Chideock
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Chideock is a village in south west Dorset, England, situated between Bridport and Lyme Regis. The village has a population of 597 (2001).
Chideock is a village in the south-west region of Dorset between Bridport and Charmouth. The surrounding countryside is a popular tourist destination owing to the heritage of rural farming.
Chideock includes the local coastal community of Seatown, with a long shelving pebble beach, part of the Jurassic Coast and a designated World Heritage site. The A35 road passes through the village, a major road which continues for much of the South Coast. It was the first village in England to have two speed cameras installed in response to several fatal traffic accidents due to excessive speed.
Many tourists visit in the summer and lodge either in caravan sites or in local bed and breakfasts. The population of Chideock is increasingly made up of retired residents and as such the town can be said to have an ageing population relative to the larger towns of Bridport and Lyme Regis nearby (Source: 2001 Census). Local industry is mainly composed of tourist facilities and farming (both arable and pastoral).
The village itself has seen a huge increase in traffic due to the A-35 road, which in the Summer months brings huge numbers of tourists mainly from South-East England to the coastal communities of the Western Counties, such as Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall. This has lead to numerous requests from local residents for a bypass to be constructed diverting the main flow of traffic around the main area of the town. The National Trust have repeatedly refused permission for the prospective bypass to continue over land it owns to the north of Golden Cap, citing its importance as an area of natural beauty.
The local countryside has a long history of farming, conflict, and religious strife at the time of the English civil war. The remains of what was once a royalist castle are marked with a crucifix in the large field that is accessed by Ruins Lane. Notably, it is said that the 'Chideock House Hotel' was once the headquarters of General Fairfax as he planned the parliamentary overthrow of the nearby castle, culminating in its eventual destruction.
The surrounding countryside is geologically important, due to its Jurassic formation, and fossilised ammonites and belemnites can often be found on the local beach due to continued coastal erosion of the soft blue lias clays which make up the local cliffs.
