Corscombe

Corscombe

Corscombe village
Corscombe
Corscombe shown within Dorset
Population 445 [1]
OS grid reference ST518053
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Police Dorset
Fire Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
Website Village website

Corscombe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset, in the West Dorset administrative district. The parish includes the small settlements of Benville and Toller Whelme to the south and in the 2011 census had a population of 445.[1]

Corscombe village is sited "into hollows and along sunken lanes"[2] on the northern scarp slope of the Dorset Downs, approximately 8 miles (13 km) south-south-west from the town of Yeovil in Somerset. Evidence of early human occupation within the parish includes lynchets and, south of the village, three standing stones.[3]

On the higher ground in the village stands the 15th-century parish church of St. Mary, which was restored in 1875-7.[2] In 1905 Sir Frederick Treves described the church as a "handsome building" with an "exceedingly fine" situation.[4] Nearby Corscombe Court dates from the 13th century and is partially surrounded by a moat. It has a 15th-century tithe barn which was once used by the monks of Sherborne Abbey.[5]

About 2 kilometres to the south of Corscombe village, across the A356, is Toller Down, one of the highest hills in Dorset, with good views of the surrounding countryside.

The musician Polly Jean Harvey is a former resident.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Area: Corscombe (Parish), Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 Gant, R., Dorset Villages, Hale, 1980, p105
  3. ↑ "'Corscombe', An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 1: West (1952), pp. 105-108". British History Online. University of London & History of Parliament Trust. November 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  4. ↑ Treves, Sir F., Highways and Byways in Dorset, Macmillan, 1905, p286
  5. ↑ West Dorset District Council, Holiday and tourist guide, c.1983, p6
  6. ↑ Blanchard, James R. PJ Harvey: Siren Rising. Omnibus Press. Retrieved 1 March 2015.


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