Pictures of Melbury Osmond

About Melbury Osmond

A long, winding lane, flanked by grassy banks covered in fern and wild flowers, leads to the picture postcard village of Melbury Osmond. This is one of a cheerful cluster of villages that all share the name of Melbury - Melbury Abbas, Melbury Bubb, East Melbury and Melbury Sampford.

The name Melbury is the old English word for Multi-Coloured Hill, and this enchanting village is fully deserving of this name. Picturesque stone cottages, with dormer windows hiding under thickly thatched roofs with colourful creeper that turns from green to gold, spread-eagled across walls, reaching up as if to touch the tip of the thatch. To the fronts of the cottages are delightful little gardens, alive with summer flowers in every possible shade including Roses in a glorlious deep red. These cottages are set on a slope which leads down to a shallow, paved ford which when the water is high, can be crossed via a footbridge.

The church of St. Osmond is situated at the highest point of the village. The church has several treasures among which is a set of silver plate, a gift from Mrs. Susanna Strangways Horner, who in 1745 built the nave of the church. There is also a fine circular stained glass window. The church is surrounded by lofty Yews and nearby is the former rectory which dates from the 17th-century.

Close-by at Melbury Stampford is Melbury House. This property was built in the 16th-century by Giles Strangways, it has a prospect tower and has twice been remodelled, in the 17th-century and again in the 19th-century.

Each of these little hamlets and villages has a charm of its own, they are indeed the stuff that English picture postcard villages are made of and it is well worth taking time out to look around and soak up the the pleasant atmosphere that pervades the whole area.