Melplash

additional place

Melplash Church
© Jon Baker/Dorset OPC 2024

Melplash is a village in western Dorset. It is situated on the A3066 road 3 miles north of Bridport and 2 miles south of Beaminster.

The construction of Christ Church between 1845 and 1846 was funded by James Bandinel (who was at one time secretary to William Wilberforce) in memory of his father, who had been vicar of the neighbouring village of Netherbury. The 14th-century church in Melplash had been in ruins for several years, and Bandinel's generosity made it possible to pull down the old building and create a new church designed by Benjamin Ferrey and built in Neo-Norman style. A portion of Netherbury parish was carved out to serve the new parish of Melplash, and the church was consecrated on 20 October 1846.

To serve the educational needs of the village, Bandinel donated further land and paid for the construction of a school adjacent to the church, dated 1849 and now converted into a house. The church's original parsonage, a converted farmhouse at Camesworth also provided by Bandinel, was burnt down in 1882 and replaced with a new residence on a nearby site. A new vicarage was later built adjoining the church in 1924

The consecration of Christ Church provided a stage for a couple of farmers who held a ploughing match to determine whose ploughman was better. After the race, the local farmers and landowners feasted in the Melplash Inn (now the Half Moon) beside the new church, and agreed to form the Melplash Agricultural Society to hold an annual ploughing contest, but it is now held on fields owned by the Melplash Agricultural Show Society at nearby West Bay. There was once a flax industry in the village.

The former School, Melplash
© Jon Baker/Dorset OPC 2024

The post of Online Parish Clerk (OPC) is currently vacant
If you would like to volunteer for the role, please contact the OPC Project Co-ordinator
Contributions of additional resource materials for the site are always welcome