- Thorncombe
infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 50.8257longitude= -2.8853
official_name= Thorncombe
population = 714
shire_district=West Dorset
shire_county =Dorset
region= South West Englandconstituency_westminster= West Dorset
post_town= CHARD
postcode_district= TA20 4
postcode_area=TA
dial_code= 01460
os_grid_reference= ST376033Thorncombe is a village in west
Dorset ,England , situated fivemile s south east of Chard. The village has apopulation of 714 (2001), and 8.4% of dwellings aresecond home s.Geography
The
Parish of Thorncombe lies in the north-west corner of Dorset, bordering bothDevon andSomerset . It is set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. TheParish is over 5200 acres in extent and is principally agricultural land. It forms part of the district ofWest Dorset . There is a population of about 700 – about half of which live in the village of Thorncombe, and the rest in the hamlets of Holditch, Hewood, Synderford and outlying farms and houses.Thorncombe consists of three roads which meet at a "T" in the middle of the village. These roads are Chard Street, Fore Street and High Street.
Chard Street heads north to the Somerset town of Chard. Chard Street is probably the busiest road with the Village Hall, St, Marys Primary School and the housing estates of Gribb View and Tansee Hill. Gribb View breaks from the tradition of most of the village in being mostly
brick or rendered buildings. The traditional build of the Village beingflint faced cottages, as this stone was readily available from the local area. Tansee Hill being of a more recent build is more in keeping with the village as it consists of both flint faced and rendered buildings.Fore Street heads to the east towards Venn and is a more traditional looking part of the village with flint face cottages and terraced housing down its length. Along Fore Street are many of the buildings which in previous eras the village would not survive without. These include the original Village Store, The Bakers and two pubs. Unfortunately all these buildings no longer function as their original purpose but still survive as housing.
High Street heads west and towards Sadborrow and Holditch. High Street again can be considered a more traditional looking with its housing. Halfway along High Street length is the recent development of Orchard Lane. This development, again like Tansee Hill, is in keeping with the look of the village with traditional looking buildings and some which include
thatching .Overall the village is set in beautiful Dorset countryside with a very traditional West Dorset look. Due to the position of Thorncombe it has become very desirable for people living outside the village. This has also accounted for the high number of second homes (nearly 10%) within the village. Local people born in the village have therefore found it increasingly difficult to buy property within the village because of the high property prices and the lower wages within employment in and around Thorncombe.
History
Within the village is the church of St Mary's Thorncombe. The original Church at Thorncombe was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary by
William Brewer ,bishop of Exeter , in 1239. The building of the Church, as well as nearbyForde Abbey (founded in 1136), was superintended byCistercian monks from Waverley,Surrey .Thomas Chard , alias Tyblis, the last Abbot, wasSuffragan Bishop to theBishop of Exeter from 1508 and was appointedVicar of Thorncombe in 1529, 10 years before he leftForde Abbey at theDissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. The Rev. John Bragge was Vicar of Thorncombe from 1644 - 1647, when he was deprived of his Living, probably because he was involved in aRoyalist plot against Cromwell, and was transported toBarbados . The old Church stood about 50 yards to the south of the present Church, the site being where the Wellingtonia tree now stands.The present Church, incorporating a numbers of items from the old Church, was built in 1866-1867 at a cost of £4,000. The Foundation Stone was laid on 26th April 1866 by Margaret Bragge, widow of Colonel Bragge of Sadborow, and was dedicated by the
Bishop of Salisbury on 15th October 1867. It was built inPerpendicular style , the windows being modeled on those of thecloisters of Forde Abbey.The Memorial Brass. A wonderful piece of
medieval brass workmanship in the Church is a fine memorial brass commemorating Sir Thomas and Lady Brook of Holditch Court. This is one of 500 brass memorials recorded in theLancastrian period 1400-1453. It was removed from the old church and placed in the new church in 1867. From details of the costumes of the period, it has been accurately dated 1437.Boundary changes. Until 1843, the Civil Parish of Thorncombe was in Devon, at which time it was transferred to Dorset. At the same time, it was transferred ecclesiastically from the
Diocese of Exeter to theDiocese of Salisbury . In 1982, it was transferred to theDiocese of Bath and Wells , at which time it became a 'united benefice' sharing a vicar with the neighbouring (Somerset) parishes ofWinsham andCricket St Thomas . In 1999, the parishes joined with others to form the Chard and District Team Ministry.In 2006 Thorncombe together with Winsham linked with Tatworth, Chaffcombe and Cricket Malherbie with Knowle St Giles to form the Two Shires Benefice.The Parish.
The Book of the Axe (1875) says that, in 1770, the Old Church at Thorncombe was not large enough to contain 'the fourth part of the inhabitants'. The present Church was built to seat 400. This suggests that 200 years ago the population was over 1,600. At that time, the village was a centre for thewool trade and had a thrivinglace-making industry. The population was 1,308 in 1851 and 1,189 in 1871. The most recent survey gives a population for the Parish of about 650. Despite this fall in the number of people living in the Parish, the sense of community and the general participation of the inhabitants in the life of the Parish is strong.In the last 50 years the main industry in and around Thorncombe has been agriculture. This has usually employed main people from the village but due to the recent decline this has decreased. There are still a few farms which survive around the village but most residents work outside in the local towns of Chard, Crewkerne and Bridport.
Famous past inhabitants of Thorncombe include Sir Raymond Firth, Lady Rosemary Firth and
Cecil Gould .External links
* [http://www1.dorsetcc.gov.uk/LIVING/FACTS/Census2001.nsf/6cadf4da179fc19500256663004afece/8218f6b1fa40cf4480256ec800581750?OpenDocument Census data]
* [http://www.thorncombe.com/ Thorncombe Village website]
* [http://www.stmarysthorncombe.co.uk// Thorncombe School website]
* [http://www.fordeabbey.co.uk/pages/index.php Forde Abbey website]
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