Bere Regis is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated north-west of Wareham. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 1,745. The village has one shop, a post office, and two pubs, The Royal Oak and The Drax Arms. The parish church is St. John the Baptist Church. The village features in the Domesday Book.
History
Woodbury Hill, east of Bere Regis village, is the site of an Iron Age contour hill-fort, the ramparts of which enclose on a flat-topped spur of land. The original settlements in the parish were Shitterton, Bere Regis village and Dodding's Farm, which are all sited by the Bere or Milborne Stream. Later settlements were small farms in the Piddle Valley to the south, first recorded between the mid 13th and mid 14th centuries. Edward I made Bere Regis a free borough and it was an important market town for a long period, though all domestic buildings built before 1600 have since been destroyed by serious fires in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Having suffered extensive fires throughout its history, including the most serious in 1777, the village has lost many of its older buildings. There is, however, a selection of Georgian and Victorian buildings. The nearby hamlet of Shitterton, protected by the Bere River from the fires, still retains an extensive selection of older buildings, predominantly thatch. Amongst them is the oldest residential building in the parish; the 550-year-old Honeycombe Cottage. The oldest parts of the parish church of St John Baptist are of the 12th century, but additions were made in the following three centuries. The tower is built of stone-and-flint chequerwork, and the timber roof of the nave is said to have been the gift of Cardinal John Morton. Features of interest include the arcades, some 16th-century seating and a number of Purbeck marble monuments. The Victorian and later stained glass is of poor quality.
Demography
In the 2011 census Bere Regis civil parish had 852 dwellings, 803 households and a population of 1,745.
Education
The village has one village school: Bere Regis First School. This is a mixed primary school for children aged 4–10.
Literature
The village featured in several novels of Thomas Hardy, most notably, Tess of the D'Urbervilles. The village was portrayed as 'Kingsbere', and the D'Urberville family was based on the Turberville family of Bere Regis. This family name has evolved to Turbyfill.
Sport and recreation
Bere Regis has an active village sports club and playing fields which can be used for different sports. Bere Regis FC are one of the oldest Football Clubs in England and in Dorset, having been formed in 1885 when they were known as the 'Arabs'. They are a well established team.
