Sutton Poyntz

[puddleshark]

The village of Sutton Poyntz, which was the inspiration for the village of Overcombe in Thomas Hardy's The Trumpet Major.



I've been meaning to visit Sutton Poyntz for a while, partly because The Trumpet Major is one of my favourite Hardy novels (it's actually quite cheerful, for a Thomas Hardy value of cheerfulness). And partly because I've often heard how pretty the village is.

Turns out, Sutton Poyntz is a little overwhelmed by the modern world these days - cars parked everywhere, streets and streets of big modern villas. But yes, the heart of the village is still pretty.


Sutton Poyntz, at the foot of the chalk downs near Weymouth. In The Trumpet Major, set during the Napoleonic Wars, there's an encampment of soldiers on the downs above the village, who cause great excitement among the inhabitants when they ride down to water their horses.


The mill-pond.

...not long after, a troop of dragoons in watering order rode forward at the top and began to wind down the new path. They came lower and closer, and at last were immediately beneath her window, gathering themselves up on the space by the mill-pond. A number of the horses entered it at the shallow part, drinking and splashing and tossing about. Perhaps as many as thirty, half of them with riders on their backs, were in the water at one time; the thirsty animals drank, stamped, flounced, and drank again, letting the clear, cool water dribble luxuriously from their mouths. Miller Loveday was looking on from over his garden hedge, and many admiring villagers were gathered around.

'The Trumpet Major'

And where there is a mill-pond, there shall be duckies.


Sutton Mill. (Overcombe Mill, which features in The Trumpet Major was actually based on the mill at nearby Upwey - Hardy transposed it into the Sutton Poyntz landscape).


An alley beside the mill leads to a stone-flagged footpath that runs through the centre of the old village.




Old millstones everywhere.

In the court in front were two worn-out millstones, made useful again by being let in level with the ground. Here people stood to smoke and consider things in muddy weather; and cats slept on the clean surfaces when it was hot.

'The Trumpet Major'

Phone box repurposed as a book exchange.


Cottages and rooks. (Very raucous rooks. And they seem to speak a different dialogue, these Sutton Poyntz rooks. More barking than cawing).



From Sutton Poyntz, a muddy path towards the hills.


And on the skyline, Chalbury Iron Age hillfort. (On private land - no public access).

I had originally planned to head up onto the hills above the village, but the wind was bitterly cold, and the footpaths pass through improved sheep pasture, which is my least favourite walking country (especially at this soggy time of year). Large fields, grazed short almost to bare slippery mud, devoid of hedges and wildlife and wild flowers. Cut short my walk instead, and headed back to the village.

Comments

[kaishin108]

Such beautiful photos - once again!

[puddleshark]

Thanks!

It is a pretty village. It's just hard to photograph because of the cars parked everywhere.