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Thorncombe Village Trust

Thorncombe Village Trust - caring for Thorncombe's environment

Thorncombe History

Don’t forget that there now is a dedicated email address for all queries relating to Thorncombe history: thorncombehistory@btinternet.com

Thorncombe lies in a very beautiful part of West Dorset, bordering Devon and Somerset. It falls within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) . The Parish is over 5,200 acres in extent and is principally agricultural land.

Fields tend to be small and hilly with ancient hedgerows, while the access roads to the village are very narrow lanes, shaded in summer by tall trees including oaks, beeches and sycamores, and fringed with primroses, bluebells and cow parsley.

Have you got any old photos you could let us borrow? Or do you have any memories of Thorncombe and the Parish that you could share with us?

Do get in touch - we’d love to hear from you

Some wintry images…..

Read two new articles in our History section by Eve Higgs:

Thorncombe’s West Gallery Choir

During the 18th century, purpose built galleries to house village choirs were installed in parish churches, as in Hardy’s ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’. Thorncombe’s Medieval church too had its own choir.

‘When Exeter was Down Thorncombe was a Town ‘ revisited

Thorncombe's population statistics from 1674 to 1881 examined.

Applications for Grants from TVT

Under the terms of its constitution, Thorncombe Village Trust (TVT) invites applications for grants from individuals or organisations wishing to undertake a project or activity which reflects one or more of the aims of the Trust.

Namely to:

i) encourage and promote a greater interest in, and understanding of, the local environment and its history

ii) protect historic buildings in the Parish and especially to conserve the character of the village of Thorncombe and of the other settlements in the Parish

iii) oppose unsuitable development in the Parish

iv) safeguard and enhance the countryside in the Parish.

The money granted must be used for the direct benefit of the Parish of Thorncombe only and for the public good, in such a manner and place that the Trustees can verify the grant has been appropriately used.

If you wish to make an application for funding, please request an application form in one of the following ways:

- Email the Secretary of the Trustees on rsholt@eclipse.co.uk

- Pick up a form from inside the porch at The School House, Chard Street, Thorncombe (opposite the church)

- Download an application form and the guidelines from the TVT website Application form Aims Summary

Completed application forms need to be received by the end of September for an October decision by the Board of Trustees.

For any further information or if you have any questions, please talk to one of the trustees: Kate Cahn (30054) (Chair), Mark Agnew (30385), John Higgs (30994), Richard Holt (30428), Neil Croton, Jan Walker (30212), John Whitbread (30525).

We recommend you discuss your application with one or more of the trustees before submitting it to the committee for consideration.