Godmanstone

Godmanstone used to have a pub, The Smiths Arms, which claimed to be the smallest in Britain, with the interior measuring 3.6 metres (12 ft) by 4.6 metres (15 ft). The story attached to the claim was that the original licence was granted by Charles II when he requested that the village blacksmith serve him a glass of porter. The smith refused because he had no licence, so Charles granted him one on the spot and was served his drink. The licence only applied to the smithy; adjacent living quarters, subsequently used by drinkers, were larger. The business closed at the start of 2011.

The parish church is partly Norman, chiefly perpendicular, with a tower; and was recently repaired. A tune 'Godmanstone' by Cyril Vincent Taylor 1907-1991, vicar of nearby Cerne Abbas 1958-1969, was set in Hymns Ancient and Modern New Standard (#399i), part of which he edited, to the hymn 'Lord, we are blind'.

Francis Cottington, 1st Baron Cottington (ca.1579-1652) came from Godmanstone. He was the English lord treasurer and ambassador and leader of the pro-Spanish, pro-Roman Catholic faction in the court of Charles I.