Piddlehinton

“PIDDLEHINTON, a parish and liberty in the Dorchester division of county Dorset, 5 miles N.E. of Dorchester. The village, which is small and wholly agricultural, lies in a valley surrounded by the downs, and watered by the small river Piddle, or Trent, which rises at Piddletrenthide, and falls into Poole harbour below Wareham. The rich lands along the river are cultivated in water-meadows and orchards. There are numerous large dairy farms, supplying butter and cheese to the London market, and sheep are extensively fed on the uplands. The manor anciently belonged to a monastery in France, but upon the suppression of alien priories it became escheated to the crown, and was given by Henry VI. to Eton College. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £373, and the glebe comprises 47 acres. The living is a rect,* in the diocese of Sarum, value £265, in the patronage of Eton College. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, was built about the commencement of the 15th century. The parochial charities produce about £1 per annum."

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from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868