Odcombe

Odcombe
Somerset
St Peter and St Paul, Odcombe
Location
Grid reference:	ST505155
Location:	50°56’10"N, 2°42’18"W
Data
Population:	759  (2011)
Post town:	Yeovil
Postcode:	BA22
Dialling code:	01935
Local Government
Council:	Somerset
Parliamentary constituency:	Yeovil

Odcombe is a village in Somerset, in the south of the county three miles west of Yeovil, with a population of 759 at the 2011 census. It is in the county's Houndsborough Hundred.

The upper part of the village, Higher Odcombe, sits on the crest of the hill, while the lower part, Lower Odcombe, is built on its northern slopes.

History

The village is listed in the Domesday Book as part of the estates of Robert, Count of Mortain. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the Barony of Odcombe was given to Ansgar de Brito (formerly Ansgar de Montacute/Ansgar Deincourt) for valour in battle. Along with the Odcombe Barony, Ansgar de Brito acquired multiple additional holdings within Somersetshire, at which point the Count of Mortain became his overlord.

In the 1860s, the village church was redeveloped, during which time the preserved shoes of Thomas Coryat were lost. The village is built predominantly out of the local hamstone still quarried on Ham Hill, two miles to the west.

Church

The Church of St Peter and St Paul, built of local Ham stone, has 13th-century origins. In 1874, transepts were added and the church restored. It is a Grade I listed building.

A headstone in yellow Jaisalmer stone lies embedded in the front lawn of the church to mark a memorial service to poet Dom Moraes (1938–2004).

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Odcombe)