View source for Wareham, Dorset

{{Short description|Market town in Dorset, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
 | official_name            = Wareham
 | static_image_name        = Wareham Quay.JPG
 | static_image_caption     = Wareham Quay
 | static_image_2_name      = [[File:Arms_of_Wareham.svg|120px]] 
 | static_image_2_width     = 
 | static_image_2_alt       = 
 | static_image_2_caption   = Coat of Arms of Wareham
 | coordinates              = {{coord|50.686|-2.1099|display=inline,title}}
 | population               = 5,877 
 | population_ref           = (2021 census)
 | os_grid_reference        = SY923873
 | civil_parish             = Wareham Town
 | unitary_england          = [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset]]
 | lieutenancy_england      = [[Dorset]]
 | region                   = South West England
 | country                  = England
 | post_town                = WAREHAM
 | postcode_area            = BH
 | postcode_district        = BH20
 | dial_code                = 01929
 | constituency_westminster = [[Mid Dorset and North Poole (UK Parliament constituency)|Mid Dorset and North Poole]]
}}

'''Wareham''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɛər|əm}} {{respell|WAIR|əm}}) is an historic [[market town]] and, under the name '''Wareham Town''', a [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]], in the English county of [[Dorset]]. The town is situated on the [[River Frome, Dorset|River Frome]] {{convert|8|mi|km|spell=in}} southwest of [[Poole]].

==Situation and geography==
The town is built on a strategic [[dry point]] between the [[River Frome, Dorset|River Frome]] and the [[River Piddle]] at the head of the Wareham Channel of [[Poole Harbour]]. The Frome Valley runs through an area of unresistant sand, clay and gravel rocks, and much of its valley has wide [[flood plain]]s and [[marsh]] land. At its [[estuary]] the river has formed the wide shallow [[ria]] of Poole Harbour. Wareham is built on a low dry island between the marshy river plains.
[[File:River Frome - geograph.org.uk - 11551.jpg|thumb|left|River Frome]]
The town is situated on the [[A351 road (Great Britain)|A351 road]] [[Lytchett Minster]]-[[Swanage]] road. Wareham is also the eastern terminus of the [[A352 road]] to [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]], both roads now [[Bypass route|bypass]]ing the town centre. [[Wareham railway station]] is on the [[South West Main Line]] railway, and was formerly the junction station for services along the branch line to Swanage, now preserved as the [[Swanage Railway]]. The steam railway has ambitions to extend its service into Wareham from its current terminus at Norden, near [[Corfe Castle (village)|Corfe Castle]].

To the north west of the town a large conifer plantation, [[Wareham Forest]] stretches several miles to the [[A35 road]] and the southern foothills of the [[Dorset Downs]]. To the south east is Corfe Castle and the heathland that borders Poole Harbour, including [[Wytch Farm]] oil field and [[Studland]] & Godlingstone Heath [[nature reserve]]. About {{convert|4|mi|km|spell=in}} to the south is a chalk ridge, the [[Purbeck Hills]] which faces the [[Isle of Wight]] to the east, and {{convert|8|mi|km|spell=in}} to the south is the [[English Channel]].

==History==
The town's strategic setting has made it an important settlement throughout its long history. Excavations at the nearby Bestwall site have produced evidence of transient early [[Mesolithic]] activity dating to around 9000 [[BCE]]. At the same site four large [[Neolithic]] pits containing worked [[flint]] and pottery fragments dating to 3700 BCE were found. Three green stone axeheads discovered also probably date to this period. Flint working and potting continued throughout the [[Bronze Age]]. The first house discovered dates to the mid 15th century BCE.<ref name="britarch_bestwall">{{Cite journal |last1=Ladle |first1=Lilian |last2=Woodward |first2=Ann |date=Nov–Dec 2010 |title=Bestwall Quarry |url=http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba115/feat2.shtml |journal=British Archaeology |issue=115 |access-date=9 January 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Wareham West Walls.JPG|thumb|right|"Bloody Bank" is the high point in the distance, on West Walls]]

Archaeological evidence exists of a small [[Roman Empire|Roman]] settlement, though the current town was founded by the [[Saxons]].<ref>{{harvnb|Davis|1997|p=9}}</ref> The Roman name is unknown, but the town is referred to as ''Werham'' in the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' entry of 784, from [[Old English]] ''wer'' (meaning 'fish trap, a weir') and ''hām'' ('homestead') or ''hamm'' ('enclosure hemmed in by water').<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hill |first1=David |title=The defence of Wessex: the Burghal Hidage and Anglo-Saxon fortifications |last2=Rumble |first2=Alexander R. |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1996 |isbn=0-7190-3218-0 |pages=107–108}}</ref>
[[File:Wareham Lady St Mary Church 2.JPG|thumb|right|Lady St. Mary Church]]

The town's oldest features are the town walls, ancient earth [[defensive wall|ramparts]] surrounding the town, likely built by [[Alfred the Great]] in the 9th century to defend the town from the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]]<ref name="Davis 1997 14">{{harvnb|Davis|1997|p=14}}</ref> as part of his system of ''[[burh]]'' towns. The Danes invaded and occupied Wareham in 876, and only left after Alfred returned with an army and made a payment of [[Danegeld]]. In 998 they attacked again, and in 1015 an invasion led by [[Cnut|King Canute]] left the town in ruins.<ref name="Davis 1997 15">{{harvnb|Davis|1997|p=15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=A Freeman |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.226325 |title=The History Of Norman Conquest Of England Volum One}}</ref> The town was a [[Saxons|Saxon]] royal burial place, notably that of [[King Beorhtric]] (d. 802). Also in the town at the ancient [[Minster (church)|minster]] church of [[Lady St. Mary Church, Wareham|Lady St. Mary]]  is the coffin said to be that of [[Edward the Martyr]], dating from 978. His remains had been hastily buried there and were later taken from Wareham to [[Shaftesbury Abbey]] in north Dorset (and now lie in [[Brookwood Cemetery]], [[Surrey]]).

By the end of the Saxon period, Wareham had become one of the most important towns in the county, to the extent that it housed two [[Mint (coin)|mints]] for the issue of Royal money.<ref name="wtc">{{Cite web |title=DTC Wareham History |url=http://www.wareham-tc.gov.uk/WTC_pages/wtc_history.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107095832/http://www.wareham-tc.gov.uk/WTC_pages/wtc_history.htm |archive-date=7 January 2011 |access-date=14 November 2010 |publisher=Wareham Town Council |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The [[Burghal Hidage]] lists the town as 1,600 [[Hide (unit)|hides]], the third largest in the realm.<ref name="Davis 1997 14" /> During the [[Norman conquest of England]], in late 1067, [[William the Conqueror|William I]] harried the town as his army passed into the west to [[Siege of Exeter (1068)|lay siege to Exeter]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=A Freeman |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.183476 |title=The History Of Norman Conquest Of England Volum Iv}}</ref> The [[Normans]] later built a [[Wareham Castle|castle]] on the banks of the River Frome, at a site acquired from the Abbot of Shaftesbury and now known as Castle Close, which became the focus of much fighting between the forces of [[Stephen, King of England|Stephen]] and [[Empress Matilda|Matilda]] during the period of [[The Anarchy|civil war]] in the mid 12th century.<ref>{{harvnb|Davis|1997|p=18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Edward Augustus Freeman |url=http://archive.org/details/historynormanco03unkngoog |title=The History of the Norman Conquest of England |others=Harvard University |date=1873 |publisher=Oxford, Clarendon Press |language=en}}</ref> The [[keep]] was destroyed at an unknown date in the 12th or 13th century, possibly under the terms of the [[Treaty of Wallingford]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=D. F. RENN |title=The Keep of Wareham Castle |url=http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-769-1/ahds/dissemination/pdf/vol04/4_056_068.pdf |access-date=14 November 2010}}</ref> and no visible trace remains. Up until this time Wareham had been an important port; however the growth of Poole and the gradual silting of the river caused a decline in trade and by the end of the 13th century most of the foreign trade had transferred to Poole. Local trade continued to be handled at the Quay until the construction of the railway in the 19th century.<ref name="wtc" /><ref>{{harvnb|Davis|1997|p=20}}</ref>

During the [[English Civil War]], Wareham changed hands several times between the [[Cavalier|Royalists]] and [[Roundhead|Parliamentarians]] and in August 1644 was the site of a fierce battle with 2,000 [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwellian]] soldiers besieging the town.<ref>{{harvnb|Davis|1997|p=31}}</ref>

After the [[Monmouth Rebellion]] of 1685, Wareham was one of a number of towns in Dorset where [[George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys|Judge Jeffreys]] held the [[Bloody Assizes]], with five rebels being [[hanged, drawn and quartered]] on the West Walls, an area known as 'Bloody Bank'.<ref name="lilianladle_1986">{{harvnb|Ladle|1986|p=28}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Davis|1997|p=35}}</ref> This may also have been the site of the execution of a hermit known as Peter de Pomfret who in 1213 had prophesied that before the next [[Ascension Day]] [[John, King of England|King John]]'s rule would be over. The prophecy turned out to be incorrect, and the King decreed that Peter should be dragged through the streets of the town tied to a horse's tail and [[Hanging|hanged]] together with his son.<ref name="lilianladle_1986" />

In 1762, a fire destroyed two thirds of the town, which has been rebuilt in [[Georgian architecture]] with red brick and [[Purbeck limestone]], following the earlier street pattern. The town is divided into four quarters by the two main roads, which cross at right-angles. The [[medieval]] [[almshouse]]s escaped the fire, and some of the Georgian façades are in fact disguising earlier buildings which also survived.

With the outbreak of the [[First World War]] in 1914, Wareham became a [[garrison]] town with up to 7,000 soldiers living and training locally. The garrison was re-located to nearby [[Bovington Camp]] in 1922.<ref>{{harvnb|Davis|1997|pp=85–90}}</ref> The town survived the [[Second World War]] largely intact, although five houses were destroyed when a bomb dropped by a [[Luftwaffe|German aeroplane]] fell near St Martin's Church in 1942.<ref>{{harvnb|Davis|1997|p=91}}</ref>

Because of the constraints of the rivers and marshland Wareham grew little during the 20th century, while nearby towns, such as [[Poole]], grew rapidly.

==Religious sites==
[[File:St Martin's Church, Wareham, Dorset, England 03.jpg|thumb|[[St Martin's Church, Wareham]]]]
Wareham's oldest places of worship include the Saxon church of Lady St. Mary (substantially modified but the origins are [[Norman conquest of England|pre-conquest]].<ref>{{harvnb|Davis|1997|p=11}}</ref> The Saxon nave was demolished in 1841–2)

[[St Martin's Church, Wareham|St. Martins-on-the-Walls]] is also Saxon (built {{circa|1030}}, dedicated to [[Martin of Tours]]). Both are [[Church of England|Anglican]].

The 14th-century building of Holy Trinity Church stands on the site of the Saxon chapel St Andrew's<ref name="Davis 1997 15" /> and was until 2012 a tourist information centre. Other churches are the Wareham [[United Reformed Church]] in Church Street, St. Edward the Martyr [[Roman Catholic]] church on Shatters Hill, Wareham [[Methodist]] Church in North St. and the [[Evangelical]] Church in Ropers Lane. Sections of the churchyard of Lady St. Mary are managed by the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]], containing as it does a number of graves of servicemen who died in a nearby military hospital during the [[First World War]] and others, including those of German and Polish servicemen, from the [[Second World War]].

==Government==
[[File:Wareham North Street.JPG|thumb|North St.]]
The civil parish of Wareham Town encompasses the walled town of Wareham, situated on the land between the rivers Frome and Piddle, together with the area of Northport to the north of the River Piddle, and a relatively small amount of the surrounding rural area. The parish has an area of {{convert|6.52|km2|2|abbr=off}}.<ref name="mapdat">{{Cite book |title=OS Explorer Map OL15 - Purbeck & South Dorset |publisher=[[Ordnance Survey]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-319-23865-3}}</ref><ref name=parsta>{{Cite web |date=11 January 2007 |title=Parish Statistics |url=http://www.purbeck.gov.uk/pdf/Parish%20Statistics1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927050126/http://www.purbeck.gov.uk/pdf/Parish%20Statistics1.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=27 September 2007 |access-date=12 August 2007 |publisher=Purbeck District Council}}</ref>

Wareham is in the [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset unitary district]] within the [[Ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial county]] of [[Dorset]]. For elections to [[Dorset Council (UK)|Dorset Council]], it is in [[Wareham (ward)|Wareham ward]]. Historically, Wareham was an [[ancient borough]] and then a [[municipal borough]] from 1886 to 1974, when it became part of [[Purbeck District]] until Dorset became a unitary district in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10173280#tab02}}</ref>

Wareham is within the [[Mid Dorset and North Poole (UK Parliament constituency)|Mid Dorset and North Poole]] constituency of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]. From the Middle Ages to 1885 Wareham was the seat of [[Wareham (UK Parliament constituency)|a parliamentary borough of the same name]].

==Culture and Media==
[[File:Town Hall and Museum, Wareham - geograph.org.uk - 1443849.jpg|thumb|[[Wareham Town Hall]]]]
Wareham is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with [[Conches-en-Ouche]] in [[Normandy]], [[France]] and with [[Hemsbach]] in [[Germany]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dorset Twinning Association |url=http://www.twinning.org.uk/main.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621101744/http://www.twinning.org.uk/main.htm |archive-date=21 June 2012 |access-date=26 November 2010 |publisher=Dorset Twinning Association}}</ref> 
Since the 16th century Wareham has been a [[market town]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Letters, Samantha |date=18 June 2003 |title=Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs to 1516: Dorset |url=http://www.history.ac.uk/cmh/gaz/dorset.html#War |publisher=Centre for Metropolitan History (Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London}}</ref> and still holds a market on Thursdays and Saturdays. In 2005 Wareham was named as a [[Fairtrade Town]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fairtrade - Towns List |url=http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/campaigns/fairtrade_towns/towns_list.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100201233239/http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/campaigns/fairtrade_towns/towns_list.aspx |archive-date=1 February 2010 |access-date=26 November 2010 |publisher=Fairtrade Foundation |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Events held in the town include the annual carnival which takes place in July with a parade, fireworks and music by the quay.<ref name="wtcabout">{{Cite web |title=About Wareham |url=http://www.wareham-tc.gov.uk/WTC_pages/wtc_about.htm |access-date=26 November 2010 |publisher=Wareham Town Council}}</ref> A new event is the music festival held in summer, with bands playing on the Quay, at [[Wareham Town Hall]] and in the town's pubs.<ref name="wtcabout" /> The Wareham Court Leet, one of the few remaining [[Court Leet]]s in Britain, meets nightly during the last week in November.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Terry Holland |title=Duties of the Court Leet |url=http://www.precisionproductions.com/courtleet/node/7 |access-date=14 November 2010}}</ref>

In the church of St Martin-on-the-Walls, there is a recumbent effigy of [[T. E. Lawrence]] (Lawrence of Arabia) in [[Arab]] clothing, sculpted by [[Eric Kennington]]. Lawrence is buried in the churchyard at [[Moreton, Dorset|Moreton]] where every year a quantity (decreases by one each year) of red roses are left. Near the town is [[Clouds Hill]] and [[Bovington]] army camp where Lawrence died after a motorbike accident. [[Wareham Town Museum]], in East Street, has an interesting section on Lawrence and in 2006 produced an hour-long DVD entitled ''T. E. Lawrence — His Final Years in Dorset'', including a reconstruction of the fatal accident. The museum also contains many artefacts on all aspects of the history of the town.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=Alexandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2whY8qR-uIC |title=Slow Dorset: Local, Characterful Guides to Britain's Special Places |date=15 April 2012 |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=9781841623931 |page=162 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Royal Air Force Air Cadets]] has an [[Air Training Corps]] squadron based in the town, namely [[List of Air Training Corps squadrons|2185 (Wareham) Squadron ATC]]. The squadron's cadets regularly partake in activities around the town for charitable purposes such as supporting the carnival, training exercises and parades. The squadron has a [[List of Air Training Corps squadrons|Detached Flight]] based at [[Swanage]].

Local news and television programmes is provided by [[BBC South]] and [[ITV Meridian]]. Television signals are received from the [[Rowridge transmitting station]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 May 2004 |title=Full Freeview on the Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) transmitter |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Rowridge |access-date=25 September 2023 |website=UK Free TV}}</ref>

The local radio stations are [[BBC Radio Solent]], [[Heart South]], [[Greatest Hits Radio South]], [[Nation Radio South Coast]] and [[Greatest Hits Radio South]].

The Wareham Advertiser is the town's local weekly newspaper.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 February 2014 |title=The Swanage and Wareham Advertiser |url=https://www.britishpapers.co.uk/england-sw/swanage-advertiser/ |access-date=25 September 2023 |website=British Papers}}</ref>

===Cultural references===
[[Thomas Hardy]] in his novels based the town of "Anglebury" on Wareham.<ref>{{Cite journal |year=2001 |title=The Thomas Hardy journal |publisher=Thomas Hardy Society |volume=17-18 |page=45}}</ref> [[Dinah Craik]] used the town as one of the settings in her novel ''Agatha's Husband'' (as "Kingcombe").<ref>{{harvnb|Davis|1997|p=51}}</ref> Anglebury House - a tea house/restaurant still operating on the high street - was frequented by [[T E Lawrence]]. The seat where Lawrence regularly sat is marked by a plaque.<ref>{{Cite web |title=T E Lawrence - Lawrence of Arabia |url=http://www.dorsets.co.uk/history/lawrence_of_arabia.htm |access-date=22 June 2012 |publisher=Dorset Guide}}</ref>

Wareham is the setting for one of the "Amazing Adventures of Scary Bones the Skeleton" series of books for children by [[Ron Dawson]], ''Scary Bones meets the Wacky Witches of Wareham''. The book also includes a photograph of the town bridge and nearby Corfe Castle which also features in the story.

Some scenes from the 2002 German [[ZDF]] TV production ''Morgen Träumen Wir Gemeinsam'' ("Tomorrow We Dream Together") were filmed in Wareham.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Film & TV Productions Shot On Location In The South-Central Region |url=http://www.south-central-media.co.uk/chrono_list.htm}}</ref>

The hymn tune "Wareham" was composed by William Knapp (born at Wareham, 1698–9); Knapp composed several other hymn tunes and was parish clerk of Poole.<ref>Rowe, Lionel (c. 1960) ''The Churches of Wareham, Dorset''; 9th ed. Gloucester: British Publishing Company; p. 19</ref>

Wareham appears in the 2020 video game [[Assassin's Creed Valhalla]], under the name of Werham.

===Sport===
Wareham is the home of Wareham Rangers Football Club who currently play in the [[Dorset Premier League]].
It is also the home of Swanage and Wareham RFU.
There is a multi activity sports centre and swimming pool situated 500 metres west of the town centre.

==Twin towns==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in the United Kingdom}}
Wareham is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
*[[Conches-en-Ouche]], France<ref name="Archant twinning 3">{{Cite web |title=British towns twinned with French towns ''[via WaybackMachine.com]'' |url=http://www.completefrance.com/language-culture/twin-towns |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705094933/http://www.completefrance.com/language-culture/twin-towns |archive-date=5 July 2013 |access-date=20 July 2013 |website=Archant Community Media Ltd}}</ref>
*[[Hemsbach]], Germany

==Notable people==
*[[John Hutchins (historian)|John Hutchins]] - Rector of Wareham, 1743–73; Author of ''The History & Antiquities of the County of Dorset''. Lived in Wareham from 1744 until his death in 1773. Buried in the town at the church of Lady St. Mary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=REV. JOHN HUTCHINS – The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset |url=http://www.opcdorset.org/WarehamFiles/WarehamHutchins.htm |access-date=23 December 2010 |publisher=Dorset OPC}}</ref>
*[[Edwin Keppel Bennett]] - Writer, poet, Germanist and academic. Born in Wareham in 1887.
*[[Shelley Preston]] - British singer and member of pop group [[Bucks Fizz]] grew up in Wareham and attended [[The Purbeck School]].
*[[T. E. Lawrence]] lived at nearby [[Clouds Hill]] and was a frequent visitor to the town in the latter years of his life.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ryan, Robert |date=6 April 2008 |title=Dorset according to TE Lawrence |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/destinations/england/article3681258.ece |access-date=23 December 2010 |work=The Sunday Times |location=London}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
*[[David Mellor]] - British politician, born in Wareham in 1949.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hough, Andrew |date=10 June 2010 |title=David Mellor: a profile |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/7816112/David-Mellor-a-profile.html |access-date=23 December 2010 |work=The Telegraph |location=London}}</ref>
*Actor [[Edward Fox (actor)|Edward Fox]] lives locally and in 2010 campaigned against the building of a supermarket on the outskirts of the town.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fox, Edward |date=10 October 2010 |title=Edward Fox: how I helped save Wareham from the supermarkets |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/8052688/Edward-Fox-how-I-helped-save-Wareham-from-the-supermarkets.html |access-date=24 December 2010 |work=The Telegraph |location=London}}</ref>
* [[Chad Gould]] lived here throughout his childhood.
*Ex-footballer [[David Best (footballer)]] was born in Wareham.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Where Are They Now? {{pipe}} Footballers {{pipe}} David Best |url=https://www.where-are-they-now.co.uk/footballer/BEST+David/2123}}</ref>
*[[Dougal Dixon]] - geologist, palaeontologist, and author, resident since 1978.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biography |url=https://www.dougal-dixon.co.uk/biography |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Dougal Dixon |language=en}}</ref>

==Demography==


{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" 
|+ Census population of Wareham Town parish
|-
! scope=col width=18%| Census
! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Population
! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Female
! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Male
! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Households
! scope=col width=10% class="unsortable"| Source
|-
!scope=row| [[1921 United Kingdom census|1921]] 
|| 1,933
|| 
||  
|| 
|| <ref name="wikidata-eb18d79a9fd3bb702bc7b84fcdea3e4defad0bb4-v18"/>
|-
!scope=row| [[1931 United Kingdom census|1931]] 
|| 2,366
|| 
||  
|| 
|| <ref name="wikidata-eb18d79a9fd3bb702bc7b84fcdea3e4defad0bb4-v18"/>
|-
!scope=row| [[1951 United Kingdom census|1951]] 
|| 2,745
|| 
||  
|| 
|| <ref name="wikidata-eb18d79a9fd3bb702bc7b84fcdea3e4defad0bb4-v18"/>
|-
!scope=row| [[1961 United Kingdom census|1961]] 
|| 3,098
|| 
||  
|| 
|| <ref name="wikidata-eb18d79a9fd3bb702bc7b84fcdea3e4defad0bb4-v18"/>
|-
!scope=row| [[1971 United Kingdom census|1971]] 
|| 4,370
|| 
||  
|| 
|| <ref name="wikidata-eb18d79a9fd3bb702bc7b84fcdea3e4defad0bb4-v18"/>
|-
!scope=row| [[1981 United Kingdom census|1981]] 
|| 4,580 
|| 
||  
|| 
|| <ref name="wikidata-eb18d79a9fd3bb702bc7b84fcdea3e4defad0bb4-v18"/>
|-
!scope=row| [[1991 United Kingdom census|1991]] 
|| 5,620
|| 
||  
|| 
|| <ref name="wikidata-eb18d79a9fd3bb702bc7b84fcdea3e4defad0bb4-v18">{{Cite web|publisher=Dorset County Council|title=Past population - Parishes (M-Z), 1921-2001- Census Years|url=http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345043|archive-date=6 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906154811/http://www.dorsetforyou.com/345043}}</ref>
|-
!scope=row| [[2001 United Kingdom census|2001]] 
|| 5,665
|| 2,965
|| 2,700 
|| 2,545
|| <ref name="wikidata-a08218995ada6ed07e35f13524a292a4b6851935-v18">{{Cite web|at=Tables KS001 (Usual resident population) and KS016 (Household spaces and accommodation type)|publisher=Office for National Statistics|title=Key Statistics|access-date=23 June 2025|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2001_ks}}</ref>
|-
!scope=row| [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011]] 
|| 5,496
|| 2,933
|| 2,563 
|| 2,557
|| <ref name="wikidata-23d93403bbd510e3eaf857bb0207b766770d8bc9-v18">{{Cite web|at=Table KS101EW (Usual resident population) and Table KS105EW (Household composition)|publisher=Office for National Statistics|title=Key Statistics|access-date=23 June 2025|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2011_ks}}</ref>
|-
!scope=row| [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]] 
|| 5,877 
|| 3,128
|| 2,749 
|| 2,749
|| <ref name="wikidata-1777794f031f3bb865bc1ba87bbd53bc9876131c-v18">{{Cite web|publisher=Office for National Statistics|title=Parish Profiles|access-date=5 August 2024|website=2021 United Kingdom census|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_pp}}</ref>
|}

At the [[2001 UK census]], 99% of Wareham's population were of White ethnicity.<ref name="dcc_census_profile2005" /> There was a high proportion of older people in the town: 29.4% of the population are over 60 years old, against a national average of 21%.<ref name="dcc_census_profile2005" /> The largest industry of employment for those who live in Wareham was manufacturing which employs 16.3%. Three other significant areas of employment were: wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles (13.5%), real estate renting and business activities (12.2%) and health and social work (10.5%).<ref name="dcc_census_profile2005" />

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Religion in Wareham at the 2001 census
! Religion
! %<ref name="census2001keyfigures">{{Cite web |year=2001 |title=Key Figures for 2001 Census: Census Area Statistics Information on 2001 Census: Census Area Statistics |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=6178271&c=wareham&d=14&e=16&g=438873&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1289948608873&enc=1 |access-date=16 November 2010 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |archive-date=23 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223165020/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=6178271&c=wareham&d=14&e=16&g=438873&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1289948608873&enc=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
|align=left |[[Buddhism|Buddhist]]
|0.21
|-
|align=left |[[Christianity|Christian]]
|80.33
|-
|align=left |[[Hinduism|Hindu]]
|0.0
|-
|align=left |[[Judaism|Jewish]]
|0.07
|-
|align=left |[[Islam|Muslim]]
|0.32
|-
|align=left |[[Irreligion|No religion]]
|12.24
|-
|align=left |[[List of religions|Other]]
|0.25
|-
|align=left |[[Sikhism|Sikh]]
|0.0
|-
|align=left |Not stated
|6.59
|}

{|class="wikitable"
|+ Age profile of Wareham at the 2001 census
!Age!!Percentage<ref name="dcc_census_profile2005">{{Cite web |year=2005 |title=Wareham Census Town Profile |url=http://www.dorsetforyou.com/media.jsp?mediaid=107928&filetype=pdf |access-date=16 November 2010 |publisher=Dorset County Council}}</ref> 
|-
||0–15||align=right|15.4
|-
||16–17||align=right|2.5
|-
||18–44||align=right|29.3
|-
||45–59||align=right|23.4
|-
||60–84||align=right|26.4
|-
||85+||align=right|3.0
|}

{{clear left}}

==See also==
{{Wikivoyage inline|Wareham_(England)|Wareham}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pitt Rivers |first=Michael |title=Dorset |publisher=[[Faber & Faber]] |year=1970 |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Terence |title=Wareham Gateway to Purbeck |publisher=dpc |year=1997 |isbn=0-948699-62-0 |edition=2nd}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ladle |first=Lilian |title=Explore Wareham |publisher=Lady St. Mary Parochial Church Council |year=1986 |isbn=0-9511365-0-X}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Wareham, Dorset}}
{{Wikivoyage|Wareham (England)}}
* [http://www.wareham-tc.gov.uk/ Wareham Town Council website]
* [http://www.wtm.org.uk/ Wareham Town Museum website]

{{Clear}}
{{Dorset}}
{{Purbeck}}
{{Viking Invasion of England}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Wareham, Dorset| ]]
[[Category:Market towns in Dorset]]
[[Category:Towns in Dorset]]
[[Category:Poole Harbour]]
[[Category:Purbeck District]]