Blandford Forum

Blandford Forum, commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about northwest of Poole. The town's civil parish had a population of 10,355 at the 2021 census. Blandford is notable for its Georgian architecture, the result of rebuilding after the majority of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1731. The rebuilding work was assisted by an Act of Parliament and a donation by George II, and the rebuilt town centre—to designs by local architects John and William Bastard—has survived to the present day largely intact. The town's economy is based on a mix of the service sector and light industry. Blandford Camp, a military base, is on the hills north-east of the town. It is the base of the Royal Corps of Signals, the communications wing of the British Army, and the site of the Royal Signals Museum. History Blandford has been a fording point on the River Stour since Anglo-Saxon times. The name Blandford derives from the Old English blǣge, and probably means ford where gudgeon or blay are found. The name Blaneford or Bleneford is recorded in the Domesday Book, referring not to Blandford Forum itself but to the adjacent villages of Bryanston and Blandford St Mary on the opposite side of the ford, and Langton Long Blandford further downstream.