Key facts
OS Grid Reference: SU148261
What3words: ///tabloid.entitles.hologram
Postcode: SP5
Post Town: Salisbury
Unitary Authority: Wiltshire
Parliamentary Constituency: Salisbury
Odstock
The small village of Odstock, on the outskirts of Salisbury, is known for its beautiful countryside and Lime Kiln Down, which is home to a number of rare species of plants, birds and butterflies.
The parish is in the valley of the River Ebble, which joins the Hampshire Avon near Bodenham.
Odstock is just three miles outside the cathedral city of Salisbury, with all its history, culture and amenities, and the village also has the beautiful thatched Yew Tree Inn, offering great homemade food and well-kept real ales.
The village also has several historic buildings, including the 17th Century Odstock Manor House.
Odstock Hospital, just under a mile north of the village, is a specialist burns and spinal care unit for patients across five counties. The hospital was built in 1942 and was used to provide support for the Normany landings in 1944.
History
Odstock was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Odestoche. Oliver Cromwell is said to have stayed in Odstock in a 17th Century house that was once an inn called The Parsonage.
The Anglican church of St Mary was built in the 12th Century, and added to in 1870. The church is said to have been cursed in the early 19th Century when gypsy Joshua Scamp was wrongly hanged for stealing a horse. His grave became a place of pilgrimage for roaming gypsies, whose queen cursed the church door when they were banned for rowdiness. When her prophecies, that anyone entering the church would drop dead within a year, came true, the door was locked, the keys thrown in the river, and the church stood empty for 200 years. A special cleansing and renewal service at the church by the Bishop of Ramsbury and the Rt Rev Peter Vaughan finally lifted the curse in the early 2000s.
Walking and cycling
Lime Kiln Down on the Odstock Road has beautiful birds and butterflies, and stunning views towards Salisbury and its cathedral. A great way to make the most of the beautiful countryside and water meadows around Odstock is on the Odstock and Nunton Circular Walk, which is around 5-6km and takes about two hours.
