Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 1,165 in Dorset, South West.
Shillingstone has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is health (A−): life expectancy 80.7 for men, 86.6 for women. Its weakest is schools (D−): primary results beat 2% of towns in England. The median home sold for £455,000 in the last three years, 8.7 times what households in the Dorset council area earn in a year.
The 3 things Shillingstone 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 Shillingstone is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside Shillingstone’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
25% 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 Shillingstone.
Its only school is listed below. 45% of pupils at the 2 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shillingstone Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 103 | D |
72% of households are owner-occupiers. Social housing holds 18% of households, about level with England’s towns (18%) and above Dorset’s towns (12%). Behind the median of £455,000: 46 standard sales inside Shillingstone’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £545,000 | 29 |
| Semi-detached | £320,000 | 6 |
| Terraced | £278,000 | 10 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 25% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 8% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, below both Dorset’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (27%). Jobs per working resident: 0.7. 7% of commuters who live in Shillingstone also work there.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
The top grade, Grade I, goes to 1 of them. Shillingstone’s listed buildings include the Church of the Holy Rood, Grade I. A quarter of its homes were built before 1919, above Dorset’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. It has 197 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest A&E to Shillingstone is Dorset County Hospital, 15.4 miles away. Women here live to 86.6 on average and men to 80.7 (2019–23). The town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 3.5 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Shillingstone | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.3% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
42 crimes and 16 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Shillingstone’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. Violent crime ran at 23.2 per 1,000 residents a year, about level with England’s towns (22) and above Dorset’s towns (16.7). Nearly three quarters of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
Those aged 15 to 24 account for 9.5% of residents. 14% are under 15, lower than both Dorset’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Ages in Shillingstone split evenly at 52.9: half are older, half younger.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Shillingstone | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 33% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Shillingstone. Best known first.
Fort · National TrustHod Hill2.4 km outside town, to the east
Historic house · English HeritageFiddleford Manor2.8 km outside town, to the northwestCastleCastleSturminster Castle4.1 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumSturminster Museum4.2 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shillingstone | 1,165 | — | — | D− | B− | A− |
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | 1.4 | — | D | A | A |
| Sturminster Newton | 3,565 | 3.4 | C− | C− | C+ | B− |
| Blandford Forum | 11,805 | 4.4 | C | C− | C+ | B− |
| Pimperne | 2,770 | 5.8 | A− | D | A+ | A+ |
| Charlton Marshall | 1,084 | 6 | — | D | B+ | A |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 6.1 | — | D | A− | B |
| Stalbridge | 2,367 | 7.2 | — | C− | A− | B− |
Child Okeford, Charlton Marshall, Marnhull and Stalbridge have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Dorset council.
That is 8.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of the Holy Rood. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Band D council tax in Shillingstone is £2,715 for 2026–27, more than in 96% 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.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £455,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £278,000, semi-detached houses £320,000 and detached houses £545,000.
Village in Dorset, England
Shillingstone is a built-up area of 1,165 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.