Worth Matravers

Worth Matravers is a picturesque village situated on the cliffs 4 miles west of Swanage and 4 miles south of Corfe Castle. It comprises limestone cottages and farm houses set around the village green complete with duckpond. The village is also well known for the Square and Compass pub which has operated since 1793. The pub accommodates a small museum exhibiting fossils and other local artefacts.

The village green and duck pond at Worth Matravers
Village green and pond.

Worth Matravers is popular with tourists and walkers in the summer months. The village lies just a few miles from the South West Coast Path and the UNESCO Jurassic Coast. It is the start of several excellent circular walks including trails to the cliff top quarries at Winspit and Seacombe. A walk out to St Aldhelm’s Head and Chapman’s Pool also offer superb coastal views. In the car park you’ll find some tourist information and useful maps showing the most popular walks. I’ve included photos of this information below that I’m sure you’ll find useful.

For a comprehensive guide to the best walks starting at Worth Matravers we recommend visiting the website https://www.dorsetwalks.co.uk/

Stone cottages around the village green at Worth Matravers
Picture postcard limestones cottages surround the village pond. This is Post Office cottage.
Village pond.
The Square and Compass pub in Worth Matravers
Square and Compass pub Worth Matravers – very popular with walkers. The pub has been listed in every edition of CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide (CAMRA = CAMpaign for Real Ale).
Outdoor seating at the Square and Compass pub
Square and Compass is a Grade II listed public house. It was built in the 18th century and got its name in 1830 from a landlord who had been a stonemason.
Square & Compass Fossil Museum
Square and Compass houses a small museum of fossils and other artefacts.
St Nicholas' Church in Worth Matravers
St Nicolas’ Church is a Norman church that has survived largely unchanged. It was built in around AD 1100. For more information about its history see https://www.greatenglishchurches.co.uk/html/worth_matravers.html
St. Nicholas' Church in Worth Matravers Dorset is a Norman Church
St Nicholas’ Church is one of the oldest churches in Dorset. Though the bulk of the church is Norman, some of the stonework appears to come from an earlier building suggesting that there was a church here in the late Saxon period.
Grave of Benjamin Justy in St Nicholas' Churchyard in Worth Matravers Dorset
In the churchyard you can find the grave of Benjamin Jesty an early pioneer in vaccinations. Next to it is the grave of his wife.

In the churchyard is the grave of Benjamin Justy (d. 1816), a farmer from Yetminster (near Sherborne) who may well have been the first person to use cowpox to inoculate against smallpox. Justy vaccinated his wife and family with cowpox vaccine in 1774, well before Dr Edward Jenner popularised vaccination. Justy’s work went unpublished at the time because he did not try to spread the idea, nor did he try to do more than vaccinate his own immediate family. 

Car Park at Worth Matravers
Worth Matravers car park. Sat Nav postcode BH19 3LE (Google map) This is the most convenient car park to visit the village or Square and Compass pub and also to start the coastal walks to Winspit and Seacombe. Please don’t park at the side of the road as it causes chaos in the summer.
Car park – You’ll find some useful information about the area including maps.
Worth Matravers map. There are some really beautiful walks starting from this car park. One of the most popular is to Seacombe and then along the cliff tops to Winspit and then back to Worth Matravers (can be walked in the opposite direction). Alternatively you could continue past Winspit to either St Aldhelm’s Head and back to Worth Matravers or if feeling really fit all the way to Chapman’s Pool and then back. If you just want to walk to St Aldhelms Head and Chapmans Pool then it may be best to park at the Renscombe car park BH19 3LL (Google map)
This is a better version of the map.
A very useful map of the area
Walking map
There are plenty of excellent walks staring in the village.
The Best Worth Matravers Walks https://www.dorsetwalks.co.uk/

Related Pages: Swanage / Corfe Castle / Corfe Castle Village / Kingston / Kimmeridge Bay