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Thorncombe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It was historically, until 1844, an exclave of Devon. It lies five miles (8 km) south east of the town of Chard in neighbouring Somerset. Thorncombe is situated close to the borders of both Somerset and Devon. In the 2011 census the population of the civil parish was 687. Thorncombe's population grew from around 885 in 1676 to 1,308 in 1851 and 1,189 in 1871. The present church dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, was built in 1866 to seat 400. There was a significant community of non conformists living in the parish from the late 17th century onwards. In 1689 clothier Robert French registered his Synderford home as a "Protestant Dissenting Meeting Place" and by 1723 there was a Quaker Meeting House and burial ground at Laymore, just outside the parish boundary.

Historically Thorncombe's main industries were spinning, weaving and sheep and cattle breeding. Other small industries included leather production, shoe making and flax processing. During the 18th century there was a weekly market selling 'grain and meat' and serving 'other wants' and an annual Easter fair where 'sheep and other horned cattle' and locally woven 'narrow cloth' were traded. The market ceased trading in 1773 and the last recorded fair took place in 1885. Following the national decline in small scale weaving during the 19th century due to industrialisation, Thorncombe reverted to agriculture, but this has decreased in recent times. There are still a few farms which survive around the village but most residents work in the local towns of Chard, Crewkerne and Bridport.

Boundary changes

Until 1844, the parish of Thorncombe was an exclave of Devon, at which time it was transferred under the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844, to Dorset. It was part of Axminster Hundred.

In 1836 the parish, which had been part of the Deanery of Honiton, was transferred ecclesiastically from the Diocese of Exeter to the Diocese of Salisbury. In 1982, the ecclesiastical parish was transferred to the Diocese of Bath and Wells, at which time it became a 'united benefice' sharing a vicar with the neighbouring (Somerset) parishes of Winsham and Cricket St Thomas. In 1999, the parishes joined with others to form the Chard and District Team Ministry. In 2006 Thorncombe together with Winsham was linked with Tatworth, Chaffcombe and Cricket Malherbie with Knowle St Giles to form the Two Shires Benefice.

Notable residents

Famous past inhabitants of Thorncombe include the Puritan Sir Henry Rosewell; the poet, dramatist and Royalist sermoniser Robert Gomersall; the Commonwealth Attorney General, Edmund Prideaux; Queen Anne's Secretary of War Francis Gwyn; the artist Lucien Pissarro; the ethnologist Sir Raymond Firth; the anthropologist Rosemary, Lady Firth; and the art historian Cecil Gould.

Politics

In the UK national parliament, Thorncombe is within the West Dorset parliamentary constituency. As of 2024, the Member of Parliament (MP) is Edward Morello of the Liberal Democrats. He is the first non-Conservative MP since the creation of the constituency in 1885.

After 2019 structural changes to local government in England, Thorncombe is part of the Marshwood Vale ward which elects one member to Dorset Council.

Church

The present church, incorporating a number of items from the old church, was built in 1866–1867 at a cost of £4,000. The foundation stone was laid on 26 April 1866 by Margaret Bragge, widow of Colonel Bragge of Sadborow, and was dedicated by the Bishop of Salisbury on 15 October 1867. It was built in Perpendicular style, the windows being modelled on those of the cloisters of Forde Abbey. Inside the church is a memorial brass commemorating Sir Thomas (died 1419) and Lady Brook (died 1437) of Holditch Manor. This is one of 500 brass memorials recorded in the Lancastrian period 1400–1453.

References

  • Thorncombe Village website