Compton Valence

{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Dorset, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{Use British English|date=June 2025}}

{{Infobox UK place

|static_image_name = Compton Valence, parish church of St. Thomas à Becket - geograph.org.uk - 503998.jpg

|static_image_caption = Parish church of St Thomas à Becket

|country = England

|coordinates = {{coord|50.7373|-2.5772|display=inline,title}}

|map_type = Dorset

|official_name = Compton Valence

|population = 50

|population_ref = {{cite web|url=https://www.dorsetforyou.com/344882|title=Parish Population Data|date=20 January 2015|accessdate=28 February 2015|publisher=Dorset County Council}}

|unitary_england = Dorset

|lieutenancy_england = Dorset

|post_town = Dorchester

|postcode_area = DT

|postcode_district = DT2

|constituency_westminster = West Dorset

|region = South West England

|os_grid_reference = SY594932

}}

Compton Valence is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies approximately {{convert|7|mi|km}} west of the county town Dorchester. It is sited at the head of a narrow valley, formed by a small tributary of the River Frome, and is surrounded by the hills of the Dorset Downs, which has led to it having been described as "a pocket of habitation in the downs."Gant, R., Dorset Villages, Hale, 1980, p138 {{ISBN|0 7091 8135 3}} Dorset County Council estimate that in 2013 the population of the parish was 50.

The parish church has a 15th-century tower, but the rest of the building was rebuilt in 1838–1839 by Benjamin Ferrey.{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=127222|title=Compton Valence, An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 1: West (1952), pp. 104-105|accessdate=24 January 2014|publisher=University of London & History of Parliament Trust|year=2013}} The church is a Grade II* listed building.{{Cite web|title=CHURCH OF ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY, Compton Valence - 1214304 {{!}} Historic England|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1214304|access-date=2021-12-07|website=historicengland.org.uk|language=en}}

The locality is known to geologists for the 'Compton Valence Dome', arising from the local upcoming of the chalk strata. The core of this geological structure has been eroded to reveal the older underlying Middle Jurassic mudstones. It lies astride the Wynford Fault and is thought to arise from a complex intersection of faults in the area.Barton et al. 2011 Geology of south Dorset and south-east Devon and its World Heritage Coast. Special memoir of the British Geological Survey. Sheets 328, 341/2, 342/3 and parts of 326/340, 327, 329 and 339 (England and Wales)

Compton Valence is known locally for its display of snowdrops, which fill the road verges in late winter.[https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/gardening/start-of-something-snowdrops-signal-the-first-stirrings-of-spring-1545855.html Snowdrops signal the first stirrings of spring The Independent.] Retrieved May 2, 2012[http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2011/02/dorset-in-winter/ Dorset Life.] Retrieved 2 May 2012