©Bryan Phillips Apr 2024

Another phase in the history of Lyscombe has just opened up – literally. 335 hectares of chalk downland has been purchased by, and will be managed for rewilding by Dorset Wildlife Trust. For details see their website.

Lyscombe is an Old English word for ‘valley where reeds grow’.

The earliest we know of the manor of Lyscombe was the grant by King Athelstan in 934 to Milton Abbey.  Its written records are noted in the Manorial Document Register and are mostly located at Winchester College Muniments where we have photographed some of them. There is also an Anglo-Saxon charter of the bounds of Cheselbourne which was itself owned by Shaftesbury Abbey at the time. The boundaries of Lyscombe are also given in one of the Milton Abbey 14th century documents which we images of..

image Rosalyn Charlton

Lyscombe Chapel was derelict but has recently been restored. It is a Grade II* listed building. It is worth visiting as it is in a secluded valley and provides a beautiful walk in the countryside.