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Bridge over the River Piddle as it passes through the village of Piddlehinton, Dorset
UK›Dorset›South West

PiddlehintonDorset

A village of 448 in Dorset, South West.

7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Derek Voller · CC BY-SA 2.0
Bridge over the River Piddle as it passes through the village of Piddlehinton, Dorset

Piddlehinton, Dorset · Photo: Derek Voller · CC BY-SA 2.0

Is Piddlehinton a good place to live?

Piddlehinton has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures on this page are still real.

What makes Piddlehinton stand out

The 3 things Piddlehinton does most differently from other towns.

Picked automatically from the data
Piddlehinton’s outline. No photo of its heritage is in our collection yet.
Piddlehinton’s story

Piddlehinton: 37% of homes built before 1919

Historic England lists 16 buildings inside Piddlehinton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.

37% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.

Explore the history →

The data

Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Piddlehinton.

Who lives here

More people in Piddlehinton hold a degree than in Dorset’s towns or England’s towns: 43%

In the comparison, Piddlehinton comes above both Dorset’s towns (31%) and England’s towns (34%). Children under 15 make up 18% of residents. Half the people of Piddlehinton are older than 45.

45median age
PiddlehintonDorsetEngland

Ages · share of residents

Qualifications · residents 16 and older

No qualifications14%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar18%
Degree level43%

Women and men · all residents

49% women, 51% men

About 106 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Ages and qualifications in Piddlehinton
PiddlehintonDorsetEngland
Under 1518%15%18%
15–249.6%11%12%
25–4422%23%27%
45–6431%26%25%
65+19%25%18%
No qualifications14%16%18%
Apprenticeship5.1%6.4%5.3%
A levels or similar18%18%17%
Degree level43%31%34%

ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL

Work & commute

Commuters in Piddlehinton travel far: only 13% go under 5 km, fewer than in Dorset’s towns or England’s towns

The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 33% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.

For Piddlehinton, that is below both Dorset’s towns (48%) and England’s towns (45%). 85% of commuters drove to work at the census.

13%walk, cycle or ride

How commuters got to work · March 2021

Driving85%
On foot10%
Train1%
Bicycle1%
Bus1%
13%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
33%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£57K
mean household income, before tax
1.8%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)

ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL

Housing

The median home in Piddlehinton sold for £341,250

That is the middle of 20 standard sales inside Piddlehinton’s built-up area over three years, against £277,000 in the typical UK town.

£341Kmedian sale

Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026

Piddlehinton£341K
Typical UK town£277K
By typeMedianSales
Detached£422,50010
Semi-detached£317,5008
61%
of households own their home · England 61%
£1,056
average private rent a month, Dorset council area
£2,625
council tax, Band D, 2026–27

HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL

Safety

Homes in Piddlehinton see more burglary and damage than in Dorset’s towns or England’s towns: 27.5 per 1,000 a year

Piddlehinton sits above both Dorset’s towns (7.9) and England’s towns (9.4) on this measure. Police recorded 37 crimes inside Piddlehinton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 6 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 30% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.

17.1violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year

Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026

Damage & arson14
Violence & sexual11
Burglary5
Vehicle crime5
Other theft1
Drugs1
Shoplifting0
Public order0
Anti-social6

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.

17.1
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
27.5
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
11.2
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
37
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026

data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL

Health

Just 2.5% of people in Piddlehinton say their health is bad or very bad, fewer than in Dorset’s towns and England’s towns

That puts Piddlehinton below both Dorset’s towns (5.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Piddlehinton has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 3.4 miles away. 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.

88%good or very good health
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 88%Fair 9%Bad or very bad 2%
Census 2021PiddlehintonDorsetEngland
Good or very good health88%81%82%
Bad or very bad health2.5%5.3%5.2%
Disabled (Equality Act)14%19%17%
81.6
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
85.4
life expectancy at birth, women

ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL

History

More buildings in Piddlehinton are listed than in Dorset’s towns or England’s towns: 357 per 10,000 residents

The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.

On this, Piddlehinton is above both Dorset’s towns (100) and England’s towns (39). Piddlehinton’s listed buildings include Church of St Mary, Grade I. Piddlehinton has 16 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 0 Grade II*.

16listed buildings

Listed buildings by grade · Historic England

Grade I1
Grade II*0
Grade II15

Among them · Grade I

0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
37%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
357
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24

Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Piddlehinton

12pages on Piddlehinton

Piddlehinton’s neighbours

The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →

All towns in Dorset →
Charlton DownPuddletownCharminsterDorchesterMilborne St AndrewCrosswaysMaiden NewtonCharlton DownPuddletownCharminsterDorchesterMilborne St AndrewCrosswaysMaiden NewtonPiddlehinton
How the neighbours grade
TownPeopleMilesOverallCostSafetyHealth
Piddlehinton448—————
Charlton Down1,4872.7—CA+B+
Puddletown1,1933.2—DA+B+
Charminster1,7323.7—DA−B+
Dorchester21,3584.7CDC+C+
Milborne St Andrew1,0905.4—DA−A
Crossways2,4946.3—C−A−B+
Maiden Newton1,1287.2—CA−B

Charlton Down, Puddletown, Charminster, Milborne St Andrew, Crossways and Maiden Newton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.

Questions about Piddlehinton

How many listed buildings are there in Piddlehinton?

That is 14.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary. 37% of Piddlehinton’s homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.

How much is council tax in Piddlehinton?

Band D council tax in Piddlehinton is £2,625 for 2026–27, more than in 90% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.

About Piddlehinton

Village in Dorset, England

Piddlehinton is a built-up area of 448 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

Population
448 (Census 2021)
Council
Dorset
County
Dorset
Region
South West
Area
0.2 sq mi (0.4 km²)
ONS code
E63006659

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.