Hilton

Hilton is a parish and a village 8½ miles west-south-west from Blandford, situated in a valley not far from Milton Abbey. Many Roman coins and artefacts have been found in the parish and on Bulbarrow hill there is a Celtic hill fort.

There is evidence of a church existing at this location since Saxon and Norman times. The present church of All Saints probably dates from the 15th century although it incorporates some earlier masonry. The windows and North wall are said to have been brought from the cloisters of Milton Abbey after the dissolution.

The church also contains some fine medieval paintings from the late 15th century that also came from the Abbey. The church underwent the usual Victorian restoration in 1891. The church registers date from 1603.

The 2,953 acres are chalk, sand and clay and are mainly laid down to pasture although some corn used to be grown. A National School was built in the village in 1863, in 1891 the population was 567 persons. The nearby hamlet of Ansty used to have a large brewery which gave employment.

The post of Online Parish Clerk (OPC) is currently vacant
If you would like to volunteer for the role, please contact the OPC Project Co-ordinator
Contributions of additional resource materials for the site are always welcome

[Thanks to David Stone for his earlier work]