Talk:Blandford Forum

Forum?

Where does the "forum" part come from in the name? — Matt Crypto 23:02, 9 May 2005 (UTC)

In short - "Forum" is a Roman term. There are many Roman towns called XYZ Forum. It just means "Market town."

From Mills, A.D., Dorset Place Names (Ensign, Southampton, 1986):

Blaneford 1086 (Donesday Book), Blaneford Forum 1297, Blanford Forum 1340, Blandford Forum 1506. Possibly 'ford where blay or gudgeon are found', from Old English blage and ford. Blay and gudgeon are small fresh-water fish. The Latin addition forum means 'market', alluding to the early importance of Blandford as a market town. In medieval times an alternative name for Blandford was Cheping Blaneford (1288), from Old English ceping also meaning 'market'.

Joe D (t) 23:17, 9 May 2005 (UTC)

Crikey, that was quick! Thanks muchly for the info — it's been bugging me since I visited Blandford Camp earlier today (although I didn't get to Blandford Forum itself). — Matt Crypto 00:00, 10 May 2005 (UTC)

When did the Forum part get added to the formal name? It's quite a big step from "There's a market at B." and "I bought something at B. market yesterday" to the town actually being called B. Forum on maps etc. It would be interesting to know when, and why. E.g. was it a publicity idea by the council?

Afterbrunel 09:53, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

surname?

My surname is Blandford, and I once heard that after the great fire the surviving orphans whose family could not be located were renamed Blandford after the town...true or false??

I believe this is true. Source: unverifiable hearsay 81.157.125.99 (talk) 18:31, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

James Hussey

The mention of James Hussey should be left out of this article as a google search of the words; James Hussey blandford, returned no significant mention of any famous "blandfordian" named James Hussey.

Town hall

I've just seen the photo of the tiwn hall. Is there any relation with it and the one in Monmouth? Simply south 16:33, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Bastard brothers

Are there any editors in or near Blandford Forum who would like to take some photographes for the Bastard brothers page? This could be a very interesting and attractive page if it just had a few more images. Thanks Giano 09:25, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

Population

I think Blandford's population figure given in the article should just refer to the town itself and not include all the surrounding settlements such as Pimperne etc. Many of the surrounding villages have their own Wikipedia entries and I fail to see why the population of Blandford should include these as well, particularly as including surrounding populations introduces the question of where one draws the line (eg on that basis should the populations of places like Shillingstone and Tarrant Hinton also be included? It doesn't make sense) PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 18:34, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

What figures do the sources quote, and for what areas? Make whatever is in the article match whatever the sources say. --Simple Bob ^{a.k.a. The Spaminator} (Talk) 22:32, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

Dorset County Council states that five wards make up Blandford Forum - Blandford Station Ward, Blandford Damory Down Ward, Blandford Hilltop Ward, Blandford Langton St Leonards Ward, and Blandford Old Town Ward. 2009 mid-year estimates put the total for all five wards at 9,070 - which seems to be in line with the 2001 figures. Anything else is a different parish and therefore not part of Blandford Forum and therefore not the concern of the article. Do you concur?--Simple Bob ^{a.k.a. The Spaminator} (Talk) 22:53, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

Yes that seems logical to me. I suppose (expanding the discussion) that there is an issue when settlements expand to reach a certain size that covers many parishes, and then there may be an argument to make for having different population figures for 'central urban' and 'wider metropolitan' areas, but I don't think Blandford has reached anywhere near that size yet (I'm pleased to say!) PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 23:04, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

The quoted 2001 figure varies slightly between various websites. I have been trying to get at the official figure online but without success so far. The 2011 figure will be out before very long.--Charles (talk) 23:14, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

I suppose there are two separate questions in this situation: 1) What are the correct population figures for any given area? 2) Which areas constitute any given town? Does Wikipedia have an official policy on the latter question? My own opinion (for what it's worth) inclines me to suggest in this particular instance (the article on Blandford Forum) that it may be simplest to paraphrase what Simple Bob highlighted as Dorset County Council's position (ie name the 5 wards that make up Blandford Forum, and then give the population figure for those 5 wards) - although as this is a bit long-winded, maybe give 'Population' a section of its own later in the article, and just give the bald figure (for the 5 wards) in the intro. Oh, and thanks for responding to this guys - I appreciate your efforts. PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 23:59, 25 January 2011 (UTC)

The figures above (circa 9,000) are backed up by the Town Council website, which confirms that five wards that make up the town and also quotes the number of dwellings - probably a useful statistic to go on the page. --Simple Bob ^{a.k.a. The Spaminator} (Talk) 10:01, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

If no-one objects I suggest a new section in the article, titled "Population" or "Demographics" (the latter sounding more rigorous?)- it can contain the info about the 5 wards as mentioned in previous postings, plus the current number of dwellings and, if it's possible to locate a reliable source, figures for the town's population going back in time through previous Census returns? PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 21:31, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

Your instinct is right. Follow the guide, which defines how articles about UK towns and cities would be organised in a perfect world - Wikipedia:UKCITIES --Simple Bob ^{a.k.a. The Spaminator} (Talk) 21:44, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

A quick note about the figures I used when compiling the "Demography" section. All figures are from Dorset County Council's "Dorset For You" webpage about Blandford. Some of these figures however don't tally with figures on the Blandford Town Council webpage (specifically the size of the built-up area and the number of dwellings), despite the fact that the Town Council also used figures from Dorset County Council. Statistics, eh? It's possible that the Town Council's figures are from a date later than the 2001 Census, or maybe the figures have just been interpreted in a certain way. Seeing as I couldn't download the source which the Town Council used (it kept getting corrupted), and seeing as the "Dorset For You" figures were presented plainly and in a lot of detail, I decided to go with them. Hopefully when the 2011 figures come out such discrepancies will be eliminated. PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 21:28, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Deadlink removed from lead

I've just removed this deadlink from the lead of the article, seeing as the statement it was attached to is supported by other refs in the article. I've moved it here so it's available to be looked for at some point in the future. PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 00:41, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

"Important"

Following the removal from the article of several instances of the word "important", I have re-added a phrase that indicates the significance of malting and brewing in the town in the 17th and 18th centuries. I believe this is necessary because the source states: "During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries several Dorset towns became important malting and brewing centres. Dorchester, Blandford, Shaftesbury and Cerne Abbas were particularly famous for their beer." PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 00:40, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

I have also reinstated 3 uses of the word "important" in the economy section of the article. The first of these ("Important sectors in Blandford's economy include...") is to establish that the sectors listed are the most significant ones, rather than just examples chosen at random. The other two instances ("In education, important employers in the area include..." and "Other important employers in the town...") are so that the source - which describes these employers under the heading "Major employers" - is more accurately represented. PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 00:53, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

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