The name 'Buckland' derives from bōc-land, Old English for 'charter land' or land with special privileges created by royal diploma, while 'Newton' is a more recent addition taken from Sturminster Newton, a nearby town. Evidence for prehistoric settlement comes from Bronze Age barrows at Gales Hill and the Iron Age hill fort of Dungeon Hill. The parish originally had five settlements, each with their own open field system: Buckland Newton, Brockhampton, Duntish, Henley and Minterne Parva, the last now part of Minterne Magna parish. Although the Parish Church of the Holy Rood was restored in the 19th century, it has a 13th-century chancel and 15th-century nave, west tower and aisles, plus fragments of 12th-century sculpture which are evidence of an earlier structure. In 1980 the writer and literary director Roland Gant described Holy Rood as "a lovely church", but that the first impression it created was not favourable due to its exterior having been rendered in cement, "giving the Perpendicular square tower the look of a Foregn Legion fort". The church has six bells, the oldest having been cast around 1380. Duntish Court, sited about north of the main village, was a compact, classical country house built in 1764 beside the main Weymouth to Bathturnpike road. Designed by Sir William Chambers, the Court—originally named Castle Hill—had notable plasterwork, grounds of and played a role in the arrest of agricultural labourers in Dorset's 'Captain Swing' riots of 1830. It was demolished in 1965.
Geography
Prominent nearby hills at the top of the escarpment to the southeast include the Ball Hill and the Lyscombe Hill near the Dorsetshire Gap. The southern part of the parish is mainly chalk with an elevation ranging from. The northern lies between above sea-level and is mainly clay with Gault and Corallian Limestone beds. The River Lydden rises in the numerous springs round the village, principally Buckland Bottom and Bladeley Bottom There are 11 locally recognised Sites of Nature Conservation Interest within or close to the parish, as well as areas of Ancient Woodland. The main habitat types for sites of wildlife interest are deciduous woodland and calcareous grassland. There is also a small area of lowland meadows within Buckland Newton Itself.
