MENTION Teffont in Hollywood and more than one Oscar winner could probably tell you about the hospitality at Howard's House, the exclusive country house hotel in Teffont, which has entertained the likes of Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise and Sir John Gielgud.

But this gracious country house had rather humble beginnings - as an estate cottage leased by artist and gardening enthusiast Henry Howard.

Howard had virtually abandoned his canvases when he leased it from then lord of the manor Gerald Keatinge, who owned much of Teffont Evias.

Instead Howard set about creating a picture perfect garden there (later restored by Walter Coombes and a team of German POWs ) and became such a village institution that the Keatinges began to refer to the place fondly as Howard's House,

But Ms Kidman and co are not the only glittering names to stay in Teffont.

The Honourable David Tennant and his first wife, stage actress Hermione Baddeley, took a lease on the Manor House in 1934.

"People like Laurence Olivier came to stay," says Lynette Nelson.

The Tennants brought glamour and fun to the village and raised more than a few eyebrows.

"They used to have skinny dipping parties," says Lynette, "but Tennant got sick of all Hermione's stage friends coming down."

Lynette is the co-author, with Audrey McBain, of a new book recounting the history of Teffont, written as part of a millennium project to celebrate the village's rich history.

There is mention too within its pages of literary lions, like Siegfried Sassoon and Edith Olivier, who have passed through its picturesque lanes and resided, albeit briefly, within its boundaries, but The Bounding Spring is largely about the village itself - and the people who have made it their lives throughout the centuries.

Lynette and Audrey both retired to the village in the 1990s - Lynette had fallen in love with Teffont when she lived briefly at Burcombe some years before, but Audrey came here "by very good chance."

The spark for the book was lit at a meeting to discuss possible millennium projects.

Audrey says wryly: " We started off thinking it was something we'd knock off in a couple of months."

In the end, it took more than three years and, says Audrey, "we only used about ten per cent of what we found out."

Lynette concurs: "It's such a tiny village, but so much has happened."

The pair set about researching Teffont's history, its geology, its early Mesolithic and Neolithic settlements, the Anglo Saxon farming community that farmed the banks of the spring fed stream from which the book takes its title, and the development of Teffont Evias and Teffont Magna as communities until they were joined together as a single parish in 1936.

For centuries the two villages existed side by side, under separate ownership and in different hundreds.

"There were fights between the two villages in the 18th century, although no one knows why," says Audrey.

They've recorded the fortunes of major landowners like the Pembrokes and the Leys, the Maynes and the Keatinges, and the tenant farmers and gentry who left their mark.

By the time their research reached the 20th century and they were able to tap into the memories of villagers like Pam Fisher and Alice Lee, the wealth of material was overwhelming.

Audrey, who is an experienced writer, is the book's author but both women view the book as an equal collaboration.

The result, The Bounding Spring, has just been published by Teffont resident John Buck of The Francis Frith Collection free of charge and all profits from its sale will go to local charities including some in the village itself.

The book is priced £12.99 and is available from the Spotted Duck in Wilton, Dinton store, the River Barn at Fonthill and Cross Keys Bookshop in Salisbury.