Corfe Mullen is a village in Dorset, England, on the north-western urban fringe of the South East Dorset conurbation. The village had a population of 10,133 at the 2011 Census. It is served by six churches, four pubs, five schools, a library, various shops and local businesses, a village hall, and many community and sports organisations. On 10 December 2019 The Corfe Mullen Parish Council resolved to adopt Town Council status, citing potential financial benefits. In all other aspects Corfe Mullen is still very much a village, albeit a large one. The name Corfe Mullen is derived from (the Old English for a or pass) and (the Old French for a mill). The mill referred to is the old water mill on the River Stour, mentioned in the Domesday Book, where the village originally stood. Despite the proximity of the urban area, Corfe Mullen is surrounded by Green Belt. It lies within the Dorset Heaths. History Early nomadic tribes and settlers The first evidence of people living in the area consists mainly of a number of flint axeheads that have been found within the village and which date from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic (Old and Middle Stone Ages). Around 3000 BC, the first real settlers came, cleared the forests and began to farm, although even they were largely nomadic. Later settlers, during the Bronze Age, built burial mounds or barrows, examples of which may be found to the east of the village at Barrow Hill and at Naked Cross at the southern end of the village. These forms of occupation continued into the Iron Age; evidence of pottery manufactured around the 1st century BC may be found at East End. Just prior to the coming of the Romans, in around 50 BC, the area was inhabited by the Belgae. Romans The Roman Second Legion under Vespasian arrived in the Corfe Mullen area during the fifth decade of the 1st century AD and built a fortress just to the north of the village at Lake Farm. The location of this fortress was important; the River Stour provided a defensive barrier to the north and the site is only from the Iron Age hillfort at Badbury Rings. Lake cut this important tribal centre off from the settlements at Dudsbury and Hengistbury Head. To subjugate the local tribes and keep themselves supplied and in communication with other Roman centres, the Legion built several