Little Glebe Farm is situated just behind St. Mary’s church in Winterbourne Abbas. Ideally located in the heart of West Dorset, the surrounding countryside and coast are within easy reach, so if you want the bustle of a seaside holiday resort or the tranquility of the rolling hills then they are accessible from here.

Contained in the next series of pages are photographs taken in and around our location of Winterbourne Abbas. We hope that they will provide you with an insight into the stunning scenery in which Little Glebe Farm resides and the opportunities that await near by. There are of course many more wonderful photographs to be taken, but these we leave to you!

Little Glebe Farm

The bungalow, of which 'Lavender Lodge' is the latest extension, was originally built as an agricultural workers residence in 1966. At this time Glebe Farm was still a working unit, the main farmhouse being the building at the bottom of our drive. This building, dated 1898 on its gable, is probably not the original farm house since 'The Barns' building is clearly of a much earlier construction. 'The Barns' were converted from an original threshing barn, which was later used as a butcher's prior to the creation of the three current dwellings. 'The Stables' making up the last of the original farm's buildings still exhibits the original ford over the Winterbourne in its wall to the right of the present bridge. The farm was split into separate units in the mid 70's, which created Little Glebe Farm as the bungalow plus the adjoining paddock.

Today in addition to our holiday lets we operate the farm as a small holding, which means we have a few animals here on occasion. We have had pigs, geese, ducks, and chickens in residence and have had cows over wintering in the paddock. Primarily the paddock is used for hay production which is cropped in the late summer so is free for dog walking and short rambles. Jess is our dog, an important part of our lives and a devoted friend.

The term 'Glebe': /glib/ n. LME. [L gleba, glaeba clod, land, soil.]

1 The soil of the earth; earth, land. Now poet. LME.

2 A piece of cultivated land, a field. Now poet. LME. b spec. A piece of land assigned as part of a parish clergyman's living. LME.

Generally speaking the farm closest to a church tends to be named Glebe Farm either through its location or because of previous ties as church land.

There are today twelve Dorset parishes that bear the name 'Winterbourne', distinguished from each other by an epithet, derived either from a particular natural feature or from the name of a family that held the manor in medieval times. They lie along two rivers called Winterbourne, a name that in Dorset, and also in Wiltshire is applied to a river that flows in winter but dries up in summer. The South Winterbourne River rises in the west of this parish in a wood about half a mile from the village, close to the A35 trunk road. It runs east (in winter) alongside the main road through the village and continues along a shallow valley through Steepleton village and then on through other Winterbourne's south of Dorchester to join the river Frome.