support the village's population, which reached 600 in 1851. In 1857 the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (later the Great Western Railway) opened a line through the parish with a station for the village at Holywell, though difficulties were encountered in constructing a tunnel through the area's greensand. A fire in the village in 1865 destroyed eighteen buildings and left more than a hundred people homeless. Three fire engines were required to extinguish the blaze. It is likely that, had there not been the river nearby, the entire village would have been destroyed. Not a single person was killed during the 'Great Fire of Evershot,' and a considerable amount was raised to help the homeless (£70 in two days, the equivalent of over £3000 today). Geography Evershot village is sited on greensand approximately above sea-level, among chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. It is the second highest village in the county, the highest being Ashmore in Cranborne Chase. The area forms the watershed between the drainage basins of the River Yeo, which flows north to the Bristol Channel, and the River Frome, which flows southeast to Poole Harbour. The village hall is the starting point for the Frome Valley Trail. Evershot is south of Yeovil, northwest of Dorchester and northeast of Bridport. Demography Dorset County Council's latest (2013) estimate of the parish population is 210. In the 2011 census the population of Evershot parish combined with the small neighbouring parishes of West Chelborough and East Chelborough was 334. No data from 2011 has been published for Evershot parish alone. The historic population figures in the censuses between 1921 and 2001 are shown in the table below. Evershot parish is also shown separately for these census returns. Landmarks St Osmund's Church The parish church of St Osmund is built on the site of an earlier chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, dating back to the time of Richard the Lionheart. The first rector of Frome St Quintin and Evershot is listed in the church simply as Herveus, in 1115. Only the font basin, chancel arch and part of the tower arch of this earlier chapel remain within the current church, which was renovated to some extent in the 15th century, again in 1765, before a final rebuilding in 1852—3 and 1864. It features a Perpendicular tower and arcades. In 1889 the organ was also restored, renovated, and added to. The church