Odstock is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

south of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England. The parish includes the village of

Nunton Nunton is a small village and former civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southeast of Salisbury. The former parish included the small village of Bodenham, to the east. Nunton is on the River Ebble, while Bodenham is close to the juncti ...

with its nearby hamlet of Bodenham. The parish is in the valley of the

River Ebble The River Ebble is one of the five rivers of the English city of Salisbury. Rising at Alvediston to the west of the city, it joins the River Avon at Bodenham, near Nunton. Description The Ebble rises at Alvediston, to the west of Salisbury, ...

, which joins the

Hampshire Avon The River Avon () is in the south of England, rising in Wiltshire, flowing through that county's city of Salisbury and then west Hampshire, before reaching the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and P ...

near Bodenham. In the woods about Odstock are

earthworks Earthworks may refer to: Construction *Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour * Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil *Earthworks (military), m ...

. The meaning of the name is probably "Odo's

stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived ...

Odstock Down Odstock Down () is a 12.1 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, England, above the village of Odstock Odstock is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the village ...

is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.

History

Fragmentary records from Saxon times indicate that the Ebble valley was a thriving area, the River Ebble also being known as the River Chalke. The

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

in 1086 divided the Chalke Valley into eight manors, ''Chelke'' (Chalke), ''Eblesborne'' (

Ebbesbourne Wake Ebbesbourne Wake is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, some south-west of Salisbury, near the head of the valley of the small River Ebble. The parish includes the hamlets of Fifield Bavant and West End. History Records from Saxo ...

), ''Fifehide'' (

Fifield Bavant Fifield Bavant (/'fʌɪfiːld 'bavənt/) is a small village and former civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southwest of Wilton, midway between Ebbesbourne Wake and Broad Chalke on the north bank of the River Ebble. The small Church of ...

), ''Cumbe'' (

Coombe Bissett Coombe Bissett is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire in the River Ebble valley, southwest of Salisbury on the A354 road that goes south towards Blandford Forum. The parish includes the village of Homington, to the ...

), ''Humitone'' (Homington), ''Odestoche'' (Odstock), ''Stradford'' (

Stratford Tony Stratford Tony, also spelt Stratford Toney, formerly known as Stratford St Anthony and Toney Stratford, is a small village and civil parish in southern Wiltshire, England. It lies on the River Ebble and is about southwest of Salisbury.

) and ''Trow'' (circa

Alvediston Alvediston is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about east of Shaftesbury and southwest of Salisbury. The area is the source of the River Ebble and is within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding ...

and

Tollard Royal Tollard Royal is a village and civil parish on Cranborne Chase, Wiltshire, England. The parish is on Wiltshire's southern boundary with Dorset and the village is southeast of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury, on the B3081 road between Shaftesbury ...

).Ebbesbourne Wake through the Ages by Peter Meers
/ref>

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

is said to have stayed in Odstock in a 17th-century house that was once an inn called the Parsonage. Nunton and Bodenham were transferred from Downton parish to Odstock in 1934.

Buildings

The

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church at Odstock is dedicated to

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

. Originating in the 12th century, it was partially re-built by James Fowler of Louth in 1870. The previous year, Fowler added to the 1816 Odstock Rectory. Today the parish is part of the Chalke Valley Churches group. At the church is the grave of Joshua Scamp who, to protect his daughter, took the blame for his son-in-law's theft of a horse, and was hanged. Legend has it that after Joshua's death a Gypsy curse was put on the Church. Odstock Manor House dates from the 17th century and is also Grade II* listed. It is the home of Lord (Jonathan) Marland, businessman and Conservative politician. What is now the Yew Tree Inn was a pair of 18th century cottages. George Ford is listed as a beer retailer and shopkeeper in Odstock in 1875 and is likely the first Landlord of the Inn.

Hospital

Odstock Hospital was built in 1942 north of the village, in the parish of

Britford Britford is a village and civil parish beside the River Avon about south-east of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the A338 Salisbury-Bournemouth road. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 592. Geography ...

. From 1943 it was used by the United States 5th Army Medical Corps and provided support for the Normandy landings in 1944. With the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, the hospital was selected to house a new regional Plastic and Oral Surgery Centre providing

burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

and (since 1984) spinal care for patients in five counties. Since 1987 the site has developed into a large District Hospital.

Longford Castle

North of Bodenham is the Longford Park estate and Longford Castle, seat of the Pleydell-Bouverie family, Earls of Radnor.

Bordering areas

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire