Our Village

Welcome to Gussage Saint Michael

The Gussages - There are three Gussages in the triangle of land between Blandford, Wimborne and Cranborne. Gussage St Michael and Gussage All Saints are small villages, while Gussage St Andrew is a tiny hamlet on the other side of the Blandford-Salisbury road. The name Gussage comes from the Anglo-Saxon "Gwysych", which means a bourne stream (Gwy = water; sych = dry. A stream which dries up).

Ancient Histroy in the Gussages - The area is rich in pre-historic remains. The mysterious Dorset Cursus, a processional route about six miles long and terminated by a rectangular enclosure at each end, begins on Gussage Hill. It crosses the Ackling Dyke, one of the principal Roman Roads in southern England, whose well-marked course still forms the parish boundary between All Saints and St Michael.
To the north lies Bokerly Dyke, a fourth-century earthwork which is now the Hampshire-Dorset county boundary. In addition, there are many long and round barrows, tumuli and other ancient earthworks.