Don Shave's Ancestral Family Tree
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Winterborne Whitchurch, County of Dorset, England (United Kingdom), Europe
The village of Winterborne Whitechurch (also spelled as "Whitchurch" and as "Winterbourne") that is also a civil parish is in central Dorset, England It is situated in the Winterbourne valley on the A354 road (in the Dorset Downs), 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Blandford Forum Evidence of prehistoric human activity in the parish consists of 7 barrows and a linear dyke known as Combs Ditch; the dyke was probably a boundary in the Iron Age but was subsequently modified until it had a more defensive purpose by the end of the Roman occupation. One of the barrows near the dyke was excavated in 1864; one cremation and four inhumations (see below) were found, as well as crude arrowheads within a bucket urn. There used to be at least five other barrows, but these have been destroyed by more recent human activity An "inhumation" is a burial or interment, as a ritual act with placing a dead person or animal, sometimes with objects, into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objects in it, and covering it over. Humans have been burying their dead for at least 100,000 years. Burial is often seen as indicating respect for the dead. It has been used to prevent the odor of decay, to give family members closure and prevent them from witnessing the decomposition of their loved ones, and in many cultures it has been seen as a necessary step for the deceased to enter the afterlife or to give back to the cycle of life In 1086 in the Domesday Book, Winterborne Whitechurch was recorded as "Wintreborne;" it had 3 households, 1.5 ploughlands and 6 acres (2.4 ha) of meadow. It was in the hundred of Combsditch, and the lord and tenant-in-chief was Milton Abbey The parish church, dedicated to St Mary, has a chancel dating to around 1200, a 14th-century crossing and 15th-century south chapel and central tower. The nave was rebuilt in 1844 by Benjamin Ferrey, who also added a south porch and north and south aisles. Until 1933 the church and the western part of the village formed part of neighboring Milton Abbas parish, resulting in Winterborne Whitechurch church standing outside its own parish [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winterborne_Whitechurch ]
