Compton Abbas, Dorset
Compton Abbas photos
Displaying 1 of 3 old photos of Compton Abbas. View all Compton Abbas photos
Compton Abbas maps
Historic maps of Compton Abbas and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Compton Abbas maps
Compton Abbas books
Displaying 3 of 11 books about Compton Abbas and the local area. View all Compton Abbas books
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Compton Abbas
No memories of Compton Abbas have been shared yet - be the first!
Add your memory of Compton Abbas
or of a photo of Compton Abbas.
Dorset memories
My great aunt Emilly Still lived in the bungalow in the background and we as children spent many happy summer holidays in Fontmell Magna. She and Tom (who I never knew) are buried in the church graveyard.
I remember travelling from our home in Kent to Fontmell in the winter of 1963 during the worst snow storms in living memory... [more]
Shared on 24 September 2006
A Boarding School second to none
What a dump Iwerne Minster was to a school boy of the 60's sent from London to that boarding school in the middle of nowhere. The locals spoke in a strange unintelligible dialect, the air was sometime thick with the stink of manure, and you had to be 14 to buy beer from the off-licence at Tarrant Hinton! Now, 50+ years... [more]
Shared on 21 May 2008
Shaftesbury's position high on a hilltop with only a meagre water supply meant that water had to be brought up to the town from wells at the bottom of the steep slopes, usually by horses and donkeys carrying barrels. Water sellers then went round the town's houses selling water by the bucketful. However, Shaftesbury's position at the crossroads of several main... [more]
Shared on 30 June 2008
This is the hill that appeared in the Hovis television adverts - supposedly in a northern town, but in reality in deepest Dorset! At the top it is about 700 feet above sea level. It is now the scene of the once a year Gold Hill Festival in July.
Shared on 08 June 2006
Extracts From Compton Abbas & Dorset books
Displaying a selection of extracts from Frith books about Compton Abbas, inspired by Frith photos.
Sherborne Photographic Memories
Another view of the school buildings, seen from the opposite side. At this time, this site had only been occupied by the school for no more than a year.
Read more and see photos from this book.
Sherborne Photographic Memories
Looking east, we see on the left the businesses of W Warr & Son, hairdressing and chiropody, and Pedley & White, drapers and outfitters. In the distance is Greenham's butchers. Next to this is Frisby's, a well-known shoe chain.
Read more and see photos from this book.
Sherborne Photographic Memories
In the 19th century, this road was known as Coldharbour Lane and was built up as the Avenue during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Hill House, on the left, was built for the Reverend Arthur Field in 1899. In 1978 the grounds were used for building and the development known as Hill House Close was born. At the 'top' end of the Avenue stands Quarry House, built in 1924 for the writer Littleton Powys, designed by his architect brother Albert Powys.... [more]
Read more and see photos from this book.

