Child Okeford
Encyclopedia
Child Okeford is a quiet village in north Dorset
, England
, situated four miles east of Sturminster Newton
and downstream from it along the River Stour
which passes half a mile west of the village. The village had a population
of 1,065 (2001), 41.9% of whom were retired.
Child Okeford is situated at the foot of Hambledon Hill
, a Neolithic ceremonial burial site with an Iron Age hill fort. The hill was the site of a battle in the English Civil War. General James Wolfe
, a century later, used the hill's steeper sides to prepare his troops; they later surprised the French at Quebec by scaling the Plains of Abraham under cover of darkness.
A World War I
war memorial
in the form of a stone cross stands at the road junction known in the village as The Cross.
There are a variety of shops and businesses in Child Okeford, from the Post Office and Cross Stores in the centre of the village, next to The Baker Arms, one of two pubs. On the way out of Child Okeford there is a second pub, The Saxon Inn, close to the Gold Hill Farm, a small business community, with a rapidly expanding organic food shop (Gold Hill Organics), a café (The Farmyard Picnic), a rushwork workshop and an art Gallery (The Art Stable) which exhibits contemporary and modern British art, including many local painters.
In 1561 William Kethe
was appointed vicar. He remained in the village until his death in 1594. Kethe is best known as the author of the well-known hymn, The Old Hundredth
, better known by its first line "All People That on Earth Do Dwell", which he adapted from Psalm 100.
The village was the last home, until his death in 1989, of the puppeteer and children's entertainer Harry Corbett
, creator of the TV glove puppet characters Sooty and Sweep
.
It is also the present home of composer Sir John Tavener
.
The Somerset and Dorset Railway
ran to the west of the village, through neighbouring Shillingstone
, until the line closed in 1966 under the Beeching
cuts. The Shillingstone Station
, however, is being refurbished under the Shillingstone Station Project.
Old records speak of a megalith
that used to lie where The Cross is now, marking an ancient crossroads.
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, situated four miles east of Sturminster Newton
Sturminster Newton
Sturminster Newton, known to locals as Stur, is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It is situated on a low limestone ridge in a meander of the River Stour. The town is at the centre of a large dairy agriculture region, around which the town's economy is built...
and downstream from it along the River Stour
River Stour, Dorset
The River Stour is a 60.5 mile long river which flows through Wiltshire and Dorset in southern England, and drains into the English Channel. It is sometimes called the Dorset Stour to distinguish it from rivers of the same name...
which passes half a mile west of the village. The village had a population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 1,065 (2001), 41.9% of whom were retired.
Child Okeford is situated at the foot of Hambledon Hill
Hambledon Hill
Hambledon Hill is a prehistoric hill fort in Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale five miles north of Blandford Forum. The hill is a Chalk outcrop, on the south western corner of Cranborne Chase, separated from the Dorset Downs by the River Stour....
, a Neolithic ceremonial burial site with an Iron Age hill fort. The hill was the site of a battle in the English Civil War. General James Wolfe
James Wolfe
Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
, a century later, used the hill's steeper sides to prepare his troops; they later surprised the French at Quebec by scaling the Plains of Abraham under cover of darkness.
A World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
in the form of a stone cross stands at the road junction known in the village as The Cross.
There are a variety of shops and businesses in Child Okeford, from the Post Office and Cross Stores in the centre of the village, next to The Baker Arms, one of two pubs. On the way out of Child Okeford there is a second pub, The Saxon Inn, close to the Gold Hill Farm, a small business community, with a rapidly expanding organic food shop (Gold Hill Organics), a café (The Farmyard Picnic), a rushwork workshop and an art Gallery (The Art Stable) which exhibits contemporary and modern British art, including many local painters.
In 1561 William Kethe
William Kethe
William Kethe was a bible translator, especially of the psalms.Kethe is thought to have been Scots-born, although this has never been confirmed...
was appointed vicar. He remained in the village until his death in 1594. Kethe is best known as the author of the well-known hymn, The Old Hundredth
Old 100th
"Old 100th" or "Old Hundredth" is a hymn tune from Pseaumes Octante Trois de David , and is one of the best known melodies in all Christian musical traditions...
, better known by its first line "All People That on Earth Do Dwell", which he adapted from Psalm 100.
The village was the last home, until his death in 1989, of the puppeteer and children's entertainer Harry Corbett
Harry Corbett
Harry Corbett OBE was a British puppeteer, known as the creator in 1948 of the long running 'Sooty' glove puppet character.He was born in Bradford to coal miner James W...
, creator of the TV glove puppet characters Sooty and Sweep
Sooty
Sooty is a British glove puppet bear and TV character popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. The children's television show which bears his name has continued in various forms since the 1950s and, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the...
.
It is also the present home of composer Sir John Tavener
John Tavener
Sir John Tavener is a British composer, best known for such religious, minimal works as "The Whale", and "Funeral Ikos"...
.
The Somerset and Dorset Railway
Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Bournemouth now in south east Dorset but then in Hampshire...
ran to the west of the village, through neighbouring Shillingstone
Shillingstone
Shillingstone is a village in the Blackmore Vale area of north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour between Sturminster Newton and Blandford Forum...
, until the line closed in 1966 under the Beeching
Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching , commonly known as Doctor Beeching, was chairman of British Railways and a physicist and engineer...
cuts. The Shillingstone Station
Shillingstone railway station
Shillingstone railway station was a station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway , serving the village of Shillingstone in the English county of Dorset. Opened in 1863, the station was located between and stations, although between 1928 and 1956 the next station south was Stourpaine and...
, however, is being refurbished under the Shillingstone Station Project.
Old records speak of a megalith
Megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the Ancient...
that used to lie where The Cross is now, marking an ancient crossroads.
Famous residents
Well known people who live, or lived, in Child Okeford and its environs include:- Harry CorbettHarry CorbettHarry Corbett OBE was a British puppeteer, known as the creator in 1948 of the long running 'Sooty' glove puppet character.He was born in Bradford to coal miner James W...
Sooty & Sweep creator - David JamesDavid James (politician)David Pelham James, MBE, DSC was a British Conservative Party politician, author and adventurer. Eldest son of Sir Archibald James and Bridget James Miller...
, author, politician and adventurer lived in the village whilst Conservative MP for North DorsetNorth DorsetNorth Dorset is a local government district in Dorset, England. It is largely rural, but includes the towns of Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Stalbridge and Sturminster Newton. Much of North Dorset is in the River Stour valley and is called the Blackmore Vale... - Tom Mennard, comedian and actor, best known as Sam Tindall in Coronation StreetCoronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
- Mick RobertsonMick RobertsonMichael "Mick" Robertson is a former presenter of the ITV children's television magazine programme Magpie.-Early career:...
TV presenter, best known for MagpieMagpie (TV series)Magpie was a children's television programme shown on ITV from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. It was a magazine format show intended to compete with the BBC's Blue Peter, but attempted to be more "hip", focusing more on popular culture... - Rodney Fryer RussellRodney Fryer RussellRodney Fryer Russell was a well known West Country watercolourist and portrait painter and poet. Born in Dorset, England, he was the great-great-great grandson of Isaac Gulliver and the second cousin of Dame Sybil Thorndike. In 1950 he won a scholarship to Paris and lived in London, West Sussex,...
and his wife Pamela lived in the nearby hamlet of ManstonManston, DorsetManston is a village in north Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale two miles east of Sturminster Newton. The village has a population of 135 .-External links:*...
, both widely acclaimed artists who often painted together - Sir John TavenerJohn TavenerSir John Tavener is a British composer, best known for such religious, minimal works as "The Whale", and "Funeral Ikos"...
, composer