west [[England]]. It lies {{convert|9|mi|km}} west of the county town [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]]. It is sited beneath [[chalk]] hills in the valley of the small River Bride. In the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] the parish had a [[population]] of 359.<ref name=ons/>

On Pins Knoll, to the west of the village, was once an [[Iron Age]] settlement, excavated in 1959.<ref name=Gant>{{cite book|author=Roland Gant|title=Dorset Villages|publisher=Robert Hale Ltd|year=1980|pages=160–1|isbn=0-7091-8135-3}}</ref> On the same site, in the 4th century, there was also a [[Romano-British]] building.<ref name=Gant/>

The parish church of St Mary was [[Victorian restoration|substantially restored]] in 1878, though it retains features—notably the tower, [[Chancel|chancel arch]] and parts of the [[nave]] and porch—from the 14th and 15th centuries and has a [[Baptismal font|font bowl]] which is probably [[Norman architecture|Norman]]; the site originated at this time or earlier.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/litton_cheney.htm|publisher=The Dorset Historic Churches Trust|title=Litton Cheney, St Mary|access-date=25 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923220003/http://www.dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/litton_cheney.htm|archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref>

From 1953 until 1979, The Old Rectory was the home of noted English engraver, designer, typographer and painter [[Reynolds Stone]].

Litton Cheney has a small primary school 'Thorner's Church of England VA Primary School'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=By working hard together, our small steps will build your path to the future. The Lord is my Shepherd...he guides me along the right paths" Psalm 23 {{!}} Thorner's Church of England VA Primary School |url=https://thornersschool.icts.website/ |access-date=2023-02-27 }}</ref> The school has a 'Good' [[Ofsted|OFSTED]] rating.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ofsted Communications Team |date=2020-10-06 |title=Find an inspection report and registered childcare |url=http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report |access-date=2023-02-27 |website=reports.ofsted.gov.uk}}</ref> 

==Prehistoric monuments==
In 1936, the archaeologists  [[Stuart Piggott]], [[Margaret Guido|Cecily Piggott]], and W. E. V. Young came upon what they suggested was a ruined Bronze Age [[stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany|stone circle]] near to the village.{{sfn|Piggott|Piggott|1939|p=146}} This feature consisted of a circular area measuring 47 feet in diameter that was encircled by a shallow ditch. A single [[sarsen]] stone was located on the southeast of the ditch, which the Piggotts suggested may have been the last surviving stone in a circle.{{sfn|Piggott|Piggott|1939|p=146}} A further three sarsen stones were located 90 feet to the south of the circle, but their relation to it was deemed "problematic" by the Piggotts.{{sfn|Piggott|Piggott|1939|p=146}}

==References==
===Footnotes===
{{reflist|20em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite news |last1=Piggott |first1=Stuart |last2=Piggott |first2=C. M. |title=Stone and Earth Circles in Dorset |journal=Antiquity |year=1939 |volume=13 |number=50 |pages=138–158 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00027861 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Litton Cheney}}
{{Dorset}}


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[[Category:Stone circles in Dorset|Litton Cheney Stone Circle]]
[[Category:Villages in Dorset]]


{{Dorset-geo-stub}}