Odcombe is a village and
civil parish in south
Somerset, England, west of the town of
Yeovil, with a population of 759 in 2011.
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. Odcombe falls within the
Yeovil Parliamentary constituency and is covered by the
Non-metropolitan district of
South Somerset, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, having previously been part of
Yeovil Rural District.
There is a
parish council which has responsibility for local issues.
History
The village is mentioned in the
Domesday book when it was owned by
Robert, Count of Mortain
Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastin ...
. After the
Battle of Hastings in 1066, the Barony of Odcombe was given to Ansgar de Brito (formerly Ansgar de Montacute/Ansgar Deincourt) for valor 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.
The parish was part of the
hundred of
Houndsborough.
Religious sites
The
Ham stone Church of St Peter and St Paul has 13th-century origins. In 1874 transepts were added and the church
restored
''Restored'' is the fourth
studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings.
Track listing
Standard release
Enhanced edition
Deluxe gold edition
Standard ...
. It has been designated as 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
Dominic Francis Moraes (19 July 1938 – 2 June 2004) was an Indian writer and poet who published nearly 30 books in English. He is widely seen as a foundational figure in Indian English literature. His poems are a meaningful and substantial c ...
(1938–2004).
Notable residents
Notable residents of the village include
Humphrey Hody, a late 17th-century scholar and theologian,
George Strong, a 19th-century soldier awarded the
Victoria Cross in the
Crimean war, the writer,
Hilda Mary Hooke
Hilda Mary Hooke (after marriage, Smith; 3 October 1898 – 1978) was an English-born Canadian writer of dramas, poetry, and prose. Her 1938 play, ''Here Will I Nest'' was adapted into Canada's first colour feature-length motion picture, ''Talbot ...
, and Thomas Coryat, a 17th-century traveller and writer; author of ''
Coryat's Crudities
' is a travelogue published in 1611 by Thomas Coryat (sometimes also spelled "Coryate" or "Coriat") of Odcombe, an English traveller and mild eccentric.
History
The book is an account of a journey undertaken, much of it on foot, in 1608 throu ...
''. Coryate described his "...love of Odcombe in Somersetshire, which is so deare unto me that I preferre the very smoke thereof before the fire of all other places under the Sunne"
[''Coryat's Crudities'' (1611),p120]
References
External links
{{South Somerset
Villages in South Somerset
Civil parishes in Somerset
