Melbury Abbas

Melbury Abbas is a village in north Dorset, England, situated between Shaftesbury and Blandford Forum on Cranborne Chase. The village has a population of 301 (2001), 34.4% are retired. 6.1% of dwellings are second homes.

The village is known for its traffic problems as it is situated on what has become the main road between Shaftesbury and Blandford. The road, which is not officially classified at all, takes much of the traffic that should use the A350 primary route through the Blackmore Vale a few miles to the west, as the hilltop road is straighter and passes through fewer villages. Melbury Abbas is the only bottleneck on the hilltop road, where it dips down into the valley and narrows. Dorset County Council have considered bypass schemes, but none have got further than preliminary stages as the village is surrounded by important conservation land.

There is a small airfield in the adjacent village of Compton Abbas.

In 2001 Madonna and Guy Ritchie bought and occupied Ashcombe House, a Georgian manor house in Wiltshire, about five kilometres to the east of Melbury Abbas. They caused some controversy when they tried to close public byways which ran through their land. They were subsequently divorced in November 2008.

External links

• Census data

Coordinates: 50°59′N 2°10′W / 50.983°N 2.167°W / 50.983; -2.167