Worth Matravers is a pretty, ancient, stone-built village which dates back to pre-Roman times. The village church of St Nicholas is Norman and one of the oldest churches in Dorset. In the churchyard is the grave of local farmer Benjamin Jesty who, in 1774, developed a smallpox vaccine 25 years before Dr Edward Jenner.
The village centre has a green, with a pretty duck pond, and picturesque cottages.
The village pub, the Square & Compass, is famous; it sells its own cider, contains a fascinating fossil museum, and hosts an annual stone-carving workshop.
Around the village medieval lynchets are evident, and easily seen from Cattleman's Rest. These were terraces to allow cultivation of the hillsides.
From Cattleman's Rest, and other points in the village, footpaths run down to the South West Coast Path, and the beautiful "Jurassic Coast", which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The village centre has a green, with a pretty duck pond, and picturesque cottages.
The village pub, the Square & Compass, is famous; it sells its own cider, contains a fascinating fossil museum, and hosts an annual stone-carving workshop.
Around the village medieval lynchets are evident, and easily seen from Cattleman's Rest. These were terraces to allow cultivation of the hillsides.
From Cattleman's Rest, and other points in the village, footpaths run down to the South West Coast Path, and the beautiful "Jurassic Coast", which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
