Drimpton
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Drimpton is a village in the
English county The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...
of
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
, situated approximately northwest of
Beaminster Beaminster ( ) is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England, approximately northwest of the county town Dorchester. It is sited in a bowl-shaped valley near the source of the small River Brit. The population of Beaminster parish was recorded ...
and southwest of
Crewkerne Crewkerne ( ) is a town and electoral ward in south Somerset, England, southwest of Yeovil and east of Chard. The civil parish of West Crewkerne includes the hamlets of Coombe, Woolminstone and Henley, and borders the county of Dorset to the s ...
in
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
. It lies within the
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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of Broadwindsor. Drimpton is sited on a small tributary of the River Axe which was unnamed until 2005 when, after a vote by villagers, it was officially named the "Little Axe". Neighbouring settlements include Clapton,
Seaborough Seaborough is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southwest England. It is sited in the valley of the River Axe and lies approximately south of Crewkerne in Somerset. The parish was historically in Somerset, part of th ...
, Blackdown, Kittwhistle, Broadwindsor and
Burstock Burstock is a village and civil parish in west Dorset, England, south of Crewkerne. In the 2011 census the parish had 59 dwellings, 49 households and a population of 120. In 1086 Burstock was recorded in the Domesday Book as 'Bureuuinestoch' ...
. Greenham and Netherhay are small hamlets virtually contiguous with Drimpton. At Greenham there was once a
flax mill Flax mills are mills which process flax. The earliest mills were developed for spinning yarn for the linen industry. John Kendrew (an optician) and Thomas Porthouse (a clockmaker), both of Darlington developed the process from Richard Arkwrig ...
, part of which still survives. Three books, chronicling life in the area, have recently been compiled; the project was called 'Village Voices'. Netherhay Bridge, which carries Crewkerne Road over the Little Axe, was built by J & D Gale of Allington and is dated 1829. The Chard Road crosses the Little Axe by a single-span bridge, which forms part of the B3162 road, and which was built in 2003. The former Drimpton Toll House is located on Bridport Road (B3162).


History

Traditionally many of Drimpton's inhabitants worked in the agricultural industry, with Drimpton, Lower Drimpton, and Bridge Farms in the locality. During the 19th century, Greenham Mill was a major employer in the area. The mill was built about half a mile west of Drimpton in 1824. It closed in 1923 and was sold in 1931. By the 1950s, the main mill building was being used by Beaminster firm Cow and Gate for the storage of dried milk powder, and then Lockyer and Sons, who operated the nearby Clapton Mill, used the building for storing grain. The building was demolished in 1980. By 1931, the roadside warehouse was occupied by the haulage firm Rendell and Read. Cosipet transformed the building into a factory making pet products in 1986 and they continue to operate there.


Amenities

The village has two places of worship: the Anglican parish church of St Mary's and the Netherhay Methodist Chapel. St Mary's was built as a
chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
to the parish church of St John the Baptist in Broadwindsor and opened in 1867. The Methodist chapel was built in 1838. A school serving up to 100 mixed pupils was opened in 1874 and enlarged in 1886. It closed in 1968 and the pupils were then bussed to the newly built school at Broadwindsor. It is now a private residence, the Old School House. Drimpton Village Hall was opened by Mr. A. R. Hayward of Misterton on 20 December 1923. It was erected by Messrs. Wakely Bros of Broadwindsor to the specifications of Mr. L. Clarke of
West Chinnock West Chinnock is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of West and Middle Chinnock, in the Somerset district, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is north east of Crewkerne. It occupies a central position east of ...
. A concert and dance was held on its opening day. The village shop and post office (4 Chard Road) closed in 1993.


Royal Oak

The Royal Oak is the village's pub and is owned by Palmers Brewery. The original thatched pub was purchased by the brewery in 1890. It suffered a major fire later that year on 15 October, which broke out in a chimney and left the building as "a heap of ruins". The pub was subsequently rebuilt in 1891–92 and reoccupied in late 1892. Drimpton once had a second pub, the New Inn, which closed in 1958 and is now a private residence, the Pin House.


Grade II listed buildings

* Bridge Farmhouse – detached farmhouse of early 19th century date * Haydon Villa – detached villa of early 19th century date * The Yews – detached house of circa mid-18th century date


References


External links


Gallery

File:St Mary's Church, Drimpton, Dorset.jpg, St Mary's Church File:Drimpton, West Dorset - geograph.org.uk - 745045.jpg, Haydon Villa and Chard Road File:Drimpton, Chard Road - geograph.org.uk - 66534.jpg, Chard Road File:The former New Inn, Drimpton, Dorset.jpg, The former New Inn, now the Pin House File:Drimpton Toll House, Bridport Road, Dorset.jpg, The former toll house on Bridport Road {{authority control Villages in Dorset