Photo: Mike Searle · CC BY-SA 2.0Bishop's Caundle ranks below 99% of UK towns on households in flats: 0.6%
By its share of households without a car or van (6.3%), Bishop's Caundle is below 97% of UK towns. The village counted 413 residents and 171 households at the 2021 Census. Here, 98% of residents describe themselves as White British. Half of the village’s residents are over 51.1, older than in nine in ten UK towns.
30% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 85% of UK towns: 8.6%. Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Bishop's Caundle sits below 59% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (8.3%)
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, against 4.7% in Bishop's Caundle. For comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Only 22% of households in Bishop's Caundle are one person living alone
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Dorset’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
1.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, against 4.3% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Each household has 2.4 people on average. At 29%, the share of households with dependent children is higher than in 64% of UK towns.
A larger share of households in detached houses than 85% of UK towns: 46%
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
By its share of households in terraced houses (19%), Bishop's Caundle is below 53% of UK towns. 0.6% of households live in a flat, less than in 99% of UK towns; 46% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
Bishop's Caundle sits below 95% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (2.7%)
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%) and in EU countries (1%). Bishop's Caundle has more residents whose main language is English than 99% of UK towns, at 100%. By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A lower share of residents with no religion than 87% of UK towns, at 33%
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 98% of Bishop's Caundle · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
57% of residents describe themselves as Christian (England’s towns: 46%). On average, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Bishop's Caundle ranks below 99% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 21%
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
The share of married adults and civil partners is 60%, against 44% across England’s towns. 8 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Bishop's Caundle has more unpaid carers than 52% of UK towns, at 9.4%. For comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
26% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 26% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 16% hold no qualification (18%).
2 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Bishop's Caundle
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop's Caundle | 413 | — | 51.1 | 30% | 29% |
| Milborne Port | 3,207 | 3.9 mi | 47.8 | 26% | 24% |
| Stalbridge | 2,367 | 4 mi | 55.6 | 35% | 20% |
| Sherborne | 10,359 | 4.3 mi | 50.2 | 32% | 20% |
| Henstridge | 1,579 | 4.5 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 24% |
| Templecombe | 1,657 | 5.8 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 24% |
| Sturminster Newton | 3,565 | 6.1 mi | 48.2 | 28% | 24% |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 6.6 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 16% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Dorset’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Dorset (or England), summed the same way as Bishop's Caundle’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Bishop's Caundle’s residents
What is the population of Bishop's Caundle?
The 2021 Census counted 413 people in Bishop's Caundle’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bishop's Caundle?
The median age was 51.1 at the 2021 Census. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bishop's Caundle?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 2.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bishop's Caundle?
33% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.8% didn’t answer.
Is Bishop's Caundle good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bishop's Caundle’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.