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Manston is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, lying next to the River Stour in the Blackmore Vale, two miles (three kilometres) east of Sturminster Newton. The geology of the parish consists mostly of Kimmeridge clay, with a thin strip of Corallian limestone in the west.

In 1086 in the Domesday Book, Manston was recorded as Manestone; it had 19 households, 8 ploughlands, 25 acres (10 hectares) of meadow and 2 mills. It was in the hundred of Gillingham and tenant-in-chief was Waleran the hunter.

The parish church of St Nicholas has a 13th-century chancel, 14th-century nave and 15th-century west tower. The first legal cremation in Britain took place at Manston House in 1883, carried out by Captain Thomas Hanham. In 2013 the estimated population of the parish was 140.

Mappowder was once the home of the Coker family, who built a large mansion here in 1654, although this was pulled down in the mid-eighteenth century. The building which occupies the site now, Mappowder Court, is mostly of mid-eighteenth-century origin, with some earlier remnants. The stone gateposts at the entrance remain from the original Coker manor; these are topped by carved human heads which in 1905 Sir Frederick Treves described as "Blackamore's" these being "those indefinite natives of the tropics having been used for the crest of the Coker family." In 1559 Henry Coker (c.1528 1596) was member of parliament for the constituency of Shaftesbury. Mappowder Court is listed by English Heritage as Grade II*, with the gateposts and courtyard walls as Grade II.

Novelist and short story writer Theodore Francis Powys lived in Mappowder for the last 13 years of his life; he died and was buried here in 1953.

Thomas Hardy described Marnhull as 'Marlott' in his novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles. The Crown Inn is described by Hardy as 'The Pure Drop Inn', and The Blackmore Vale Inn is described as 'Rollivers' - a disreputable and illegal drinking house, where secret ale drinking groups gathered upstairs. The television adaptation of the book was filmed in the village.

The lord and tenant-in-chief was Shaftesbury Abbey.

In the 2011 census the civil parish (CP) had 147 dwellings. The CP includes West Melbury and part of Cann Common. 134 households and a population of 305.

Within Milton Abbas civil parish are 75 structures that are listed by Historic England for their historical or architectural interest; four structures are listed as Grade I, six are Grade II* and the rest are Grade II. The Grade I structures are the Abbey Church of St Mary, St Sansom and St Bradwalader, the Chapel of St Catherine, Milton Abbey School, and The Abbot's Hall and kitchen at Milton Abbey. The Grade II* structures are the almshouses and reading room, Delcombe Manor, Garden Cottage at Delcombe Manor, the Parish Church of St James (built circa 1786), The Old Rectory, and The Stone Lodge And Gatehouse (including the gatehouse, gatepiers and gates). In addition to the listed structures, 535 hectares (1,320 acres) of parkland around the abbey site are listed as Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Moordown is part of the Moordown ward for elections to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council which elect two councillors.

Moordown is part of the Bournemouth East parliamentary constituency, for elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

On 1 April 2019, campaigners submitted a petition with close to 300 signatures, asking for the creation of a parish council. This would allow locals to have more of a say with issues in their area.

Originally named Elmhurst, this house was built c.1870 by the politician Viscount Bury, only son of the 6th Earl of Albemarle. In the late 1860s Viscount Bury had bought Elm Tree Cottage, which stood on the northern edge of the Sandhills estate, with the intention of erecting a seaside holiday home on the site. The new building was designed by Colonel Sir Robert William Edis, an architect favoured by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and known for designing many large hotels and clubs in London. He also designed the nearby Boscombe Spa Hotel. In 1868, Viscount Bury was on the beach near his new home when he observed a fishing boat in difficulties. With the assistance of a Coastguardsman, he rowed out to the stricken boat and was able to save one of the three fishermen.

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We also used the following coordinates to generate the Google Map displayed on this page.  latitude 50.938949 and longitude -2.265074