MELBURY-ABBAS, a parish in Shaftesbury district, Dorset; adjacent to Wilts, 2¼ miles SSE of Shaftesbury, and 5 S by E of Semley r. station. Post town, Shaftesbury, under Salisbury. Acres, 2,276. Rated property, £2,035. Pop., 412. Houses, 94. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to Sir R. G. Glyn, Bart. Melbury-Hill and Melbury-Down are prominent features. Limestone is worked. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Salisbury. Value, £263.* Patron, Sir R. G. Glyn, Bart. The church was rebuilt in 1851, and has a turreted tower. There is a national school. Bishop Blandford was a native.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))