Whitcombe, Dorset

{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Dorset, England}} {{Other places|Whitcombe (disambiguation){{!}}Whitcombe}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Use British English|date=June 2025}}

{{Infobox UK place | official_name= Whitcombe | local_name= | country= England | crown_dependency = | region= South West England | static_image= Whitcombe - view from the south - geograph.org.uk - 1707755.jpg | static_image_width= 220px | static_image_caption= View of Whitcombe from the south | area_footnotes= | area_total_sq_mi= | area_total_km2 = | population = 20 | population_ref = <ref name="dcc">{{cite web|url=https://www.dorsetforyou.com/344882|title=Parish Population Data|date=20 January 2015|accessdate=21 March 2015|publisher=Dorset County Council|archive-date=2 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102112421/https://www.dorsetforyou.com/344882|url-status=live}}</ref> | population_density= | os_grid_reference= SY717882 | map_type= Dorset | coordinates = {{coord|50.692597|-2.401403|display=inline,title}} | post_town= DORCHESTER | postcode_area= DT | postcode_district= DT2 | dial_code= 01305 | constituency_westminster= [[West Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|West Dorset]] | civil_parish= | unitary_england= [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset]] | lieutenancy_england = [[Dorset]] | website= | hide_services= }}

'''Whitcombe''' is a small [[village]] and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset]] unitary authority area of [[Dorset]], [[England]], situated {{convert|2|mi|km}} southeast of [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]]. [[Dorset County Council]]'s 2013 mid-year estimate of the population of the parish is 20.<ref name="dcc"/>

Whitcombe village is next to the [[A352 road|A352]] main road between [[Broadmayne]] and Dorchester, between the parishes of [[West Knighton, Dorset|West Knighton]] and Broadmayne to the east, [[West Stafford]] to the north, and [[Winterborne Came]] to the west.<ref name="history">{{cite web | url=http://www.weymouth-dorset.co.uk/whitcombe.html | title=Whitcombe | work=www.weymouth-dorset.co.uk | accessdate=14 April 2013 | archive-date=17 May 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517070204/http://www.weymouth-dorset.co.uk/whitcombe.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Whitcombe does not form an [[ecclesiastical parish]], although [[Whitcombe Church]] has registers dating from 1762. The earlier registers were destroyed in a fire. The church, now redundant, is in a "modest but perfect location" according to [[Nikolaus Pevsner|Pevsner]].<ref name="pevsner">{{cite book|first1=John| last1=Newman | first2=Nikolaus | last2=Pevsner | authorlink2=Nikolaus Pevsner |title=[[The Buildings of England]]: Dorset | year=1972 | publisher=[[Penguin Books]]| location=Harmondsworth | isbn=0 14 071044 2 | chapter=Whitcombe | pages=457–458}}</ref>

In the surrounding area there are a number of prehistoric earthworks.<ref name="history "/> Whitcombe was originally recorded as Widecome, with a land measurement of two hides. [[King Athelstan]] gave it to the [[Milton Abbey School#History of Milton Abbey School|Milton Abbey]]. At the time of the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]], its ownership passed to the King. Around 1600, it was sold to a Mr Hull from [[Tolpuddle]].

Whitcombe Hill is located {{convert|0.25|mi|km}} west of the church.<ref name="pevsner "/> A [[Portland stone]] relief of a bearded man on horseback, dating from 2nd–3rd century AD, was found here in 1963 and subsequently added to the collection of the [[Dorset Museum]] in Dorchester.

There are a [[Grade II]] listed [[manor house]],<ref name="manor-house">{{cite web| url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-105990-the-manor-house-whitcombe-dorset | title=The Manor House Whitcombe | work=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk | accessdate=14 April 2013 }}</ref> riding [[stables]] and a [[tithe barn]] at Whitcombe.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Whitcombe, Dorset}} * [http://www.thedorsetpage.com/locations/place/W220.htm Whitcombe] information

[[Category:Villages in Dorset]]