The Char Valley Village Communities
Action Plans 2003

for Whitchurch Canonicorum, Wootton Fitzpaine and Stanton St. Gabriel Parishes


Monkton Wyld Village
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Monkton Wyld has fewer than ten houses near the splendid Victorian church, but the area has about the same number of farm settlements and more isolated houses. In the Churchyard wall there is an original Victorian letterbox and a war memorial stands in front of the lychgate.

The countryside within the parish is particularly unspoilt with steep wooded hillsides. The hillside farms have ancient oaks and much flower-filled unimproved meadow, but on the top of the western ridge are flatter fields running along the Devon boundary with improved grassland. Many of the farms still have traditional stone buildings. Hidden in the bank at the entrance to Greenlands Farm is a deep stone sawpit, awaiting restoration.

At Monkton Wyld Farm there is a large touring caravan site approached by a good road from the A35. The owners have planted an enormous number of trees in recent years so the site is well screened and takes some of the tourist pressure off the immediate coastal strip.
The lane at Monkton Wyld
The lane at Monkton Wyld. (Penny Watt)

Living in Monkton Wyld

Living in the heart of Monkton Wyld you would presume that it would be quite ‘happening’ with plenty going on, but it is the opposite. The Church is used by a very small congregation on every second Sunday in the month. The lane that runs through the village does not actually go anywhere else so it has not become a ‘rat run’ or short cut; therefore the traffic that there is tends to be local or delivery. One only sees one’s neighbours when they pass by in their cars on the way to somewhere; this is because the houses are spaced well apart and there is no real neighbourly feel.

Owning a car is essential because there are no services at all and whether it is for pub, post office, petrol or food the car must be used (there should be a Government grant for people who live in places like Monkton Wyld!). Delivery traffic is fairly frequent and usually lost! Because we live in the heart of the village ours is the property where drivers stop to ask the way (usually because they have the postal address of Bridport and have been there first). It would be so nice if there was a ‘YOU ARE HERE’ map in the Church car park for those days when we are not in.

Generally the village is a noise free zone and a haven for wildlife. Traffic can be heard from the main A35 depending on the wind direction and every now and again Monkton Wyld Court will be holding a course – drumming is a good one – or self expression – get out that aggression – learn to scream – any of these create unusual noise.

The local community is added to considerably and on a fairly regular basis by those staying at the Court. These people can be seen strolling aimlessly up and down the lane – aimlessly because there is nowhere to walk to. Buddhist monks are a frequent sight, wearing sandals and dressed in orange robes.

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