This archive is a collection of material relating to Martin, East Martin and Tidpit, once in Wiltshire, now the most westerly settlement in Hampshire.

The documents and photographs of the archive give an insight into life in this ancient Downland village and the experiences of its community.

Here you will find the old chalk road, school magazines, the first car in the village, those who served during two wars, huntsmen and film stars, football players and scouts, the W.I. and the French monks who built a church and planted two hundred cider apple trees.

You can read accounts of the church fire, stubble burning, a wartime childhood and the visits of W. H. Hudson who immortalised the village in his book ‘A Shepherd’s Life’.

You can see harvest and nativity, the winterborne in full flood, Martin Players, the youth club and an African village built on Martin Down. All this and much more.

The collection has been made possible by the kindness and generosity of many people in the village and far beyond.

The creation of this website was funded by generous donations from Cranborne Chase AONB and The Chalke Valley History Trust. Website design by Chris Dennis.

Click on each item to see details and then again on each image to enlarge.