The best of Dorset in words and pictures

Tarrant Monkton – A photographic essay

Ken Ayres takes a wander through the fifth of the eight Tarrants in the 7½ mile Tarrant Valley and discovers one of Dorset’s most attractive traditional villages, packed with cob and thatch cottages, a plenitude of wells and a famous ford

This splendid house is known as Well Cottage, on account of the thatched well within its grounds

This splendid house is known as Well Cottage, on account of the thatched well within its grounds

The war memorial records the names of the four villagers who lost their lives in World War 1

The war memorial records the names of the four villagers who lost their lives in World War 1

The clear waters of the river Tarrant after which the village is named. The village was known in the 12th century as Tarenta Monachorum: estate on the Tarrent of the monks.

The clear waters of the river Tarrant after which the village is named. The village was known in the 12th century as Tarenta Monachorum: estate on the Tarrent of the monks.

The village church of All Saints is a little austere from the outside, but has a 12th-century font, 14th-century chancel and arch – restored, unusually, in the Georgian era,  a 15th-century tower and nave, a 17th-century pulpit and the rest is Victorian

The village church of All Saints is a little austere from the outside, but has a 12th-century font, 14th-century chancel and arch – restored, unusually, in the Georgian era, a 15th-century tower and nave, a 17th-century pulpit and the rest is Victorian

A most attractive brick and flint thatched cottage sits lightly within the rural landscape

A most attractive brick and flint thatched cottage sits lightly within the rural landscape

Sheep safely grazing under the village rookery

Sheep safely grazing under the village rookery

The village pub and restaurant, the Langton Arms, dates from the 17th century

The village pub and restaurant, the Langton Arms, dates from the 17th century

The ford at Tarrant Monkton is impassable when heavy rains have fallen; the distant finger post shows directions to six of the other seven  Tarrants (Crawford is missing) and back towards Monkton itself

The ford at Tarrant Monkton is impassable when heavy rains have fallen; the distant finger post shows directions to six of the other seven Tarrants (Crawford is missing) and back towards Monkton itself