Monument record MDO3063 - Deserted medieval village of Winterborne Came

A small village of about 20 houses known in Domesday as Winterbourne. <1>

Winterborne Came was granted by Edward VI to William Earl of Pembroke. From him it came to one Meller who was remarkable chiefly for his habit of depopulating most of the land he bought. For this
reason there was no village around the house - Came House. <2>

(SY 704884) Winterborne Came - lost village. Earthworks in front of the house, west of the church. Documented. <3>

Perambulation of the area revealed no sign of earthworks of a deserted village. The field is under ornamental pasture. No information was obtained regarding a former mansion and the present Came House appears to be Georgian. Early estate plans were not made available by the owner. Earthworks not visible on air photos. <4>

SY 705884. Winterbourne Came : Listed. The Hearth Tax of 1662 shows it reduced to two houses. <6>

SY 705883. Winterbourne Came is apparently not mentioned in the Domesday Book, but it way have been included with Bincombe First mentioned in 1129 when it was Wintreborna. <7>

No remains of earthworks are visible in the area centred SY 703883 north west of Came House which is permanent ornamental park. The settlement remains of Winterbourne Farringdon do not
extend beyond the western boundary of Home Wood. <8>

Low earthworks related to this village have been recorded here and are visible on aerial photographs and LIDAR. Remains comprise of banks, ditches, house platforms, holloways and field boundaries. <10-11>

<1> Shipp, W, and Hodson, J W (eds), 1863, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. 3rd edition. Volume 2, 289 (Monograph). SWX1269.

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1909, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1909, xli (Serial). SDO20.

<3> Beresford M, 02-SEP-52, Letters and Notes, 2.9.52 (Unpublished document). SDO17593.

<4> Swatridge, G C, Various, Field Investigators Comments GCS, F1 GCS 23-AUG-54 (Unpublished document). SWX1169.

<5> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

(SY 703883) Village (NR) (site of) (NAT)

<6> Beresford, M, and Hurst, J G, 1971, Deserted Medieval Villages, 47, 186 (Monograph). SWX1568.

<7> Mills, A D, 1977, The place-names of Dorset, Part 1: the Isle of Purbeck, the hundreds of Rowbarrow, Hasler, Winfrith, Culliford Tree, Bere Regis, Barrow, Puddletown St George, 260-1 (Monograph). SWX972.

<8> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F2 JGB 05-JUN-80 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<9> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1994, Medieval Village Research Group Index, PRN 464 (Index). SDO16386.

<10> Royal Air Force, 11-MAR-1948, RAF/CPE/UK/2491 3012-4 (Aerial Photograph). SDO10906.

<11> 24-JAN-2008, D0089665 (Aerial Photograph). SDO10894.

<12> National Record of the Historic Environment, 453996 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 11 2023 11:17AM