Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 1,466 in Dorset, South West.
Marnhull has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is safety (A−): 11.6 violent and sexual offences and 8.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is cost of living (D): median sale £382,500, 7.3 years of area income; rent £1,056 a month.
The 3 things Marnhull does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Marnhull is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Marnhull’s built-up area.
28% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Marnhull.
Under-15s account for 10% of the population. People aged 15 to 24 make up 6.4% of the town, below Dorset’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Ages in Marnhull split evenly at 59.5: half are older, half younger. Among adults, 35% have a degree.
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Marnhull | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 10% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.4% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 40% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.1% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Just over three in five pupils at the town’s 2 primary schools met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Between them, two primaries teach 133 pupils in Marnhull.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School, MarnhullLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 82 | B− |
Households that own their home make up 77%. The £382,500 median rests on 70 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Social housing holds 14% of households, higher than Dorset’s towns (12%) yet lower than England’s towns (18%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £430,000 | 41 |
| Semi-detached | £308,000 | 19 |
| Terraced | £325,000 | 9 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
28% of homes date from before 1919. Marnhull’s listed buildings include the Church of St Gregory, Grade I. It has 36 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 3 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Over the year to August 2026, 39 offences were reported in Marnhull, along with 5 incidents of anti-social behaviour. There were 3.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), below Dorset’s towns (9.8) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences made up 49% of the total.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Nearly nine in ten commuters drove, above both Dorset’s towns (76%) and England’s towns (70%). For 27% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. Of the commuters living in Marnhull, 10% work in the town itself. Also worth knowing: household income averages £49K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
There is no GP practice in Marnhull: the nearest is 3 miles off. 20% of residents have a disability, about level with Dorset’s towns (19%) and above England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Marnhull is Yeovil District Hospital, 14.1 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Marnhull | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Marnhull. Best known first.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marnhull | 1,466 | — | — | D | A− | B |
| Stalbridge | 2,367 | 2.8 | — | C− | A− | B− |
| Sturminster Newton | 3,565 | 2.9 | C− | C− | C+ | B− |
| Henstridge | 1,579 | 3.5 | — | B | C− | B |
| Templecombe | 1,657 | 4.8 | — | C+ | C+ | B+ |
| Gillingham | 11,009 | 5 | C+ | C− | B | B |
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | 5.1 | — | D | A | A |
| Motcombe | 1,366 | 5.9 | — | D− | A+ | A |
Stalbridge, Henstridge, Templecombe, Child Okeford and Motcombe have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 10.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Gregory.
Band D council tax in Marnhull is £2,670 for 2026–27, more than in 93% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Village in Dorset, England
Marnhull is a built-up area of 1,466 people, in the Dorset council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.