Welcome to the Chideock and Seatown Community Website. This website belongs to ‘the community’ and is all about Chideock, North Chideock and Seatown. We hope these pages will be of interest to both local residents and visitors to our village.
Chideock is an amazingly busy village with lots of groups that anyone can join and lots of entertainment and events that are happening so please take your time to look through our website – not forgetting our stunning Photo Galleries.
If you are a visitor to this beautiful part of West Dorset please check out our Accommodation Guide.
- COMMUNITY CAFE FRIDAY 13TH FEBRUARY 2026
Chideock Community Café
Held in Chideock Village Hall
FRIDAY 13th February 2026
From 2.30pm until 4.30pm
Come along with friends or meet some new ones.
Everyone is welcome
Tea/Coffee & Cakes/biscuits available
We look forward to seeing you!!
Continue reading → - UPDATE FOR ROADWORKS ON A.35
A-35 Strategy.please find the next fortnights work locations for the A35 safety scheme below.
Week commencing 2 February
From 2 – 6 February (8am to 5pm) we will be carrying out signage installation works under lane closures between East Road and Loders Cross
Winterbourne Abbas to allow us to complete ongoing civils work. This work has been extended due to recent flooding in the area.
From 4–7 February, there will be overnight closures (8pm to 6am) between Northbrook Junction and Stinsford Roundabout, ending on the morning of 7 February. There are no closures on the night of 7 February. A signed diversion route will be in place throughout.
Please also note that temporary traffic lights are currently installed on the A35 at Compton Vallance due to flooding. Groundwater levels are exceptionally high, and the lights will be removed once conditions improve.
Week commencing 9 February
From 9 – 13 February (8am to 5pm) we will have crews working at the following locations:
- Kingston Russell Dips – signage installation under lane closures
- Dorchester Bypass – signage installation under lane closures
- Morcombelake – three-way temporary traffic lights at Shedbush Lane for civils improvement work.
If there’s any way this could be made more useful then please do let me know. Our website has also been updated the reflect the above.
Please do share this with your communities.
Hope you have a good weekend
Many thanks
Jonny
Jonny Hill Route Manager – Somerset, Dorset & Devon (East of Exeter)
South West Operations
National Highways | Brunel House | 930 Hempton Court | Aztec West | Almondsbury | BS32 4SRTel: 0300 470 3954 | Mobile: 07843 980 036
Web: www.nationalhighways.co.uk
Continue reading → - TRAVEL UPDATE FOR A.35
This is an update from National Highways which hopefully will help all residents of Chideock who may have to travel to Dorchester, Charmouth, Honiton, etc.,am
19 January – 28 January (24/7)
- From 8 on Monday 19 January 4 Way Traffic lights will be in place in Winterbourne Abbas to allow for improvements to the footway, pedestrian crossing and kerbs
Week Commencing 26 January
Daytime working – 8am start
- Traffic signals & lane closures between Kingston Russell Dips and Winterbourne Abbas
- Traffic signals & lane closures between Charmouth Roundabout and Chideock
24/7 Traffic Management (removed on 28 January, subject to the usual caveats)
- 4 Way Traffic lights in Winterbourne Abbas to allow for improvements to the footway, crossing and kerbs
- CHIDEOCK NEWS – FEB 2026
- SATURDAY COFFEE MORNING IN THE VILLAGE HALL SATURDAY 7TH MARCH
Please join us for a free coffee morning with ‘toast and marmalade’ available and other treats on offer on Saturday 7th March 10.00am – 12.00 noon.Come along on your own to catch up with other villagers or join in with friends, it’s all free and a warm welcome will be extended to everyone.
Bring your children as well as there will be toys and colouring books for them.
Chideock Village Hall Event.
Continue reading → - CHIDEOCK PARISH COUNCIL WEBSITE
The Chideock Parish Council website is now updated with all Agendas and Minutes. dates of meetings and who your ‘new councillors are’ We have a new Section called LATEST NEWS which gives updates on Road Closures..please check out the latest one for North Road. www.chideockparishcouncil.com
Continue reading → - CHIDEOCK FILM NIGHT. ‘DOWNTON ABBEY – THE GRAND FINALE. tUESDAY 17TH fEBRUARY
CHIDEOCK HALL FILM NIGHT
Tuesday 17th February – 7.00pm for 7.30pm
Set a couple of years after the previous film, this last instalment opens in London, where the gentry are enjoying a season full of parties, theatre trips and outings to Ascot.
Meanwhile, back at Downton Abbey, there’s a storm in a teacup about the county fair and scandal is afoot. Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) is now divorced, and the paparazzi are hounding her. Otherwise, the tone is breezy and cheery, especially when Dominic West reappears as actor Guy Dexter, with Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier) now his ‘dresser’. A fitting farewell to the aristocrats and their staff, with an emotional ending.
£5.00 Entry – cash or card payments accepted which includes free Tea/Coffee & Popcorn
Wine by glass or bottle, beer, cider & choc ices on sale during interval.
Continue reading → - CHIDEOCK W.I. REPORT
Chideock W. I.
At our November Meeting we had a most interesting talk from David Knapman of Axminster Heritage Centre regarding ‘Axminster Connections to Chideock’. David spoke about our inheritance of Roman roads, for example from Exeter to Dorchester, and their development over the years until the advent of railways. Highlights included George III’s visit to Chideock enroute to Exeter after his holiday in Weymouth. The King walked up Chideock and Charmouth Hills to lighten the carriage load, chatting to local residents as he passed by. The sale of milk and butter to the London populace was dependent on reliable transport links and Sidmouth to Chard to Bridport became known as ‘The Dairy Triangle’ as it hosted an abundance of ‘Milking Devons’. As local rail routes were established in the mid nineteenth century local farmers then turned more to rearing beef. What better name for an exceptionally prized cow than ‘Temptress’.
David’s two books on our local history, ‘Unsteady Progress’ and ‘Axminster Legacies’ are available from the Axminster Heritage Centre.
Continue reading → - CHIDEOCK NEWS – DEC/JAN 2025/6
- CHIDEOCK W.I REPORT
Chideock W. I.
At our November Meeting we had a most interesting talk from David Knapman of Axminster Heritage Centre regarding ‘Axminster Connections to Chideock’.
David spoke about our inheritance of Roman roads, for example from Exeter to Dorchester, and their development over the years until the advent of railways.
During the eighteenth century the eight day journey from Exeter to London was reduced to three days and the introduction of Turnpike Trusts led to further road improvements on major routes but cross country routes were reported as steep, narrow, rocky and dangerous. David spoke of George III’s visit to Chideock enroute to Exeter after his holiday in Weymouth. The King walked up Chideock and Charmouth Hills to lighten the carriage load, chatting to residents as he passed.
It seems that butter also played a significant role with the London populace demanding sweet, reduced salt butter: the longer the distance the butter had to travel, the more salt it needed to preserve it. Consequently Epping Forest Butter was regarded as the best. Sidmouth to Chard to Bridport became known as ‘The Dairy Triangle’ as it hosted an abundance of ‘Milking Devons’. In 1844 when the Bristol to London Railway became available, milk could be transported to London very quickly, enabling large quantities of butter to be made there also. Rail routes were established to Dorchester in 1847, Bridport in 1857 and Axminster in 1860. Farmers then turned more to rearing beef with, for example, an exceptionally prized cow named ‘Temptress’.
David’s two books on our local history, ‘Unsteady Progress’ and ‘Axminster Legacies’ are available from the Axminster Heritage Centre: a nice Christmas Gift for your favourite historian perhaps….
The WI is having a break from a formal December meeting but we will be living it up at our Christmas Lunch. Get that prosecco on ice…..!!
We hope to see you at the Christmas Fayre on Sat 29th Nov…..unless we already have…meanwhile
Merry Christmas Everyone from Us All at WI.
Continue reading →
