Chedington, West Dorset

The village of Chedington is perched high up in the hills of West Dorset by the sources of the River Axe and the River Parrett, 3 miles North of Beaminster and 4 miles South-East of Crewkerne (Somerset).

 

After the First World War, the National Trust, donated 16 acres of land just down from the pub for a memorial to the 43rd (Wessex) Division of the Dorsetshire Regiment and a replica of the monument found on Hill 112 at Caen in Normandy was erected. 

 

The earliest reference to a house in Chedington dates from 1285 and the village is dominated by the neo-Jacobean Chedington Court.

 

The nearby market town of Beaminster is an old settlement, dating back to before the Norman Conquest, the town was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was owned by the Bishop of Salisbury. 

 

Beaminster has been officially named as one of the best places to visit in Britain and the history of the town can be explored in the Beaminster Museum.

 

The historic Jacobean manor Mapperton Estate, “Voted the nation's Finest Manor House by Country Life is just a five-minute drive from the town.