Milton Abbas, a charming and quaint thatch village sits on the Milton Abbey estate, and is often featured on postcards showing rural Dorset at its most idyllic. The village consists of 36 thatched cottages each made from cob and almost identical. The cottages were originally built to house two families each. Some of the house names give a clue to their previous use including a blacksmith, baker and brewery.
The original village lay close to the Abbey, but in 1780 the Lord decided it was disturbing his rural peace and uprooted and rebuilt the village further away from the Abbey. The site of the first village now lies beneath a lake.
Milton Abbas is often regarded as the first planned settlement in England because it was designed specifically for residential use.
The Abbey and House are now an independent school with around 250 pupils, while the Abbey Church is open to the public. There is also a pub and tea room in the village.
Every two years a historic country fair takes place in Milton Abbas where the locals celebrate the rebuilding of their village. It attracts thousands of visitors and recreates village life from the 18th century with various stalls, traditional music, dancing, farmers market and much more.
