upwards in easterly direction where, beyond the village, it is used mainly for agricultural purposes. The area is drained by a small stream, known as the Clockhouse Stream, which meanders through the northern end of the village and across the flood plain, before joining the Avon near Christchurch town centre. The Avon Valley Path, a 34-mile trail from Christchurch to Salisbury, passes through the village. History Burton is not recorded in the Domesday Book. The earliest mention of the name occurs in the twelfth century but it is likely that prior to this, official records included it as part of the lands of Twynham or Christchurch as it was later known. The village's name stems from the Anglo-Saxon, burh meaning fortified town and tun meaning farm. The name suggests the village was either a fortified farmstead or simply a farm belonging to the nearby Burgh of Christchurch. There is archaeological evidence that Palaeolithic and Neolithic people occupied the lower part of the Avon Valley but the first evidence of permanent residence at Burton dates back to the Mesolithic. It is thought that the obstacle of the flood plain led to the development of an alternative route north on which fringe settlements like Burton and Winkton grew. The oldest buildings in the village date back to at least the early 18th century but Burton was greatly expanded in the 1970s and 1980s and today there are more than 1700 dwellings and a population of nearly 4000. Winkton is the second largest settlement in the parish with a population of about 180. John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, published 1870–1872, records the then population of Burton as 582. Demography The 2011 census records the population of the parish as 4,177 of which 48.2% are male and 51.8% are female. 16.5% are children under 16 years-of-age, 29.3% are over 60, and the remaining 54.2% are in the 17 to 59 age bracket. The mean average age is 43.3 years. 96.6% identify as white British. Of the 69.1% of residents who claimed to have a religion, 97.97% said they were Christian. The population density is 4.8 people per hectare. 71.7% of the population are economically active comprising 66.0% who are in employment, 3.1% who are students over the age of 16, and 2.6% who are unemployed. The remaining 28.3% are classified as economically inactive and incorporate the 17.7% who are retired,