Broadwindsor

including Blackdown, Drimpton & Netherhay

Broadwindsor or Broadwinsor as it is variously called, is a large parish in the west of the county adjacent to the Somerset border. To the north west is the parish of Mosterton, to the east is Beaminster, Stoke Abbot, Burstock, Pilsdon and Bettiscombe are to the south with Thorncombe to the west. The nearest town is Bridport which is seven miles to the south. The church of St John the Baptist is an ancient Gothic structure with many notable architectural features. The church was renovated in 1868 but the Norman font has been retained. 

The registers date from 1558, and in 1895 it was noted that "there are some previous entries which are much decayed."  The parish was once noted for the manufacture of sailcloth. Lewesdon and Pillesdon Hills are in the parish and are distinct landmarks at sea. There used to be a congregational chapel. In Blackdown hamlet a chapel of ease dedicated to the Holy Trinity was erected in 1840 and at Drimpton a chapel to St Mary was consecrated in 1861. In Netherhay there is a Methodist Chapel. There were four schools in the parish with the Endowed Grammar School at Blackdown being the oldest as it was founded in 1725. The population of the parish in 1891 was 1105 and the acreage 6095.

Please note that separate Registers exist for both Blackdown and Drimpton, but these remain with the Parishes rather than at the DHC.

The Online Parish Clerk (OPC) for Broadwindsor is Stephen Spurle