{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Dorset, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox UK place |static_image_name = Corscombe Village - geograph.org.uk - 260462.jpg |static_image_caption = Corscombe village |country = England |coordinates = {{coord|50.8465|-2.6864|display=inline,title}} |map_type = Dorset |official_name = Corscombe |population = 445 |population_ref = <ref name=ONS>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122325&c=Corscombe&d=16&e=62&g=6418473&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1390581560812&enc=1|title=Area: Corscombe (Parish), Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]|accessdate=24 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021055809/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122325&c=Corscombe&d=16&e=62&g=6418473&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1390581560812&enc=1|archive-date=21 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> |unitary_england = [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset]] |lieutenancy_england = [[Dorset]] |post_town = Dorchester |postcode_area = DT |postcode_district = DT2 |constituency_westminster = [[West Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|West Dorset]] |region = South West England |os_grid_reference = ST518053 |website = {{URL|http://corscombe.org.uk}} }}
'''Corscombe''' is a village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the [[England|English]] county of [[Dorset]], in the [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset Council]] administrative area. The parish includes the small settlements of Benville and [[Toller Whelme]] to the south and in the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] had a [[Population (human biology)|population]] of 445.<ref name=ONS/>
Corscombe village is sited "into hollows and along sunken lanes"<ref name=Gant>Gant, R., ''Dorset Villages'', Hale, 1980, p105</ref> on the northern scarp slope of the [[Dorset Downs]], approximately {{convert|8|mi|km}} south-south-west from the town of [[Yeovil]] in [[Somerset]]. Evidence of early human occupation within the parish includes [[lynchet]]s and, south of the village, three [[Menhir|standing stones]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=127223|title='Corscombe', An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 1: West (1952), pp. 105-108|publisher=University of London & History of Parliament Trust|date=November 2013|accessdate=9 June 2014|work=British History Online}}</ref>
On the higher ground in the village stands the 15th-century parish church of St. Mary, which was restored in 1875–7.<ref name=Gant/> In 1905 [[Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet|Sir Frederick Treves]] described the church as a "handsome building" with an "exceedingly fine" situation.<ref>Treves, Sir F., ''Highways and Byways in Dorset'', Macmillan, 1905, p286</ref> Nearby Corscombe Court dates from the 13th century and is partially surrounded by a moat. It has a 15th-century tithe barn which was once used by the monks of [[Sherborne Abbey]].<ref>West Dorset District Council, ''Holiday and tourist guide'', c.1983, p6</ref>
About 2 kilometres to the south of Corscombe village, across the A356, is [[Toller Down]], one of the highest hills in Dorset, with good views of the surrounding countryside.
The musician [[Polly Jean Harvey]] is a former resident.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Blanchard|first1=James R.|title=PJ Harvey: Siren Rising|date=17 December 2009|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=9780857121103|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EltPXo7RdigC&dq=harvey+corscombe+arrived&pg=PT14|accessdate=1 March 2015}}</ref>
==References== {{Commons category|Corscombe|position=left}} {{Reflist}}
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[[Category:Villages in Dorset]]
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