Chickerell: Coastal Landscapes, Gardens and History

These themes offer different perspectives. Fleet Lagoon lies west of Chickerell, the Parish Church of St Mary is in the town, and Bennetts Water Gardens and a First World War airfield each bring their own historical connections.

Landscape and Coastal Connections

Fleet Lagoon lies west of Chickerell. Chesil Beach protects it from the English Channel. The area around Chickerell is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The landscape can therefore be viewed from two angles: as a connection between the lagoon, the protection offered by Chesil Beach and the English Channel, and as part of a larger World Heritage area. Fleet Lagoon is also the setting for J. M. Falkner’s novel “Moonfleet”. If you also experience places through literature, this connection adds a literary perspective on the same setting to the landscape.

Chickerell Downs is a mosaic of habitats: woodland, grassland, wet spring areas and ponds. These features offer a different emphasis from Fleet Lagoon. Here, the focus is on diverse habitats; there, on the spatial relationship between the lagoon, Chesil Beach and the English Channel. A circular trail connects to the South West Coast Path. When planning your routes, this connection is a distinct consideration alongside the landscape features described.

Gardens and Local History

At Bennetts Water Gardens, a Monet-style Japanese bridge is the focal point. The museum covers the site’s history, from the brickworks and clay pits of 1859 to today’s gardens. This brings a striking design feature and the site’s former use together. If you would like to consider garden design and history together, this timeline offers a distinct focus: it spans the brickworks and clay pits to the garden design of today.

The Parish Church of St Mary in Chickerell is a Grade II* listed building. The chancel and nave date from the 13th century. The church is dated to around 1260 and is said to have replaced an earlier Saxon timber structure on the same site. For historical context, it is worth distinguishing between the dated parts of the building and the cautiously phrased account of its predecessor: the dating of the chancel and nave sits alongside the possibility of an earlier building history.

Another chapter is the site of a First World War airfield in Chickerell, which was in use from 1918 to 1919. Compared with the medieval church, this is a clearly limited episode in time. This makes it possible to distinguish two different historical timescales: a building history that reaches back to the 13th century, and the use of an airfield site between 1918 and 1919. If you are looking for a hotel in Chickerell, this difference can help you decide which historical focus to explore on your trip.

Discover more destinations: Dewlish, Buckhorn Weston, Beaminster, Broadstone, Charlton Marshall, Ferndown Town, Bridport, Burstock

For the main travel overview: Dorset.