HERE'S a gorgeous image of rural life in Briantspuddle.

Former Dorset Evening Echo photographer Harry Green has taken this photo of Briantspuddle with a fingerpost sign in the foreground pointing to Bere Regis, Affpuddle, Bovington Camp and Wool.

In the background we can see some cottages and a Morris Minor car.

Briantspuddle is home to the Debenham estate. It owes much to the agricultural experiment carried out by Sir Ernest Debenham during the years between the two World Wars. Sir Ernest was the head of a large London store and had the time and money at his disposal for his scheme which he regarded as an attempt to prove that Great Britain could be solely responsible for feeding the British nation.

In an experiment far ahead of its time Sir Ernest introduced scientific methods to intensify pig, poultry and dairy farming. His building projects were centred on the 'Arts and Crafts' style, using mostly, locally made building materials and his legacy lives on in the many houses and cottages he built in and around the village.

The most interesting and attractive properties are thought to be The Ring - a group of cottages with two turrets of thatch, built by Sir Ernest in 1919, their intended use was as a dairy farm.

Thanks as always to Carole Dorran of Bygone Dorset.