[3] The origins of the name Powerstock have not been fully determined; the second part derives from the Old English stoc, meaning an outlying farmstead, but the first part—similar to the nearby settlement of Poorton—is unresolved.

[5] According to one source, the name was 'Poorstock' until the Bridport Railway was built through the village in 1857, when the change to Powerstock was made to avoid connotations of 'poor (rolling) stock'.

The term forest originally referred to land where hunting and forestry rights were reserved for a monarch or the aristocracy.

The nearby Eggardon Hill (height 827 feet (252 m)) lies about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-east of the village.

Powerstock was used as the filming location for a BBC production of Agatha Christie's A Murder is Announced and the 2010 Springwatch series.