Whitmore’s story
2 listed buildings
Historic England lists them inside Whitmore’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
47% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
WhitmoreDorset
A village of 137 in Dorset, South West.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Brian Robert Marshall · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
137
Census 2021 · Dorset council
Median age
45.4
17% are 65+ · Dorset 25%
Degree level
25%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
7%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Whitmore a good place to live?
Whitmore has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures on this page are still real.
What makes Whitmore stand out
The 3 things Whitmore does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
7% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Homes built before 1919
History
47% of homes built before 1919
Against 15% in the typical UK town
Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period.
Listed buildings per 10,000 residents
History
2 listed buildings
0 Grade II*; 6 times the typical UK town for its size
Historic England’s list, October 2026.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Whitmore.
Work & commute
Only 7% of commuters in Whitmore go to work without a car, fewer than in Dorset’s towns and England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 20% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
On this, Whitmore is below both Dorset’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (27%). For 17% of commuters, work was under 5 km away.
7%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving88%
On foot5%
Bicycle2%
17%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
20%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£61K
mean household income, before tax
1.6%
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
Home ownership in Whitmore, 41%, runs below Dorset’s towns and England’s towns
In the comparison, Whitmore comes below both Dorset’s towns (66%) and England’s towns (61%). Social housing holds 49% of households.
£0Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Whitmore£0K
Typical UK town£277K
41%
of households own their home · England 61%
10%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,056
average private rent a month, Dorset council area
£2,656
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 Whitmore see more burglary and damage than in Dorset’s towns or England’s towns: 17 per 1,000 a year
For Whitmore, that is above both Dorset’s towns (7.9) and England’s towns (9.4). Violent crime runs at 12.2 per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 3 crimes inside Whitmore’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 0 reports of anti-social behaviour.
12.2violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Damage & arson2
Other crime1
Violence & sexual0
Shoplifting0
Public order0
Other theft0
Burglary0
Drugs0
Anti-social0
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.
12.2
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
17
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
0
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
3
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
Disability is more common in Whitmore than in Dorset’s towns or across England’s towns: 24% of residents
Whitmore sits above both Dorset’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (17%) on this measure. Whitmore has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.5 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.
78%good or very good health
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 78%Fair 17%Bad or very bad 5%
| Census 2021 | Whitmore | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 19% | 17% |
83.5
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
89.4
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
History
Whitmore keeps more of its old housing than Dorset or England’s towns: 47% built before 1919
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
That puts Whitmore above both Dorset’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (16%). Whitmore has 146 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents. Whitmore has 2 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 0 Grade II*.
2listed buildings
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II2
1
scheduled monument
0
registered parks and gardens
47%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
146
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Children make up 20% of Whitmore, above Dorset’s towns and England’s towns
Children under 15 make up 20% of residents. People 65 and over make up 17% of the town, below Dorset’s towns (25%) and close to England’s towns (18%). The median resident of Whitmore is 45.4 years old.
45.4median age
WhitmoreDorsetEngland
Ages · share of residents
17%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications22%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar16%
Degree level25%
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 114 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Whitmore | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 34% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.3% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Cranborne Manor and 4 more in and around Whitmore
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Whitmore. Best known first.
Historic houseCranborne Manor4 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseEdmondsham House2.2 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseSt Giles House, Wimborne St Giles3.4 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionDorset Heavy Horse Centre1.9 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumBugad Classic Bikes4.8 km outside town, to the northwestPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (3)
- Cranborne Manor: Mike Searle, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edmondsham House: Mike Searle, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Giles House, Wimborne St Giles: Justin Barton, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Whitmore
12pages on Whitmore
The big questions
Whitmore’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
VerwoodThree Legged CrossAlderholtWest MoorsAshley HeathFerndownSandleheathWhitmore
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitmore | 137 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Verwood | 13,706 | 1.7 | A− | D | A | A− |
| Three Legged Cross | 1,129 | 2.3 | — | D | C− | B− |
| Alderholt | 2,868 | 4.2 | B | D | A− | A |
| West Moors | 10,432 | 4.5 | C− | D | B+ | B− |
| Ashley Heath | 7,151 | 4.7 | B | D− | A− | A |
| Ferndown | 13,267 | 5.5 | B− | D− | A− | B+ |
| Sandleheath | 1,546 | 5.7 | — | D | A | A− |
Three Legged Cross and Sandleheath have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Whitmore
How many listed buildings are there in Whitmore?
2 on Historic England’s list. That is 6 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
How much is council tax in Whitmore?
Band D council tax in Whitmore is £2,656 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.
Who lives in Whitmore?
At the 2021 Census, 11% of Whitmore’s 137 residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
About Whitmore
Village in Dorset, England
Whitmore is a built-up area of 137 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
- 137 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Dorset
- County
- Dorset
- Region
- South West
- Area
- 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km²)
- ONS code
- E63006477
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.