Description:
Dorsham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 1,716. The village is located on the A5187 road, about south-west of Northampton and about south-west of London. Dorsham is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Dorshama'. The name is of Old English origin and means 'a homestead on a hill'. The village has a long history, and is thought to have been founded by the Saxons in the 7th century. In the 12th century, the village was granted to the Knights Templar. The Knights Templar built a Priory in the village, which was destroyed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. The village was granted a Royal Charter in 1551, and became a parish in 1866. The parish church, St Mary the Virgin, was built in the 14th century, and was restored in 1892. The village has a number of traditional businesses, including a bakery, a hairdresser, a bar, and a restaurant. The village also has a cricket club, and a football club. The village has a variety of customs, including a tradition of dressing up in costumes for Halloween. The village also has a tradition of ringing the church bells on Christmas Eve.
