clock was gifted in 1853 by the 3rd Earl of Ilchester at a cost of £150. It was designed by Edmund Beckett Denison and built by Edward John Dent. It is hand-wound once a week. Between 1783 and 1787, the poet George Crabbe was rector of the church. The church is Grade II* listed. The source of the River Frome is in Back Lane, close to the church. Next to it is St John's well, which was restored in 2000 and features information on local geology and history. The names of villagers were put on a plaque. The village is the starting point for the Frome Valley Trail long-distance footpath. Summer Lodge Country House Hotel was built in 1798 as a dower house by Henry Fox-Strangways, 2nd Earl of Ilchester. It was enlarged in 1893 and in 1979 became a hotel. The village hall was given to the village after being used by the military during the Second World War. It is mostly used for music and art events. To the west is a prominent rounded summit known as West Hill which is high. Thomas Hardy Evershot has connections with the writer Thomas Hardy, who called it 'Evershead' in his fictional Wessex. The Acorn Inn featured as 'The Sow and Acorn' in several of his works, including Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Tess Cottage in the village is named after that novel's eponymous heroine, who stayed in a fictional version of it when visiting 'Evershead'. Hardy was also an architect and in 1893 he designed an extension for what is now the Summer Lodge Country House Hotel in the centre of the village. Hardy's mother, Jemima Hand, was born and married in the neighbouring village of Melbury Osmond. The Hardy Way lond-distance footpath runs through the village. References External links Census data Evershot Official Website Villages in Dorset