VERWOOD, (Developed from FAIRWOOD, FAYRWOOD, WRTWOOD & WEIRWOOD) was first recorded in 1329 and is situated on the far eastern boundary of Dorset near the Hampshire border, five miles north-west of Ringwood and about twelve miles north of Bournemouth. It became a Civic Parish in l894. Previously it's history was recorded under Cranborne. 

Its ALTITUDE above sea level varies between 70 and 130 feet. The CLIMATE is mild and the average RAINFALL is approximately 32 inches. 

To the north and east lie areas of coniferous forests and to the west are mixed farms. There are two tracks of heath which are of Special Scientific Interest. 

 For centuries it was a small, scattered settlement whose inhabitants made a living from the surrounding heathland.  The clay and sand deposits gave rise to potteries and brick and tile yards in the early 1900's, with the heath providing materials for besom making, fodder & peat.  Eventually it became the centre of production of the distinctive yellowy-green glazed pots. Potters, brickmakers, broom makers and the like all plied their trades alongside the traditional agricultural workers.   Today it is a fast growing town of some 14,000 and rising.

Development of Verwood is relatively recent and it was only in the last century that the settlement built its own small cob church which was consecrated in 1829. Till then the village, together with Alderholt, had been part of the huge parish of Cranborne. Parochial Status for Verwood was granted in 1887.