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Hfek^M,

Memorials of the Counties of England

General Editor : Rev. P. H. Ditchfield, M.A., F.S.A.

Memorials

of

Old Dorset

?45H

xr»

MEMORIALS
OF OLD DORSET

EDITED BY

THOMAS PERKINS, M.A.

Late Rector of Turnworth, Dorset

Author of

" Wimborne Minster and Christchurch Priory"

' Bath and Malmesbury Abbeys" " Romsey Abbey" b*c.

AND

HERBERT PENTIN, M.A.

Vicar of Milton Abbey, Dorset

Vice-President, Hon. Secretary, and Editor
of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club

With many Illustrations

LONDON
BEMROSE & SONS LIMITED, 4 SNOW HILL, E.C.

AND DERBY
1907

[All Rights Reserved]

TO
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

LORD EUSTACE CECIL, F.R.G.S.

PAST PRESIDENT OF THE DORSET NATURAL

HISTORY AND ANTIQUARIAN FIELD CLUB

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED

BY HIS LORDSHIP'S

KIND

PERMISSION

PREFACE

THE editing of this Dorset volume was originally-
undertaken by the Rev. Thomas Perkins, the
scholarly Rector of Turnworth. But he, having
formulated its plan and written four papers therefor,
besides gathering material for most of the other chapters,
was laid aside by a very painful illness, which culminated
in his unexpected death. This is a great loss to his many
friends, to the present volume, and to the county of
Dorset as a whole ; for Mr. Perkins knew the county as
few men know it, his literary ability was of no mean
order, and his kindness to all with whom he was brought
in contact was proverbial.

After the death of Mr. Perkins, the editing of the
work was entrusted to the Rev. Herbert Pentin,
Vicar of Milton Abbey, whose knowledge of the
county and literary experience as Editor of the Dorset
Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club enabled him
to gather up the threads where his friend Mr. Perkins
had been compelled to lay them down, and to complete
the work and see it safely through the press. As General
Editor of the series, I desire to express my most grateful
thanks to him for his kind and gracious services in

VII

viii Preface

perfecting a work which had unfortunately been left
incomplete; and all lovers of Old Dorset and readers of
this book will greatly appreciate his good offices.

Few counties can rival Dorset either in natural
beauty or historic interest, and it deserves an honoured
place among the memorials of the counties of England.
In preparing the work the Editors have endeavoured to
make the volume comprehensive, although it is of course
impossible in a single volume to exhaust all the rich
store of historical treasures which the county affords.
After a general sketch of the history of Dorset by the
late Editor, the traces of the earliest races which inhabited
this county are discussed by Mr. Prideaux, who tells of
the ancient barrows in Dorset, and the details of the
Roman occupation are shown by Captain Acland. Dorset
is rich in churches, and no one was more capable to
describe their chief features than Mr. Perkins. His chapter
is followed by others of more detail, dealing with the
three great minsters still standing — Sherborne, Milton,
and Wimborne, the monastic house at Ford, and the
memorial brasses of Dorset. A series of chapters on
some of the chief towns and " islands " of the county
follows, supplemented by a description of two well-known
manor-houses. The literary associations of the county
and some of its witchcraft-superstitions form the subjects
of the concluding chapters. The names of the able writers
who have kindly contributed to this volume will commend
themselves to our readers. The Lord Bishop of Durham,
the Rev. R. Grosvenor Bartelot, Mr. Sidney Heath, Mr.
Wildman, Mr. Prideaux, Mr. Gill, Mrs. King Warry, and

Preface ix

our other contributors, are among the chief authorities
upon the subjects of which they treat, and our thanks
are due to them for their services ; and also to Mr. William
Pye for the beautiful coloured frontispiece, to Mr. Heath
for his charming drawings, and to those who have supplied
photographs for reproduction. We hope that this volume
will find a welcome in the library of every Dorset book-
lover, and meet with the approbation of all who revere
:he traditions and historical associations of the county.

P. H. DlTCHFIELD,

General Editor.

CONTENTS

Historic Dorset ....

The Barrows of Dorset

The Roman Occupation of Dorset

The Churches of Dorset

The Memorial Brasses of Dorset

Sherborne

Milton Abbey

Wimborne Minster

Ford Abbey
Dorchester .

Weymouth .

The Isle of Portland

The Isle of Purbeck

Corfe Castle

Poole .

Bridport

Page
By the Rev. THOMAS

Perkins, M.A. . . i

By C. S. Prideaux . 19

By Captain J. E. Acland 28

By the Rev. Thomas

Perkins, M.A. . . 44

By W. de C. Prideaux 62

By W. B. Wildman, M.A. 75

By the Rev. Herbert

Pentin, M.A. . . 94

By the Rev. Thomas
Perkins, M.A. . .117

By Sidney Heath . . 131

By the Lord Bishop of

Durham, D.D. . . 145

By Sidney Heath . . 157

By Mrs. King Warry . 177

By A. D. Moullin . 187

By Albert Bankes . 200

By W. K. Gill . . 222

By the Rev. R. Grosvenor

Bartelot, M.A. . . 232

XI

:xn

Contents

Shaftesbury

Piddletown and Athelhampton .

Wolfeton House ....

The Literary Associations of
Dorset

Some Dorset Superstitions .

By the Rev. THOMAS
Perkins, M.A.

By Miss Wood Homer .

By Albert Bankes

By Miss M. Jourdain .
By Hermann Lea .

Page

240
257
264

273

292

Index 307

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS

Ringstead and Holworth Frontispiec

{From a water-colour sketch by Mr. William Pye)

Page, or
Facing Page

Bronze Age Objects from Dorset Round Barrows . . . 20

{From photographs by Mr. IV. Pouncy)

Part of the Olga Road Tessellated Pavement, Dorchester . 38

{From a photograph by the Rev. T. Perkins)

Tessellated Pavement at Fifehead Neville .... 41
St. Martin's Church, Wareham 48

(From a photograph by the Rev. T. Perkins)

The Chapel on St. Ealdhelm's Head 5°

(From a drawing by Mr. Sidney Heath)

Brass to William Grey, Rector of Evershot .... 70

(From a rubbi?ig by Mr. W. de C. Prideaux)
Sherborne Abbey . . (From a drawing by Mr. Sidney Heath) j6

The Entrance to Sherborne School 86

(From a photograph by the Rev. T. Perkins)
Milton Abbey . . (From a photograph by the Rev. T.Perkins) 94

The Paintings in Milton Abbey 95

Milton Abbey: Interior (From a photograph by Mr. S. Gillingham) 96

The Tabernacle in Milton Abbey „ „ „ 97

Abbot Middleton's Rebus 101

St. Catherine's Chapel, Milton Abbey 104

(From a photograph by Mr. S. Gillingham)

Holworth Burning Cliff in 1827 106

(From a coloured print by Mr. E. Vivian)
xiii

xiv Index to Illustrations

Page, or

Facing Page

LisCOmbe Chapel . .(From a photograph by Mr. S. Gillingham) \OJ

Milton Abbey in the year 1733 no

(From an engraving by Messrs. S. and N. Buck)

The Seal of the Town of Milton in America . . . . 116

Wimborne Minster . . (From a drawing by Mr. Sidney Heath) 1 1 8

The Chained Library, Wimborne Minster . . . .128

(From a photograph by the Rev. T. Perkins)

Ford Abbey . . (From a photograph by the Rev. T. Perkins) 1 32

Details from Cloisters, Ford Abbey 134

(From drawings by Mr. Sidney Heath)

The Chapel, Ford Abbey (From a photograph by the Rev. T. Perkins) 1 36

Panel from Cloisters, Ford Abbey . . . . . .136

(From a drawing by Mr. Sidney Heath)

The Seal Of Ford Abbey (From a drawing by Mr. Sidney Heath) 140

High Street, Dorchester (From a photograph by the Rev. T. Perkins) 1 46

Judge Jeffreys' Lodgings, Dorchester 149

(From a drawing by Mr. Sidney Heath)

Comhill, Dorchester. . (From a drawing by Mr. Sidney Heath) I 53

"Napper's Mite," Dorchester „ „ „ 155

The Quay, Weymouth . „ „ „ 158

Chest in the Guildhall, Weymouth „ „ ,, 164

Sandsfoot Castle, Weymouth „ „ „ 166

Doorway, Sandsfoot Castle „ „ „ 167

Some Weymouth Tokens „ „ „ 169

The Arms of Weymouth „ „ ,, 170

Old House on North Quay, Weymouth 171

(From a drawing by Mr. Sidney Heath)

An Old Chair in the Guildhall, Weymouth . . . .172

(From a drawing by Mr. Sidney Heath)

The Old Stocks, Weymouth (From a drawing by Mr. Sidney Heath) 1 76

Portland Cottages . „ „ „ 185

" Kimmeridge Coal Money" 192

(From a photograph by Mr. A. D. Moullin)

Corfe Castle . . . (From a photograph by ttu Rev. T. Perkins) 200

The Town Cellars, Poole . „ „ „ 222

Index to Illustrations

XV

Page, or
Facing Page

Shaftesbury . . . {From a photograph by the Rev. T. Perkins) 240

Gold Hill, Shaftesbury . „ „ „ 248

Piddletown Church . „ „ „ 258

Athelhampton Hall . „ „ „ 262

Wolfeton House . ,, „ ,, 264

The East Drawing Room, Wolfeton House .... 268

(From a photograph by the Rev. T. Perkins)

William Barnes . . . (From a photograph by Messrs. Dickinsons) 280

Thomas Hardy . . . (From a photograph by the Rev. T. Perkins) 284

Came Rectory . . . (From a drawing by Mr. Sidney Heath) 29 1

HISTORIC DORSET

By the Rev. Thomas Perkins, M.A.

HE physical features due to the geological
formation of the district now called Dorset have
had such an influence on the inhabitants and their
history that it seems necessary to point out
briefly what series of stratified rocks may be seen in
Dorset, and the lines of their outcrop.

There are no igneous rocks, nor any of those classed
as primary, but, beginning with the Rhsetic beds, we find
every division of the secondary formations, with the
possible exception of the Lower Greensand, represented,
and in the south-eastern part of the district several of
the tertiary beds may be met with on the surface.

The dip of the strata is generally towards the east ;
hence the earlier formations are found in the west.
Nowhere else in England could a traveller in a journey
of a little under fifty miles — which is about the distance
from Lyme to the eastern boundary of Dorset — cross the
outcrop of so many strata. A glance at a geological map
of England will show that the Lias, starting from Lyme
Regis, sweeps along a curve slightly concave towards the
west, almost due north, until it reaches the sea again at
Redcar, while the southern boundary of the chalk starting
within about ten miles of Lyme runs out eastward to
Beechy Head. Hence it is seen that the outcrops of the
various strata are wider the further away they are from
Lyme Regis.

B

2 Memorials of Old Dorset

Dorset has given names to three well-known forma-
tions and to one less well known : (i) The Portland beds,
first quarried for building stone about 1660; (2) the
Purbeck beds, which supplied the Early English church
builders with marble for their ornamental shafts ;
(3) Kimmeridge clay ; and (4) the Punfield beds.

The great variety of the formation coming to the
surface in the area under consideration has given a
striking variety to the character of the landscape : the
chalk downs of the North and centre, with their rounded
outlines ; the abrupt escarpments of the greensand in the
neighbourhood of Shaftesbury ; the rich grazing land of
Blackmore Vale on the Oxford clay ; and the great Heath
(Mr. Hardy's Egdon) stretching from near Dorchester out
to the east across Woolwich, Reading, and Bagshot beds,
with their layers of gravel, sand, and clay. The chalk
heights are destitute of water ; the streams and rivers are
those of the level valleys and plains of Oolitic clays — hence
they are slow and shallow, and are not navigable, even
by small craft, far from their mouths.

The only sides from which in early days invaders were
likely to come were the south and east ; and both of these
boundaries were well protected by natural defences, the
former by its wall of cliffs and the deadly line of the Chesil
beach. The only opening in the wall was Poole Harbour,
a land-locked bay, across which small craft might indeed
be rowed, but whose shores were no doubt a swamp
entangled by vegetation. Swanage Bay and Lulworth
Cove could have been easily defended. Weymouth Bay
was the most vulnerable point. Dense forests protected
the eastern boundary. These natural defences had a
marked effect, as we shall see, on the history of the people.
Dorset for many centuries was an isolated district, and
is so to a certain extent now, though great changes have
taken place during the last fifty or sixty years, due to the
two railways that carry passengers from the East to
Weymouth and the one that brings them from the North

Historic Dorset 3

to Poole and on to Bournemouth. This isolation has
conduced to the survival not only of old modes of speech,
but also of old customs, modes of thought, and
superstitions.

It may be well, before speaking of this history, to state
that the county with which this volume deals should always
be spoken of as " Dorset," never as " Dorsetshire " ; for
in no sense of the word is Dorset a shire, as will be
explained further on.

We find within the boundaries of the district very few
traces of Palaeolithic man : the earliest inhabitants, who
have left well-marked memorials of themselves, were
Iberians, a non-Aryan race, still represented by the
Basques of the Pyrenees and by certain inhabitants of
Wales. They were short of stature, swarthy of skin, dark
of hair, long-skulled. Their characteristic weapon or imple-
ment was a stone axe, ground, not chipped, to a sharp
edge ; they buried their dead in a crouching attitude in
the long barrows which are still to be seen in certain parts
of Dorset, chiefly to the north-east of the Stour Valley.
When and how they came into Britain we cannot tell for
certain ; it was undoubtedly after the glacial epoch, and
probably at a time when the Straits of Dover had not
come into being and the Thames was still a tributary of
the Rhine. They were in what is known as the Neolithic
stage of civilisation ; but in course of time, after this
country had become an island, invaders broke in upon
them, Aryans of the Celtic race, probably (as Professor
Rhys thinks, though he says he is not certain on this
point) of the Goidelic branch. These men were tall, fair-
haired, blue-eyed, round-skulled, and were in a more
advanced stage of civilisation than the Iberians, using
bronze weapons, and burying their dead, sometimes after
cremation, in the round barrows that exist in such large
numbers on the Dorset downs. Their better arms and
greater strength told in the warfare that ensued : whether
the earlier inhabitants were altogether destroyed, or

4 Memorials of Old Dorset

expelled or lived on in diminished numbers in a state of
slavery, we have no means of ascertaining. But certain
it is that the Celts became masters of the land. These
men were some of those who are called in school history
books " Ancient Britons " ; the Wessex folk in after days
called them " Welsh " — that is, " foreigners " — the word
that in their language answered to fidpfiapoi and
" barbari " of the Greeks and Romans. What they called
themselves we do not know. Ptolemy speaks of them as
" Durotriges," the name by which they were known to the
Romans. Despite various conjectures, the etymology of
this word is uncertain. The land which they inhabited
was, as already pointed out, much isolated. The lofty
cliffs from the entrance to Poole Harbour to Portland
formed a natural defence ; beyond this, the long line of
the Chesil beach, and further west, more cliffs right on to
the mouth of the Axe. Most of the lowlands of the interior
were occupied by impenetrable forests, and the slow-
running rivers, which even now in rainy seasons overflow
their banks, and must then, when the rainfall was much
heavier than now, have spread out into swamps, rendered
unnavigable by their thick tangle of vegetation. The
inhabitants dwelt on the sloping sides of the downs,
getting the water they needed from the valleys,
and retiring for safety to the almost innumerable
encampments that crowned the crests of the hills, many of
which remain easily to be distinguished to this day.
Nowhere else in England in an equal area can so many
Celtic earthworks be found as in Dorset. The Romans
came in due course, landing we know not where, and
established themselves in certain towns not far from the
coasts.

The Celts were not slain or driven out of their land,
but lived on together with the Romans, gradually
advancing in civilisation under Roman influence. They
had already adopted the Christian religion : they belonged
to the old British Church, which lived on in the south-west

Historic Dorset 5

of England even through that period when the Teutonic
invaders — Jutes, Angles, Saxons — devastated the south-
east, east, north, and central parts of the island, and utterly
drove westward before them the Celtic Christians into
Wales and the south-west of Scotland. Dorset remained
for some time untouched, for though the Romans had
cleared some of the forests before them, and had cut
roads through others, establishing at intervals along them
military stations, and strengthening and occupying many
of the Celtic camps, yet the vast forest — " Selwood," as the
English called it — defended Dorset from any attack of the
West Saxons, who had settled further to the east. Once,
and once only, if we venture, with Professor Freeman, to
identify Badbury Rings, near Wimborne, on the Roman
Road, with the Mons Badonicus of Gildas, the Saxons,
under Cerdic, in 516, invaded the land of the Durotriges,
coming along the Roman Road which leads from Salis-
bury to Dorchester, through the gap in the forest at
Woodyates, but found that mighty triple ramparted
stronghold held by Celtic Arthur and his knights, round
whom so much that is legendary has gathered, but who
probably were not altogether mythical. In the fight that
followed, the Christian Celt was victorious, and the
Saxon invader was driven in flight back to his own
territory beyond Selwood. Some place Mons

Badonicus in the very north of England, or even in
Scotland, and say that the battle was fought between
the Northumbrians and the North Welsh : if this view
is correct, we may say that no serious attack was
made on the Celts of Dorset from the east.
According to Mr. Wildman's theory, as stated in his
Life of St. Ealdhdm — which theory has a great air of
probability about it—the Wessex folk, under Cenwealh,
son of Cynegils, the first Christian King of the West
Saxons, won two victories : one at Bradford-on-Avon in
652, and one at the " Hills " in 658. Thus North Dorset
was overcome, and gradually the West Saxons passed on

6 Memorials of Old Dorset

westward through Somerset, until in 682 Cent wine,
according to the English Chronicle, drove the
Welsh into the sea. William of Malmesbury calls
them "Norht Wakes," or North Welsh, but this
is absurd : Mr. Wildman thinks " Norht " may be
a mistake for " Dorn," or " Thorn/' and that the Celts of
Dorset are meant, and that the sea mentioned is the
English Channel. From this time the fate of the
Durotriges was sealed : their land became part of the great
West Saxon kingdom. Well indeed was it for them that
they had remained independent until after the time when
their conquerors had ceased to worship Woden and
Thunder and had given in their allegiance to the White
Christ ; for had these men still been worshippers of the
old fierce gods, the Celts would have fared much worse.
Now, instead of being exterminated, they were allowed
to dwell among the West Saxon settlers, in an inferior
position, but yet protected by the West Saxon laws, as we
see from those of Ine who reigned over the West Saxons
from 688 to 728. The Wessex settlers in Dorset were
called by themselves " Dornsaste," or " Dorsaete," whence
comes the name of Dorset. It will be seen then, that
Dorset is what Professor Freeman calls a " ga " — the land
in which a certain tribe settled — and differs entirely from
those divisions made after the Mercian land had been won
back from the Danes, when shires were formed by shearing
up the newly recovered land, not into its former divisions
which the Danish conquest had obliterated, but into
convenient portions, each called after the name of the
chief town within its borders, such as Oxfordshire from
Oxford, Leicestershire from Leicester. The Danes
did for a time get possession of the larger part
of Wessex, but it was only for a time : the
boundaries of Dorset were not wiped out, and there
was no need to make any fresh division. So when
we use the name Dorset for the county we use the very
name that it was known by in the seventh century. It

Historic Dorset 7

is also interesting to observe that Dorset has been
Christian from the days of the conversion of the Roman
Empire, that no altars smoked on Dorset soil to Woden,
no temples were built in honour of Thunder, no prayers
were offered to Freya ; but it is also worth notice that
the Celtic Christian Church was not ready to amalgamate
with the Wessex Church, which had derived its Christianity
from Papal Rome. However, the Church of the
Conquerors prevailed, and Dorset became not only part
of the West Saxon kingdom, but also of the West Saxon
diocese, under the supervision of a bishop, who at first
had his bishop-stool at Dorchester, not the Dorset town,
but one of the same name on the Thames, not far from
Abingdon. In 705, when Ine was King, it received a
bishop of its own in the person of St. Ealdhelm, Abbot of
Malmesbury, who on his appointment placed his bishop-
stool at Sherborne : he did not live to hold this office
long, for he died in 709. But a line of twenty-five bishops
ruled at Sherborne, the last of whom — Herman, a Fleming
brought over by Eadward the Confessor — transferred his
see in 1075 to Old Sarum, as it is now called; whereupon
the church of Sherborne lost its cathedral rank.

The southern part of Dorset, especially in the neigh-
bourhood of Poole Harbour, suffered much during the
time that the Danes were harrying the coast of England.
There were fights at sea in Swanage Bay, there were
fights on land round the walls of Wareham, there were
burnings of religious houses at Wimborne and Wareham.
Then followed the victories of Alfred, and for a time
Dorset had rest. But after Eadward was murdered at
" Corfesgeat " by his step-mother ^Elfthryth's order, and
the weak King ^Ethelred was crowned, the Danes gave
trouble again. The King first bribed them to land alone ;
and afterwards, when, trusting to a treaty he had made
with them, many Danes had settled peacefully in the
country, he gave orders for a general massacre — men,
women and children — on St. Brice's Day (November 13th),

8 Memorials of Old Dorset

i 002. Among those who perished was a sister of Swegen,
the Danish King, Christian though she was. This
treacherous and cruel deed brought the old Dane across
the seas in hot haste to take terrible vengeance on the
perpetrator of the dastardly outrage. All southern
England, including Dorset, was soon ablaze with burning
towns. The walls of Dorchester were demolished, the
Abbey of Cerne was pillaged and destroyed, Wareham was
reduced to ashes. Swegen became King, but reigned only
a short time, and his greater son, Cnut, succeeded him.
When he had been recognised as King by the English,
and had got rid of all probable rivals, he governed well and
justly, and the land had rest. Dorset had peace until Harold
had fallen on the hill of Battle, and the south-eastern and
southern parts of England had acknowledged William as
King. The men of the west still remained independent,
Exeter being the chief city to assert its independence.
In 1088 William resolved to set about to subdue these
western rebels, as he called them. He demanded that
they should accept him as King, take oaths of allegiance
to him, and receive him within their walls. To this the
. men of Exeter made answer that they would pay tribute
to him as overlord of England as they had paid to the
previous King, but that they would not take oaths of
allegiance, nor would they allow him to enter the city.
William's answer was an immediate march westward.
Professor Freeman says that there is no record of the
details of his march ; but naturally it would lie through
Dorset, the towns of which were in sympathy with Exeter.
Knowing what harsh and cruel things William could do
when it suited his purpose, we cannot for a moment doubt
that he fearfully harried all the Dorset towns on the line
of his march, seeking by severity to them to overawe the
city of Exeter.

In the wars between Stephen and Maud, Dorset was
often the battle-ground of the rival claimants for the
throne. Wareham, unfortunate then, as usual, was taken

Historic Dorset 9

and re-taken more than once, first by one party, then by
the other ; but lack of space prevents the telling of this
piece of local history.

King John evidently had a liking for Dorset. He
often visited it, having houses of his own at Bere Regis,
Canford, Corfe, Cranborne, Gillingham, and Dorchester.
In the sixteenth year of his reign he put strong garrisons
into Corfe Castle and Wareham as a defence against his
discontented barons.

In the wars between his son, Henry III., and the
Barons there was fighting again in Dorset, especially at
Corfe. Dorset, among other seaside counties, supplied
ships and sailors to Edward III. and Henry V. for their
expeditions against France.

The Wars of the Roses seem hardly to have touched
the county ; but one incident must be mentioned : On
April 14th, 1 47 1, Margaret, wife of Henry VI., landed at
Weymouth with her son Edward and a small band of
Frenchmen ; but she soon heard that on the very day of
her landing her great supporter, though once he had been
her bitterest enemy, Warwick the King-maker, had been
defeated and slain at Barnet. This led her to seek
sanctuary in the Abbey at Cerne, about sixteen miles to
the north of Weymouth ; but her restless spirit would not
allow her long to stay in this secluded spot, and she started
with young Edward, gathering supporters as she went,
till on May 4th her army was defeated at Tewkesbury,
and there her last hopes were extinguished when King
Edward IV. smote her son, who had been taken prisoner,
with gauntleted hand upon the mouth, and the daggers
of Clarence and Gloucester ended the poor boy's life.

We hear nothing of resistance on the part of Dorset
to the Earl of Richmond when he came to overthrow
Richard III. Probably, as the Lancastrian family of the
Beauforts were large landowners in Dorset, Dorset
sympathy was enlisted on the side of the son of the Lady
Margaret, great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt.

io Memorials of Old Dorset

Like all the rest of England, Dorset had to see its
religious houses suppressed and despoiled ; its abbots and
abbesses, with all their subordinate officers, as well as
their monks and nuns, turned out of their old homes,
though let it in fairness be stated, not unprovided for, for
all those who surrendered their ecclesiastical property to
the King received pensions sufficient to keep them in
moderate comfort, if not in affluence. Dorset accepted
the dissolution of the monasteries and the new services
without any manifest dissatisfaction. There was no
rioting or fighting as in the neighbouring county of
Devon.

Dorset did not escape so easily in the days of the Civil
War. Lyme, holden for the Parliament by Governor
Creely and some 500 men, held out from April 20th to
June 1 6th, 1644, against Prince Maurice with 4,000 men,
when the Earl of Essex came to its relief. Corfe Castle
and Sherborne Castle were each besieged twice. Abbots-
bury was taken by Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper in
September, 1644. Wareham, also, was more than once
the scene of fighting. In the north of Dorset a band of
about 5,000 rustics, known as " Clubmen," assembled.
These men knew little and cared less for the rival causes
of King and Parliament which divided the rest of
England ; but one thing they did know and greatly cared
for : they found that ever and again bands of armed horse-
men came riding through the villages, some singing
rollicking songs and with oaths on their lips, others
chanting psalms and quoting the Bible, but all alike
treading down their crops, demanding food, and sometimes
their horses, often forgetting to pay for them ; so they
resolved to arm themselves and keep off Cavaliers and
Roundheads alike. At one time they encamped at
Shaftesbury, but could not keep the Roundheads
from occupying the Hill Town ; so they, to the number of
4,000, betook themselves to the old Celtic camp of
Hambledon, some seven or eight miles to the south.

Historic Dorset ii

Cromwell himself, in a letter to Fairfax, dated August 4th,
1645, tells what befell them there :

We marched on to Shaftesbury, when we heard a great body of them
was drawn up together about Hambledon Hill. I sent up a forlorn hope
of about 50 horse, who coming very civilly to them, they fired upon
them ; and ours desiring some of them to come to me were refused with
disdain. They were drawn into one of the old camps upon a very high
hill. They refused to submit, and fired at us. I sent a second time
to let them know that if they would lay down their arms no wrong should
be done them. They still — through the animation of their leaders, and
especially two vile ministers! — refused. When we came near they let
fly at us, killed about two of our men, and at least four horses. The
passage not being for above three abreast kept us out, whereupon Major
Desborow wheeled about, got in the rear of them, beat them from the
work, and did some small execution upon them, I believe killed not
twelve of them, but cut very many, and put them all to flight. We have
taken about 300, many of whom are poor silly creatures, whom, if you
please to let me send home, they promise to be very dutiful for time
to come, and will be hanged before they come out again.

From which we see that " Grim old Oliver," who could be
severe enough when policy demanded it, yet could show
mercy at times, for throughout this episode his dealings
with the Clubmen were marked with much forbearance.

Charles II., after his defeat at Worcester, September
3rd, 165 1, during his romantic wanderings and hidings
before he could get safe to sea, spent nearly three weeks
in what is now Dorset, though most of the time he was
in concealment at the Manor House at Trent, which was
then within the boundaries of Somerset, having only
recently been transferred to Dorset. This manor house
belonged to Colonel Francis Wyndham. Hither on
Wednesday, September 17th, came Jane Lane, sister of
Colonel Lane, from whose house at Bentley, Worcester-
shire, she had ridden on a pillion behind one who passed
as her groom, really Charles in disguise, with one
attendant, Cornet Lassels. Jane and the Cornet left Trent
the next day on their return journey, and Charles was

1 One of these was the Rev. Mr. Bravel, Rector of Compton Abbas.

12 Memorials of Old Dorset

stowed away in Lady Wyndham's room, from which there
was access to a hiding-place between two floors. His
object was to effect his escape from one of the small
Dorset ports. Colonel Wyndham rode next day to
Melbury Sampford, where lived Sir John Strangways, to
see if either of his sons could manage to hire a boat at
Lyme, Weymouth, or Poole, which would take Charles to
France. He failed in this, but brought back one hundred
pounds, the gift of Sir John Strangways. Colonel
Wyndham then went to Lyme to see one Captain Ellesdon,
to whom he said that Lord Wilmot wanted to be taken
across to France. Arrangements were then made with
Stephen Limbrey, the skipper of a coasting vessel, to take
a party of three or four royalist gentlemen to France from
Charmouth. Lord Wilmot was described as a Mr. Payne,
a bankrupt merchant running away from his creditors,
and taking his servant (Charles) with him. It was agreed
that Limbrey should have a rowing-boat ready on Char-
mouth beach on the night of September 22nd, when the
tide was high, to convey the party to his ship and carry
them safe to France, for which service he was to receive
£60. September 22nd was " fair day " at Lyme, and as
many people would probably be about, it was necessary
that the party should find some safe lodging where they
could wait quietly till the tide was in, about midnight.
Rooms were secured, as for a runaway couple, at a small
inn at Charmouth. At this inn on Monday morning
arrived Colonel Wyndham, who acted as guide, and his
wife and niece, a Mrs. Juliana Coningsby (the supposed
eloping damsel), riding behind her groom (Charles). Lord
Wilmot, the supposed bridegroom, with Colonel
Wyndham's confidential servant, Peters, followed.
Towards midnight Wyndham and Peters went down to
the beach, Wilmot and Charles waiting at the inn ready
to be called as soon as the boat should come. But no
signs of the boat appeared throughout the whole night.
It seems that Mrs. Limbrey had seen posted up at Lyme

Historic Dorset 13

a notice about the heavy penalty that anyone would
incur who helped Charles Stuart to escape, and
suspecting that the mysterious enterprise on which her
husband was engaged might have something to do with
helping in such an escape, she, when he came back in the
evening to get some things he had need of for the voyage,
locked him in his room and would not let him out ; and
he dared not break out lest the noise and his wife's violent
words might attract attention and the matter get noised
abroad. Charles, by Wyndham's advice, rode off to
Bridport the next morning with Mistress Coningsby, as
before, the Colonel going with them ; Wilmot stayed
behind. His horse cast a shoe, and Peters took it to the
smith to have another put on ; and the smith, examining
the horse's feet, said : " These three remaining shoes were
put on in three different counties, and one looks like a
Worcester shoe." When the shoe was fixed, the smith
went to a Puritan minister, one Bartholomew Wesley, and
told him what he suspected. Wesley went to the landlady
of the inn : " Why, Margaret," said he, " you are now a
maid of honour." " What do you mean by that, Mr.
Parson ? " said she. " Why, Charles Stuart lay at your
house last night, and kissed you at his departure, so that
you cannot now but be a maid of honour." Whereupon
the hostess waxed wroth, and told Wesley that he was an
ill-conditioned man to try and bring her and her house
into trouble ; but, with a touch of female vanity, she
added : " If I thought it was the King, as you say it was,
I should think the better of my lips all the days of my
life. So, Mr. Parson, get you out of my house, or I'll get
those who shall kick you out."

However, the matter soon got abroad, and a pursuit
began. Meanwhile, Charles and his party had pressed on
into Bridport, which happened to be full of soldiers
mustering there before joining a projected expedition
to capture the Channel Islands for the Parliament.
Charles's presence of mind saved him. He pushed through

14 Memorials of Old Dorset

the crowd into the inn yard, groomed the horse, chatted
with the soldiers, who had no suspicion that he was other
than he seemed, and then said that he must go and serve
his mistress at table. By this time Wilmot and Peters
had arrived, and they told him of the incident at the
shoeing forge ; so, losing no time, the party started on
the Dorchester road, but, turning off into a by-lane, got
safe to Broadwinsor, and thence once more to Trent,
which they reached oh September 24th. On October 5th
Wilmot and Charles left Trent and made their way to
Shoreham in Sussex. But they had not quite done with
Dorset yet ; for it was a Dorset skipper, one Tattersal,
whose business it was to sail a collier brig, The Surprise,
between Poole and Shoreham, who carried Charles Stuart
and Lord Wilmot from Shoreham to Fecamp, and
received the £60 that poor Limbrey might have had save
for his wife's interference.

Dorset was the stage on which were acted the first and
one of the concluding scenes of the Duke of Monmouth's
rebellion in 1685. On June nth the inhabitants of Lyme
Regis were sorely perplexed when they saw three foreign-
looking ships, which bore no colours, at anchor in the bay ;
and their anxiety was not lessened when thty saw the
custom house officers, who had rowed out, as their habit
was, to overhaul the cargo of any vessel arriving at the
port, reach the vessels but return not again. Then from
seven boats landed some eighty armed men, whose leader
knelt down on the shore to offer up thanksgiving for his
safe voyage, and to pray for God's blessing on his enter-
prise. When it was known that this leader was the Duke
of Monmouth the people welcomed him, his blue flag was
set up in the market place, and Monmouth's undignified
Declaration — the composition of Ferguson — was read.
That same evening the Mayor, who approved of none of
these things, set off to rouse the West in the King's favour,
and from Honiton sent a letter giving information of the
landing. On June 14th, the first blood was shed in a

Historic Dorset 15

skirmish near Bridport (it was not a decisive engagement).
Monmouth's men, however, came back to Lyme, the
infantry in good order, the cavalry helter-skelter ; and
little wonder, seeing that the horses, most of them taken
from the plough, had never before heard the sound of fire-
arms.

Then Monmouth and his men pass off our stage. It
is not for the local Dorset historian to trace his marches
up and down Somerset, or to describe the battle that was
fought in the early hours of the morning of July 6th under
the light of the full moon, amid the sheet of thick mist,
which clung like a pall over the swampy surface of the level
stretch of Sedgemoor. Once again Dorset received
Monmouth, no longer at the head of an enthusiastic and
brave, though a badly armed and undisciplined multitude,
but a lonely, hungry, haggard, heartbroken fugitive. On
the morning of July 8th he was found in a field near
Horton, which still bears the name of Monmouth's Close,
hiding in a ditch. He was brought before Anthony
Etricke of Holt, the Recorder of Poole, and by him sent
under escort to London, there to meet his ghastly end on
Tower Hill, and to be laid to rest in what Macaulay calls
the saddest spot on earth, St. Peter's in the Tower, the
last resting-place of the unsuccessfully ambitious, of those
guilty of treason, and also of some whose only fault it
was that they were too near akin to a fallen dynasty,
and so roused the fears and jealousy of the reigning
monarch.

Everyone has heard of the Bloody Assize which
followed, but the names and the number of those who
perished were not accurately known till a manuscript of
forty-seven pages, of folio size, was offered for sale among
a mass of waste paper in an auction room at Dorchester,
December, 1875.1 It was bought by Mr. W. B. Barrett,

1 Proceedings of the Dorset Nat. Hist, and Antiquarian Field Club,
vol. v., p. 99.

1 6 Memorials of Old Dorset

and he found that it was a copy of the presentment of
rebels at the Autumn Assizes of 1685, probably made for
the use of some official of the Assize Court, as no doubt
the list that Jeffreys had would have been written on
parchment, and this was on paper. It gives the names
of 2,611 persons presented at Dorchester, Exeter, and
Taunton, as having been implicated in the rebellion, the
parishes where they lived, and the nature of their callings.
Of these, 312 were charged at Dorchester, and only about
one-sixth escaped punishment. Seventy-four were
executed, 175 were transported, nine were whipped or
fined, and 54 were acquitted or were not captured. It is
worth notice that the percentage of those punished at
Exeter and Taunton was far less than at Dorchester.
Out of 488 charged at Exeter, 455 escaped; and at
Taunton, out of 1,811, 1,378 did not suffer. It is possible
that the Devon and Somerset rebels, having heard of
Jeffreys' severity at Dorchester, found means of escape.
No doubt many of the country folk who had not
sympathized with the rebellion would yet help to conceal
those who were suspected, when they knew (from what
had happened at Dorchester) that if they were taken they
would in all probability be condemned to death or slavery
- — for those " transported " were really handed over to
Court favourites as slaves for work on their West Indian
plantations. It is gratifying to know that it has been
discovered, since Macaulay's time, that such of the trans-
ported as were living when William and Mary came to the
throne were pardoned and set at liberty on the application
of Sir William Young.

Monmouth was the last invader to land in Dorset ;
but there was in the early part of the nineteenth century
very great fear among the Dorset folk that a far more
formidable enemy might choose some spot, probably
Weymouth, on the Dorset coast for landing his army.
Along the heights of the Dorset downs they built beacons
of dry stubs and furze, with guards in attendance,

Historic Dorset 17

ready to flash the news of Napoleon's landing, should he
land. The general excitement that prevailed, the false
rumours that from time to time made the peaceable
inhabitants, women and children, flee inland, and sent the
men capable of bearing arms flocking seaward, are well
described in Mr. Hardy's Trumpet Major. But Napoleon
never came, and the dread of invasion passed away for
ever in 1805.

In the wild October night time, when the wind raved round the land,
And the back-sea met the front-sea, and our doors were blocked with

sand,
And we heard the drub of Dead-man's Bay, where bones of thousands

are,
(But) knew not what that day had done for us at Trafalgar. 1

The isolation of Dorset, which has been before spoken
of, has had much to do with preserving from extinction
the old dialect spoken in the days of the Wessex
kings. Within its boundaries, especially in " outstep
placen," as the people call them, the old speech may be
heard in comparative purity. Let it not be supposed that
Dorset is an illiterate corruption of literary English. It is
an older form of English ; it possesses many words that
elsewhere have become obsolete, and a grammar with rules
as precise as those of any recognised language. No one
not to the manner born can successfully imitate the speech
of the rustics who, from father to son, through many
generations have lived in the same village. A stranger
may pick up a few Dorset words, only, in all probability,
to use them incorrectly. For instance, he may hear the
expression " thic tree " for " that tree," and go away with
the idea that " thic " is the Dorset equivalent of " that,"
and so say " thic grass " — an expression which no true
son of the Dorset soil would use ; for, as the late William
Barnes pointed out, things in Dorset are of two classes :
(i) The personal class of formed things, as a man, a tree,

1 The Dynasts, part i., p. 179.

1 8 Memorials of Old Dorset

a boot ; (2) the impersonal class of unformed quantities of
things, as a quantity of hair, or wood, or water. " He "
is the personal pronoun for class (1); "it" for class (2).
Similarly, " thease " and " thic " are the demonstratives of
class (1); "this" and "that" of class (2). A book is
" he " ; some water is " it." We say in Dorset : " Thease
tree by this water," " Thic cow in that grass." Again,
a curious distinction is made in the infinitive mood : when
it is not followed by an object, it ends in " y " ; when an
object follows, the "y" is omitted: — "Can you mowy?"
but " Can you mow this grass for me ? " The common
use of " do " and " did " as auxiliary verbs, and not only
when emphasis is intended, is noteworthy (the
"o" of the "do" being faintly heard). "How
do you manage about threading your needles ? "
asked a lady of an old woman engaged in sewing, whose
sight was very dim from cataract. The answer came :
"Oh, he" (her husband) "do dread 'em for me." In
Dorset we say not only " to-day " and " to-morrow," but
also "to-week," " to-year." " Tar'ble " is often used for
" very," in a good as well as a bad sense. There are many
words bearing no resemblance to English in Dorset speech.
What modern Englishman would recognise a " mole hill "
in a " wont-heave," or " cantankerous " in " thirtover " ?
But too much space would be occupied were this fascinat-
ing subject to be pursued further.

National schools, however, are corrupting Wessex
speech, and the niceties of Wessex grammar are often
neglected by the children. Probably the true Dorset will
soon be a thing of the past. William Barnes' poems and
Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels, especially the latter,
will then become invaluable to the philologist. In some
instances Mr. Barnes' spelling seems hardly to represent
the sound of words as they are uttered by Dorset, or, as
they say here, " Darset " lips.

THE BARROWS OF DORSET

By C. S. Prideaux

!HE County of Dorset is exceedingly rich in
the prehistoric burial-places commonly called
barrows. At the present time considerably over
a thousand are marked on the one-inch Ordnance
Map, and, considering the numbers which have been
destroyed, we may surely claim that Dorset was a
populous centre in prehistoric times, owing probably to
its proximity to the Continent and its safe harbours,
as well as to its high and dry downs and wooded valleys.
The long barrow is the earliest form of sepulchral mound,
being the burial-place of the people of the Neolithic or
Late Stone Age, a period when men were quite ignorant
of the use of metals, with the possible exception of gold,
using flint or stone weapons and implements, but who
cultivated cereals, domesticated animals, and manufactured
a rude kind of hand-made pottery. Previous to this, stone
implements and weapons were of a rather rude type ; but
now not only were they more finely chipped, but often
polished.

The round barrows are the burial-places of the Goidels,
a branch of the Celtic family, who were taller than the
Neolithic men and had rounder heads. They belong to the
Bronze Age, a period when that metal was first introduced
into Britain ; and although comparatively little is found in
the round barrows of Dorset, still less has been discovered
in the North of England, probably owing to the greater
distance from the Continent.

19

20 Memorials of Old Dorset

Hand-made pottery abounds, artistically decorated with
diagonal lines and dots, which are combined to form such
a variety of patterns that probably no two vessels are found
alike. Stone and flint implements were still in common
use, and may be found almost anywhere in Dorset,
especially on ploughed uplands after a storm of rain, when
the freshly-turned-up flints have been washed clear of
earth.

In discussing different periods, we must never lose sight
of the fact that there is much overlapping ; and although
it is known that the long-barrow men had long heads and
were a short race, averaging 5 ft. 4 in. in height, and that
the round-barrow men had round heads and averaged
5 ft. 8 in.,1 we sometimes find fairly long-shaped skulls in
the round barrows, showing that the physical peculiarities
of the two races became blended.

Long barrows are not common in Dorset, and little has
been done in examining their contents. This is probably
due to their large size, and the consequent difficulty in
opening them. They are generally found inland, and
singly, with their long diameter east and west ; and the
primary interments, at any rate in Dorset, are unburnt,
and usually placed nearer the east end. Some are cham-
bered, especially where large flat stones were easily obtain-
able, but more often they are simply formed of mould and
chalk rubble. Their great size cannot fail to impress us,
and we may well wonder how such huge mounds were
constructed with the primitive implements at the disposal
of Neolithic man. One near Pimperne, measured by Mr.
Charles Warne, is no yards long, and there are others
near Bere Regis, Cranborne, Gussage, and Kingston
Russell ; and within a couple of miles of the latter place,
besides the huge long barrow, are dozens of round barrows,
the remains of British villages, hut circles, stone circles,
and a monolith.

1 Excavations in Cranborne Chase, by Lieut. -General Pitt-Rivers,
F.R.S., vol. ii., p. 62.

PLATE I. Figs, i 32 465

Bronze Age Objects from Dorset Round Barrows

I Scale. (IN THE DORSET COUNTY MUSEUM).

PLATE //. Figs, i 3 2

Bronze Age Objects from Dorset Round Barrows
* '?m^- (in the dorset county museum).

The Barrows of Dorset 21

The late Lieut-General Pitt-Rivers, in 1893, removed
the whole of Wor Barrow, on Handley Down,1 and made
a very exhaustive examination of its contents, which pre-
sented many features of peculiar interest. This barrow,
with ditch, was about 175 feet long-, 125 feet wide, and
13 J feet high; inside the mound on the ground level was
an oblong space, 93 ft. by 34 ft., surrounded by a trench
filled with flints. The earth above the trench bore traces
of wooden piles, which were, no doubt, originally stuck into
the trench with the flints packed around to keep them in
place, thus forming a palisade ; the wooden piles in this
case taking the place of the stone slabs found in the stone-
chambered long barrows of Gloucestershire and elsewhere.

Six primary interments by inhumation were discovered
at the south-east part of the enclosure, with a fragment
of coarse British pottery. Three of the bodies were in a
crouched position. The remaining three had been deposited
as bones, not in sequence, the long bones being laid out
by the side of the skulls ; and careful measurement of
these bones shows that their owners were the short people
of the long-headed or Neolithic race, which confirms the
first part of Dr. Thurnam's axiom : " Long barrows long
skulls, round barrows round skull Nineteen secondary
interments of a later date were found in the upper part
of the barrow and in the surrounding ditch, with numerous
pieces of pottery, flint implements, fragments of bronze and
iron, and coins, proving that the barrow was used as a
place of burial down to Roman times.

In Dorset the round barrows are generally found on
the summits of the hills which run through the county,
more particularly on the Ridgeway, which roughly follows
the coast line from near Bridport to Swanage, where may
be seen some hundreds of all sizes, from huge barrows over
100 feet in diameter and 15 feet in height to small mounds,
so little raised above the surface that only the tell-tale

1 Excavations in Cranborne Chase, by Lieut.- General Pitt-Rivers,
vol. iv\, pp. 62-100.

22 Memorials of Old Dorset

shadows cast by the rising or setting sun show where a
former inhabitant lies buried.

In the western part of the county they may be traced
from Kingston Russell to Agger-Dun, through Sydling and
Cerne Abbas to Bulbarrow, and in the east, from Swanage
Bay to Bere Regis ; and also near Dorchester, Wimborne,
Blandford, and other places.

In the Bronze Age cremation and inhumation were both
practised ; but in Dorset burials by cremation are the more
common. The cremated remains were sometimes placed
in a hole or on the surface line, with nothing to protect
them from the weight of the barrow above ; at other times
they were covered by flat slabs of stone, built in the form
of a small closed chamber or cist. Often they were placed
on a flat piece of stone, and covered with an inverted urn,
or put in an urn, with a covering slab over them ; and they
have been found wrapped in an animal's skin, or in a bag
of some woven material, or even in a wooden coffin.

The inhumed bodies are nearly always found in a con-
tracted posture, with the knees drawn up towards the
chin ; and a larger number face either east, south or west,
than north. In the case of an inhumation, when the body
was deposited below the old surface level, the grave was
often neatly hewn and sometimes lined with slabs of stone,
and it was the common custom to pile a heap of flints
over it, affording a protection from wild animals ; above
the flints was heaped the main portion of the mound, which
consisted of mould and chalk rubble.

A ditch, with or without a causeway,1 usually surrounds
each barrow, but is so often silted up that no trace of it
can be seen on the surface ; it probably helped to supply
the chalk rubble of the barrow.

Bronze Age sepulchral pottery, which is hand-made,
often imperfectly baked and unglazed, has been divided
into four classes : the beaker or drinking vessel, the food

1 Excavations in Cranborne Chase, by Lieut. -General Pitt-Rivers,
vol. iv., p. 144.

The Barrows of Dorset 23

vessel, the incense cup, and the cinerary urn. The two
former are usually associated with inhumations ; the two
latter with cremations.

As a type of prehistoric ceramic art in Britain, the
Hon. J. Abercromby says that the beaker is the earliest,
and the cinerary urn the latest.1

Plate II., fig. 2, is a typical drinking vessel or beaker
which was found in the hands of a skeleton during altera-
tions to the Masonic Hall at Dorchester. It is made of
thin, reddish, well-baked pottery, and from the stains
inside it evidently contained food or liquid at some time.
The beaker is more often met with than the food vessel,
being found on the Continent as well as in England. The
food vessel, on the other hand, is a type unrepresented
outside the British Isles, and is entirely wanting in Wilt-
shire,2 although common in the North of England, Scotland,
and Ireland. In the Dorset County Museum at Dorchester
there are several fine examples found in the county, and
Plate I., fig. 1, represents one taken from a barrow near
Martinstown.3 It is of unusual interest, as one-handled
food-vessels are rare. In this inhumed primary interment
the vessel was lying in the arms of the skeleton, whilst
close by was another and much smaller vessel, with the
remains of three infants.

The terms " drinking-vessel " and " food-vessel " may
possibly be accurate, as these vessels may have held liquids
or food ; but there is no evidence to show that the so-called
" incense cups " had anything to do with incense. The more
feasible idea seems to be that they were used to hold embers
with which to fire the funeral pile, and the holes with
which they are generally perforated would have been most
useful for admitting air to keep the embers alight.4 These

1 Jour, of the Anthropolog. Inst., vol. xxxii., p. 373.

2 Guide to Antiquities of Bronze Age in Brit. Mus., by C. H. Read,
F.S.A., p. 45.

3 Proceedings Dorset Nat. Hist, and A ntiquarian Field Chib, vol. xxvi.,
p. 18.

4 British Barrows, by Greenwell and Rolleston, p. 81.

24 Memorials of Old Dorset

small vessels are usually very much ornamented, even on
their bases, with horizontal lines, zigzags, chevrons, and
the like, and occasionally a grape-like pattern. They are
seldom more than three inches in height, but vary much
in shape, and often are found broken, with the fragments
widely separated, as if they had been smashed purposely
at the time of the burial. Plate II., figs. 3 and 4, are from
specimens in the Dorset County Museum, which also con-
tains several other Dorset examples.

There can be no doubt as to the use of the cinerary
urn, which always either contains or covers cremated
remains. The urn (Plate II., fig. 1) is from the celebrated
Deverel Barrow, which was opened in 1825 by Mr. W. A.
Miles. The shape of this urn is particularly common in
Dorset, as well as another variety which has handles, or,
rather, perforated projections or knobs. A third and
prettier variety is also met with, having a small base, and
a thick overhanging rim or band at the mouth, generally
ornamented.

It is rare to find curved lines in the ornamentation of
Bronze Age pottery, but sometimes concentric circles and
spiral ornaments are met with on rock-surfaces and
sculptured stones. Mr. Charles Warne found in tumulus
12, Came Down, Dorchester, two flat stones covering two
cairns with incised concentric circles cut on their surfaces.1

There is no clear evidence of iron having been found
in the round barrows of Dorset in connection with a Bronze
Age interment ; but of gold several examples may be seen
in the County Museum, and one, which was found in
Clandon Barrow, near Martinstown, with a jet head of a
sceptre with gold studs, is shown in Plate I., fig 2. Others
were discovered in Mayo's Barrow and Culliford Tree.2
Bronze, which is an alloy of copper and tin, is the only
other metal found with primary interments in our Dorset
round barrows.

1 Celtic Tumuli of Dorset, by Charles Warne, F.S.A., p. 37.

2 Ibid., p. 18.

The Barrows of Dorset 25

The County Museum possesses some excellent celts and
palstaves ; a set of six socketed celts came from a barrow
near Agger-Dun, and look as if they had just come from
the mould. They are ornamented with slender ridges,
ending in tiny knobs, and have never been sharpened (two
of them are figured in Plate I., figs. 3 and 4) ; another celt,
from a barrow in the Ridgeway, is interesting as having
a fragment of cloth adhering to it. Daggers are found,
generally, with cremated remains, and are usually
ornamented with a line or lines, which, beginning just
below the point, run down the blade parallel with the
cutting edges. The rivets which fastened the blade to the
handle are often in position with fragments of the original
wooden handle and sheath.1 These daggers seem to be
more common in Dorset than in the northern counties,
and many examples may be seen in the County Museum,
and two are illustrated in Plate I., figs. 5 and 6.

Bronze pins, glass beads, amber and Kimmeridge shell
objects, bone tweezers and pins, slingstones and whetstones,
are occasionally met with ; but by far the most common
objects are the flint and stone implements, weapons, and
flakes.

In making a trench through a barrow near Martinstown,2
more than 1,200 flakes or chips of flints were found, besides
some beautifully-formed scrapers, a fabricator, a flint saw,
most skilfully notched, and a borer with a gimlet-like
point.

Arrow-heads are not common in Dorset, but six were
found in a barrow in Fordington Field, Dorchester. They
are beautiful specimens, barbed and tongued ; the heaviest
only weighs twenty-five grains, and the lightest sixteen
grains. Mr. Warne mentions the finding of arrow-heads,
and also (a rare find in Dorset) a stone battle-axe, from a
barrow on Steepleton Down.

1 Proceedings of Dorset Nat. Hist, and Antiquarian Field Club,
vol. xxvi., p. 15.

2 Ibid., p. IO.

26 Memorials of Old Dorset

Charred wood is a conspicuous feature, and animal
bones are also met with in the county, and in such positions
as to prove that they were placed there at the time of the
primary interment. Stags' horns, often with the tips worn
as though they had been used as picks, are found, both in
the barrows and in the ditches.

So far only objects belonging to the Bronze Age have
been mentioned ; but as later races used these burial-
places, objects of a later date are common. Bronze and
iron objects and pottery, and coins of every period, are
often found above the original interment and in the ditches.
This makes it difficult for an investigator to settle with
certainty the different positions in which the objects were
deposited ; and unless he is most careful he will get the
relics from various periods mixed. Therefore, the practice
of digging a hole into one of these burial-mounds, for
the sake of a possible find, cannot be too heartily con-
demned. Anyone who is ambitious to open a barrow
should carefully read those wonderful books on Excavations
in Cranbome Chase, by the late Lieut-General Pitt-Rivers,
before he puts a spade into the ground ; for a careless dig
means evidence destroyed for those that come after.

Most Dorset people will remember the late curator of
the County Museum, Mr. Henry Moule, and perhaps some
may have heard him tell this story, but it will bear
repeating. A labourer had brought a piece of pottery to
the Museum, and Mr. Moule explained to him that it not
only came from a barrow, but that it was most interesting,
and that he would like to keep it for the Museum. The
man looked surprised, and said, " Well, Measter, I've
a-knocked up scores o' theasem things. I used to level
them there hipes (or heaps) an' drawed away the vlints
vor to mend the roads ; an' I must ha' broke up dozens
o' thease here wold pots ; but they niver had no cwoins
inzide 'em." Those who knew Mr. Moule can imagine
his horror.

Much more remains to be done by Dorset people in

The Barrows of Dorset 27

investigating these most interesting relics of the past, for
we know little of the builders of these mounds ; and, as
Mr. Warne says in his introduction to The Celtic Tumuli
of Dorset: —

If the Dorsetshire barrows cannot be placed in comparison with many
of those of Wiltshire ... or Derbyshire, they may, nevertheless, be
regarded with intense interest, as their examination has satisfactorily
established the fact that they constitute the earliest series of tumuli in any
part of the kingdom ; whilst they identify Dorset as one of the earliest
colonised portions of Britain.

THE ROMAN OCCUPATION

By Captain J. E. Acland

Curator, Dorset County Museum

LTHOUGH we are dealing with historic and
not prehistoric times in describing the
occupation of the County of Dorset by the
Romans, it is to the work of the spade and not
of the pen that we must turn for the memorials of that
most interesting and important period, which lasted nearly
four hundred years ; when the all-powerful, masterful race,
the conquerors of the world, held sway, enforced obedience
to their laws, and inaugurated that system of colonisation
which was perhaps the best the world has ever seen — a
system designed and developed according to exact
regulations, which savoured more of military discipline
than of that civil liberty which we associate with the
profession of agriculture.

The Roman occupation was indeed an admirable
combination of military and civil rule ; and the memorials
fall naturally into two distinct classes, corresponding with
two distinct periods. There is, first, the period of
conquest, embracing the years during which the Roman
Legions drove back the native levies, and captured their
strongholds ; not in one summer campaign we may well
believe, but year after year, with irresistible force, until
the subjugated tribes laid down their arms and yielded
the hostages demanded by the conquerors. Then followed
the period of peace, of civilisation, and of colonising ; of
improving the roads, and marking out of farms ; the days

28

The Roman Occupation 29

of trade and commerce, and of building houses, temples,
and places for public amusement.

Now both aspects of the occupation are to be seen
as clearly at this day as if they were described in the
pages of a book ; and yet what is the fact ? Scarcely a
sentence can be found of written history which deals with
it. General Pitt-Rivers, who, living in Dorset, devoted
many years of his life to antiquarian research, asserts that
having read with attention all the writings that were
accessible upon that obscure period of history, some by
scholars of great ability, nothing definite can be found to
relate to the Roman Conquest. It is, however, generally
assumed that it fell to the lot of Vespasian, in command
of the world-famous " Legio Secunda," to commence, if
not to complete, the subjugation of the Durotriges, the
people who are believed to have inhabited the southern
portion of the county. The only reference to Vespasian's
campaign by contemporary historians is made by
Suetonius. He says that Vespasian crossed to Britain,
fought with the enemy some thirty times, and reduced
to submission two most warlike tribes and twenty fortified
camps, and the island (Isle of Wight) adjacent to the
coast. In this statement, which is all too brief to satisfy
our curiosity, may lie the main facts of the passing of
Dorset into Roman power. The work begun by Vespasian
may, indeed, have been completed by others — by Paulinus
Suetonius, the Governor of Britain about the year 60, and
by Agricola ; and where so much is left to conjecture, it
is at least worth while to give once more the theory
propounded by the well-known antiquary, the late Mr.
Charles Warne, F.S.A. In a paper read before the Society
of Antiquaries in June, 1867, he suggests that as the south-
eastern parts of Britain had been previously visited by
Roman armies, Vespasian directed his course further to
the west, and either made the Isle of Wight the base of
his operations or anchored his ships in the harbours of
Swanage or Poole. Close by is the commencement of the

30 Memorials of Old Dorset

long range of hills, The Ridgeway, which, with few
interruptions, follows the coast line, and still shews by
the number of the burial-mounds the district inhabited
by the British.

Mr. Warne proceeds to enumerate the various camps
along this route, all at convenient distances from one
another, some of which shew by their construction that
they were Roman camps, and others British camps,
captured by the conquering legions, as narrated by
Suetonius. If Vespasian had pursued this plan of
campaign, it would have had the additional advantage
of enabling him to keep in touch with his transports.
As one hill fortress after another was captured in the
march westward along the Ridgeway heights, so the fleet
might have changed its anchorage from Swanage Bay
to Lulworth, from Lulworth to the shelter of Weymouth
and Portland, and finally to the neighbourhood of
Charmouth or Lyme Regis.

There is this also to be said in favour of Mr. Warne's
conjecture. An attacking force must find out and capture
the strongholds of the defenders, which would naturally
be made more strongly, and therefore last longer than the
camps of the invaders. And this is what we see in the
suggested line of the Roman advance. First, on the east,
Flowers, or Florus Bury Camp, and Bindun, then Maidun
(Maiden Castle), after that Eggardun, and finally, at the
western limit of the county, Conig's Castle and Pylsdun.
All these are (as far as can be seen now) British camps
of refuge ; all of them must have been captured before
the Roman generals could feel secure in their own isolated
position on a foreign shore. That they were one and
all occupied by the conquerors is also most probable,
and would account for the discovery of Roman relics
within their areas. No Roman camps can be seen at
all approaching in strength or size these magnificent hill
fortresses. It is, of course, well known that the armies
of Rome never halted for a night without forming an

The Roman Occupation 31

entrenchment of sufficient size to include not only the
fighting men, but the baggage train, and though traces
of these still remain on the hills of Dorset, the majority
have long ago disappeared.

Perhaps the most interesting example of the military
occupation of the two races is to be seen at Hod Hill,
near Blandford, where a well-defined Roman Camp is
constructed within the area of a previously occupied
British fortress, and here have been found spear heads,
arrow heads, spurs and portions of harness, rings and
fibulas, and fragments of pottery, all indicating the Roman
occupation ; iron was found more generally than bronze,
and the coins are those of the earlier emperors, including
Claudius, in whose reign Vespasian made his conquests.
Badbury, four miles north-west of Wimborne, Woodbury,
near Bere Regis, and Hambledon, five miles north of
Blandford, may be referred to as memorials of the time
of the Roman occupation, though not of Roman con-
struction.

Poundbury Camp, with its Saxon appellation, deserves
special mention, for, being situated on the outskirts of
Dorchester, it has been studied more frequently perhaps
than any other earthwork in the county. It has the form
of an irregular square, with a single vallum, except on
the more exposed west side, where it is doubled, and
traces have been discovered of other ramparts now
obliterated. On the north the camp overhangs the river
and valley, once probably a lake or morass, and here the
defences are slight. The area within the vallum is about
330 yards from east to west, and 180 yards from north
to south. Some authorities affirm that it was raised by
the Danes about A.D. 1002, when they attacked Dorchester.
Stukeley regards it as one of Vespasian's camps when
engaged in his conquest of the Durotriges, while other
antiquarians claim for it a British origin, prior to the
Roman invasion. Mr. Warne, whose opinions are always
worthy of most careful consideration, " holds it to be a

32 Memorials of Old Dorset

safer speculation to regard it as a Roman earthwork,"
and, no doubt, in form and general outline and size it
is very similar to other Roman camps, and altogether
different to the magnificent British fortress Maiden Castle,
not two miles away. Many Roman relics have been found,
including coins ranging from the times of Claudius to
Constantine, and a tumulus is still to be seen within the
vallum, which alone would be an argument against its
Celtic origin.

Poundbury is insignificant indeed when compared with
Mai-dun, and it is impossible by mere description to
convey an adequate impression of this great earth fortress,
singled out by many as the finest work of its kind. It
certainly surpasses all others in the land of the Durotriges,
and probably nowhere in the world can entrenchments
be seen of such stupendous strength. This camp, which
is said to occupy 120 acres, is in form an irregular oval,
embracing the whole of the hill on which it stands ; its
length is nearly 800 yards, and width 275 yards. On the
north, facing the plain, there are three lines of ramparts,
with intervening ditches, the slopes being exceedingly
steep, and measuring over 60 feet from apex to base.
On the south the number of ramparts is increased, but
they are not so grand, and, indeed, as Mr. Warne remarks,
they appear to have been left in an unfinished condition.
At the east and west ends are the two principal entrances,
and here the ingenuity of the designer is manifested in
a surprising manner. At one end five or six ramparts,
at the other as many as seven or eight are built, so as
to cover or overlap one another ; vallum and fossa,
arranged with consummate skill, to complete the intricacies
of entrance, and to compel an enemy to undertake a task
of the utmost difficulty and danger.

In later times this camp was, no doubt, occupied by
Roman troops as summer quarters, its healthy position
rendering it very suitable for the purpose. Perhaps, still
later, it became the residence of some Roman magnate,

The Roman Occupation 33

who selected that fine eminence for his country villa ; at
any rate, there should be no difficulty in accounting for
the discovery of Roman coins and implements, or even
of villas, on the sites of the camps and castles of the
British. Many a hard fought battle must have raged
around their earthen walls.

Ever and anon, with host to host,

Shocks, and the splintering spear, the hard mail hewn,
Shield breakings, and the clash of brands, the crash
Of battle axes on shattered helms.

Many a shout of victory must have been heard as the
conquering legions forced their way over the ramparts
and planted their eagles on the summit of the captured
fortress. And once captured they must have been
retained, at first perhaps by a fairly large garrison
sufficient to prevent re-capture, then as the tide of battle
ebbed from the neighbourhood the numbers might have
been reduced ; but the sites, always in some commanding
position, would have been long utilised as points of
observation and centres of control over the conquered
tribes.

No revolt is recorded as taking place in the west of
Britain such as that led by Queen Boadicea in the east,
in the year 61 ; so in looking back to the Roman
occupation, it is reasonable to suppose that before the
end of the first century it was reduced to the condition
of a Roman province. Trade would soon commence with
this, the latest, addition to the Empire, and the soldiers,
no longer necessary except as garrisons and guardians
of the peace, would be employed in improving the means
of communication. The warlike Briton (in these parts
at any rate) was transformed into a peaceful husbandman,
who sowed and reaped, and paid his taxes, grumbling
perhaps, but on the whole contented with his lot.

Roads, or trackways, of some kind there certainly were
in use by the British, linking tribe to tribe, or camp to
camp, and, judging by the line of what we now term
D

34 Memorials of Old Dorset

Roman roads, it is most probable that to a very great
extent the ancient routes were taken as the foundation
of the new system developed by the Romans. The details
of this system are given by an authority of contemporary
date in The Itinerary of Ant vine, which is believed to
have been compiled in the third century, and possibly
corrected and added to later. In this work we find, as
regards the County of Dorset, a description of roads
which are easily recognised to-day, roads which are still
in use throughout a considerable portion of their length.
It must not be lost sight of that these roads are in
very close connection with some of the principal British
hill-fortresses, which fact would stamp them as being
originally constructed by the British race, though to all
appearance they are grand examples of Roman skill and
energy. The main road, the Via Principalis, of the third
and fourth centuries, comes to Dorset from Old Sarum,
in Wiltshire, one of the grandest of British camps ; it
passes close to Badbury Camp, and then makes for
Maiden Castle, and onwards to Eggardun, all of earlier
date than the Roman invasion But notwithstanding this
obvious connection, the roads as we see them now bear
witness to the power of Rome, and are, perhaps, some
of the most obvious of the memorials of the past. They
are described in the XV. Iter, of Antoninus, with the
names of the Roman stations and the distances between
them along the road from Silchester (Calleva) to Exeter
(Isca Dumnoni), which forms a portion of the great Via
Iceniana.

After passing Old Sarum, this road crosses the
north-east border of the modern county of Dorset at a
small hamlet called Woodyates (near Cranborne), taking
a south-westerly course ; it passes over Woodyates and
Handley Down, and is described by Sir R Colt Hoare as
being at that point " the finest specimen of a Roman road
I know." It runs by Badbury Camp, and thence to
Dorchester, where the direction changes to due west,

I be Romab [ : ruPATi :. •

h the coast hne :: leaving the cottr.

r Lyme ] :: Deeds bt rds E netex

I: most oot be s mposed dial .

3 lan be traced ex
Far from it the hand >1 I itroyer has been hea

e relics :: th h a pr:

rr :: time ind .1 It is rften the case

_ ;.. " irn r :: Doonty road has ir^r.
made m th ry site :: the indent : : \ :-

Bed to g idth.

aes : ton ^r_i the ads :: i ire

ma of its too. r.::

re.es .y en I I downs

true ] - jh covered

r iii ::' the .
t may be learnt and recog

stations
count; ■ the : »e is short by neari

- Th r -

are and C am dirler

xi of the roanex :: these

plaif f I - r. :i : rkable for ti

pr: r oortance. Here we ind nc less

- meeting Ere st, and

Vialc the others

are roads of less import

. ■ - - R - ■ . :

Teresa. Hill near f rth

ssrng Strati star

Other branch roc,:; were i ade as nee ssrt - - :fi
in dirfere:.. .

roai ' a " s, near I ry. :: rznnec:

with the harbc o r . : 7 . ting Ere

; e point, i ^ eds - is cons :ir?ed

to have made a very ml - og and clever [fiscovery ::
a stal ssang .V t Ante

36 Memorials of Old Dorset

The distance there given between Vindogladia and
Durnovaria is quite obviously too short by some fourteen
miles. But on Kingston Down, near Bere Regis, the
cultured eyes of the learned Dorset antiquarian discovered
traces of a Roman settlement, and on due investigation
being made, it was considered that there was sufficient
proof to establish at this point a station called Ibernium,
referred to by other writers as existing in the county.

The position of Vindogladia, though a subject of long
and frequent debate, and though stated by some to have
been at Badbury, by others at Wimborne Minster, has now
been accepted as on Gussage Down, not far from the
north-west border of the county where crossed by the Via
Iceniana. This is due to the researches of Sir R. C.
Hoare, and stands on a par with Mr. Warne's discovery
of the other Roman station on the great military road.

We come now to a very interesting period of the
Roman occupation, when we may imagine the military
operations at an end, a firm and beneficial government
established, and the colonists (at any rate), who usually
obtained a third part of the conquered territory, becoming
rich and enabled to build those houses that must have
been the envy and admiration of the native population,
with their decorative floors and walls,, and ample comforts
for seasons of heat or cold.

Still, as we have said before, it is not to any printed
records that we can turn for its history, but rather to the
result of careful excavation and the relics unearthed after
fifteen centuries' burial in the soil : in a word, we trust
to the use of the spade for bringing before our minds
the life of the past and restoring the memorials of ancient
Dorset.

In Warne's map of the county, prepared in the year
1865 after most patient research and personal investiga-
tion, there are more than fifty sites given where relics of
the Roman colonisation have been found, exclusive of

The Roman Occupation 37

Durnovaria. Mr. Moule, writing in 1893, says : "Roman
work of one kind and another has been found here in
Dorset in eighty places, and that for the most part
casually." But year after year this number is increased,
and, truth to tell, so frequent are the discoveries that in
Dorchester the ordinary labourer, when excavating in the
streets, or elsewhere, is ever on the alert, and many a
treasure rewards his watchful care ; and even children
whose eyes have been trained aright will find, when
digging in some neglected corner of garden or field, a bit
of common pottery, a fragment of Samian ware, or perhaps
a coin bearing the image of an Emperor of Rome. And
thus our history is written : a word discovered here, a
sentence there, until the story of the life of those days
may be once more told afresh. The frequency of these
discoveries is so far interesting that it draws attention
to the large area over which the Roman settlers were
distributed. No doubt they found this land of the Duro-
triges a pleasant land to dwell in, as we do now in this
twentieth century. But here may be said, in passing, that
Roman colonists were partly at least a Roman garrison.
They were frequently old soldiers intended to keep in
check the conquered nation, and liable to be called back
to active service. But if there was no fear of a hostile
rising, the military character of the colony would gradually
be lost. And that, no doubt, soon happened here, for the
very great majority of the relics of the Roman occupation
are signs of its peaceful character.

The discovery of the sites of Roman villas scattered
in more or less isolated positions throughout the county
tend also to prove this, and especially when the villa is
shown to have possessed one of those beautiful mosaic
floors which can only have belonged to a prosperous and
wealthy colonist or to a British landowner left undisturbed
in his possessions, and who employed the Roman crafts-
men to build him a house. These tessellated floors have
been frequently exposed to view in various parts of

38 Memorials of Old Dorset

Dorset, and too frequently, alas ! through ignorance or
carelessness, been neglected or destroyed ; others, again,
have been examined, plans or drawings made, and been
covered up once more. Among those which have been
described may be mentioned : Thornford and Lenthay
Green, near Sherborne ; Halstock, six miles south of
Yeovil ; Rampisham, twelve miles north of Dorchester ;
Frampton, six miles north of Dorchester ; Preston, near
Weymouth ; Creech, near Wareham ; Fifehead Neville,
north-west of Blandford ; Hemsworth, five miles north of
Wimborne ; and in Dorchester itself no less than twenty
different pavements, either complete or in portions,
besides one on the upper area of Maiden Castle. It is
difficult to assign a date, even approximately, to these
villas, for the coins found amidst the debris cover practi-
cally the whole period of Roman occupation, and the other
objects generally discovered on the site are not of much
assistance. There are no records of inscribed stones
being found, which might have helped ; and, as a rule, the
more valuable part of the building materials, such as cut
stones, roof slabs, and timbers, must have been taken away
when the houses were left ; but the wells and refuse pits
are the happy and profitable hunting-ground of the
antiquary.

The tessellated pavements are so interesting and
attractive that it is worth while to describe them in detail.
The system adopted in their construction seems to have
been as follows : — If no provision was made for heating
the rooms by means of a hypocaust or hot-air flues, the
ground was prepared by rough levelling, and 6 to 8 inches
thick of flints rammed, or coarse, gravelly mortar or
concrete laid ; on this 3 or 4 inches of better class white
cement, and above some fine cement to take the tessellae ;
and after these were laid a liquid cement would be run
into the interstices before the final polishing was
commenced. The system of laying is well shewn in the

a

a

X

y

a
S

a

a
H

<
o

<

<

The Roman Occupation 39

annexed illustration, taken of a pavement in situ, before
removal to the Dorset County Museum.

The tessellas themselves, as generally found in Dorset,
consist of small cubes of stone or brick, but vary in size
from about f or \ inch to \\ inch; the smaller are used
for the decorative portions ; the larger for the borders,
or for passages, or for the floors of houses of a humbler
character. The colours are for the most part only four —
namely : white, dark slate (or blue-black), red, and a sort
of drab or grey ; occasionally yellow is found, but not often.

The materials of which the tessellas are composed has
given rise to much discussion and, indeed, much difference
of opinion ; but, as a general principle, it may be assumed
that, wherever possible, local stone was used. The red
tessellas are merely brick or tile of a fine description ; but,
as a means of obtaining a scientific opinion of the other
stones, microscopic sections have been cut from the
tessellas and submitted to an expert mineralogist, who
has given them the following names. The very dark
stone is a fine-grained ferruginous limestone ; the grey is
also a fine-grained limestone ; the drab or yellow is an
oolitic limestone ; and the white is a hard chalk, showing
foraminifera very well. It is believed that the colour may
be altered by submitting the stone to heat, an opinion
held by Professor Buckman, and explained in a very
interesting chapter of his book, Roman Art in Cirencester.

The mosaic floors found in Dorchester are, as a rule,
of very simple but effective design, consisting of
geometrical arrangements of the single guilloche, the twist
or plait, the double guilloche (which is extremely hand-
some in mosaic work), and the ordinary fret. These, being
arranged as c ..dines of intersecting squares and circles,
leave spaces of varying dimensions, spandrels, or trefoils,
which are utilised for the introduction of many diverse
emblems, such as the fylfot or swastika, the duplex,
sprays of foliage, urns, and interlacing knots. In the
County Museum may be seen laid on the floor (in which

4o Memorials of Old Dorset

position alone can full justice be done to the skill of the
Italian artist) two nearly complete mosaic pavements.
One of these shows the area of three adjoining rooms,
with entrances or vestibules ; the other pavement, found
in 1905, is in excellent preservation, measuring 21 feet
by 12 feet 6 inches, and is remarkable for two ornamental
vases, with two serpents issuing from each.

The pavement at Preston, near Weymouth, still in situ,
was discovered in 1852, the coins found near the villa
dating from the middle of the third century. At Jordan
Hill, close by, is the Roman settlement, Clavinio, which
has been productive of a large number of very interesting
relics.

At the entrance to the village of Preston, coming
from Weymouth, may be seen an arch spanning a small
stream. The form and masonry of the arch, as well
as its proximity to the other remains here noticed, point
to the probability of Roman construction, and is of
special interest,, as examples of Roman masonry are but
rarely found still existing in the county.

The pavement at Lenthay Green was discovered in
1836, and was carefully removed to the dairy of Sher-
borne Castle. It contains a representation of a sitting
figure playing on a lyre, and a second figure dancing and
playing a pipe.

The villa on Maiden Castle was discovered by Mr.
Cunnington in 1882, and as a result of his excavations
he sent to the County Museum many interesting objects :
fragments of mosaic floor, wall-plaster, and roof tiles, a
curious bronze plate (repousse work) representing" a
helmeted figure holding a spear, and coins from Helena,
A.D. 290, to Arcadius, A.D. 408.

A mosaic floor at Frampton is remarkable for the
introduction into the design of the Christian monogram
£, known as the Labarum. Extensive excavations were
made here at the end of the eighteenth century, and four
different pavements were found. They contain numerous

The Roman Occupation

4i

representations of heathen deities, Neptune being
especially favoured ; a motto worked into one of the
borders runs : " Neptuni vertex regmen sortiti mobile
ventis" and some other words partly lost. The introduc-

A/\/\A/^

Tessellated Pavement at Fifehead Neville, Dorset.

tion of the monogram of Christ is probably of a later date
than the original work. The pavement is now covered
up, but Mr. Lysons, who superintended the excavations in
1797, obtained accurate drawings of the whole site, the

42 Memorials of Old Dorset

mosaic work being shown in correct colours on seven
large plates which were published, together with an
accurate description.

The pavements uncovered at Fifehead Neville are also
of great interest. The first was discovered in 1881,
measuring about 14 feet by 12 feet, the design consisting
of an urn, or vase, in the centre, around which seven small
fish are depicted, and outside them are four sea-monsters,
like dolphins. Coins found here date from A.D. 270 to
340. The second pavement, found in 1903, requires no
description, as we are permitted, by the Editor of the
Dorset Field Club, to reproduce an illustration which
appears in the Club's Proceedings. The general plan of
the design is almost identical with a pavement found in
Dyer Street, Cirencester, though the details are altogether
different. They may well have been designed by the
same artist.

Very little has been said, so far, of Dorchester itself,
and yet the modern town is full of memories of the Roman
Durnovaria. It lies within the boundaries of the ancient
walls, their position, still plainly discernible in many
places, being marked by broad walks and avenues of
trees. One small portion of the masonry of the wall itself
may still be seen in the West Walk. The position of
the gates is also fairly easy to decide, though no vestige
of them remains. The roads which issued from them
have been referred to at a previous page.

It has been asserted recently — and, indeed, proved to
the satisfaction of many local authorities — that the course
of a Roman aqueduct can be traced here and there to
the west of Dorchester skirting the adjacent valleys and
hills. It is believed to have been an open water-course,
obtaining its supply from the source of a small stream
some twelve miles distant.

Perhaps, however, the most remarkable relic of the
Roman occupation is the amphitheatre, said to be the best

The Roman Occupation 43

preserved in Britain. It is larger than the so-called " Bull
Ring " of Cirencester, and, being quite free from trees and
bushes, stands out more boldly than the similar work at
Silchester. It is built of chalk, now covered with grass,
somewhat elliptical in plan, the height of the sides being
given as about 30 feet, and the internal measurements
218 feet by 163 feet. On each side of the entrance there
are walks which ascend gradually to the centre of the
mounds, where there are small platforms as if for seating
the principal spectators or judges, but there are no traces
of steps or ledges for the accommodation of the general
public ; and, judging by the remarks of early Roman
writers, it is very probable that the people were obliged
to stand throughout the public games.

But in addition to these more obvious relics of a
bygone age, the subsoil of Dorchester is full of treasures
that emphasise the Roman occupation. It would be
impossible to describe in these pages even the most
interesting of the objects that have been brought to light
in recent years, but it is fortunate that they find their
way very frequently to the County Museum, of which the
people of Dorset are justly proud. It must suffice at the
present time to mention that in its cases may be seen a
fine collection of objects made of Kimmeridge shale ;
glass hairpins, brooches and bracelets, and a metal mirror ;
pottery of all kinds ; many examples of mosaic floors,
fragments of wall plaster retaining their brilliant
colouring, three curious antefixae, a Roman sword handle,
which is believed to be almost unique, and a base and
capital of a column of a temple. In looking at these
memorials of the past, and stepping the while on the
ancient pavements, the mind is taken back with irresistible
force to the men and women who made use of them in
their daily occupations — the Romans, who for a period of
four hundred years exercised their wise and beneficial
influence over the people of Britain.

THE CHURCHES OF DORSET

By the Rev. Thomas Perkins, M.A.

UT of about three hundred churches which are
to be found in Dorset, three stand out as far
ahead of all the rest — the church (once
collegiate, now parochial) of Wimborne
Minster ; the church of the Benedictine Abbey at
Sherborne, now the parish church ; and the great
Benedictine Abbey Church at Milton, now in parochial
use. These three, which receive separate treatment in
the present volume, are the only three Dorset churches
that can rank with the great parish churches of England.
There were before the Reformation many religious
houses, each with its own church, in the county, but at
the time of the Dissolution, in the reign of Henry VIII.,
most of these, as being of no further use, fell into decay,
and their ruins were regarded as quarries of hewn stone
whenever such material was needed in the neighbourhood.
Of the Benedictine nunnery of Shaftesbury, once one
of the most wealthy religious foundations in the kingdom,
nothing remains save the foundations, which recent
excavations have disclosed to view ; of Cistercian Bindon,
only the gatehouse and a few ivy-clad walls, rising only
a few feet above the ground ; of Benedictine Cerne, a
splendid barn and a beautiful gatehouse, and a few
fragments incorporated in some farm buildings ; of its
daughter abbey at Abbotsbury, a still larger barn,
testifying to the wealth of the community, and some
ruined walls — this is all that remains to mark the spots

44

The Churches of Dorset 45

where day after day through many centuries the words
of prayer and praise rose almost without ceasing, and
monks and nuns lived their lives apart from the busy
world, spending their time in meditation, in adorning
their churches with the carving of capital and boss or
miserere, in copying and illuminating manuscripts, in
teaching the young, in giving alms to the needy, in tilling
their lands in the days while yet they cherished the high
ideals of the founders of their orders, before they lapsed
into luxury and riotous living.

A few monastic barns remain in other places, as at
Tarrant Crawford and Liscombe. These owe their
preservation to the fact that they could at once be utilized ;
for those who received grants of abbey lands, no less
than their predecessors, required buildings wherein to
store their corn ; whereas the refectory, dormitory, cellars,
and other domestic buildings designed for a community
of monks or nuns were useless when such communities
no longer existed ; and the churches, unless they could
be turned to account as parish churches, would also be
of no use.

After the three great ministers already mentioned there
is a wide gap, for though many of the Dorset parish
churches are of architectural or archaeological interest,
either generally or because they contain some special
object — a Saxon font, a Norman doorway, a Decorated
Easter sepulchre, a canopied tomb, or the effigy of a noble
who fought in the French wars of the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries — yet as a rule the churches are com-
paratively, if not actually, small, and are for the most part
built in the Perpendicular style, the most prosaic and
uninteresting of the mediaeval styles of architecture,
though in mason-craft it can hold its own against all
the rest. And, moreover, Dorset Perpendicular is not
equal to that which is to be found in the neighbouring
county of Somerset. We look in vain for the splendid
fifteenth century towers which are the glory of the

46 Memorials of Old Dorset

Somerset churches ; here and there in isolated places, and,
strange enough, not on the Somerset border, we find traces
of the Somerset influence ; but for the most part the
Dorset towers are utilitarian appendages, not structures
carefully designed with a view to beauty of outline and
richness and appropriateness of ornament, as the finest of
the Somerset towers are. Spires of mediaeval date are
rare in Dorset. There are but two — one at Winterborne
Steepleton, near Dorchester, and one at Trent, a parish
added for administration purposes to the County of Dorset
in 1895; there is a spire also at Iwerne1 Minster, but it
cannot be called a mediaeval one, for though the tower
of this church was formerly surmounted by a beautiful
spire, yet that to be seen to-day is only a reproduction,
built of some of the stones of the old spire, which was
taken down at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
The upper part above the lower of the two moulded bands,
preserves the original slope ; the lower has a different
slope, as the builder had, in a vertical distance of about
ten feet, to connect the base of the original spire with the
horizontal section of the upper part, which was originally
about thirty feet above the base. The original spire was
forty feet in height ; the present one is only twenty feet.
The stone not used in the re-building was sold to a road
contractor for metalling the roads.

The hand of the restorer has been laid very heavily
on Dorset churches. In some cases, where there was
absolutely no necessity for it, old churches were entirely
destroyed to make room for smart new buildings ; others
have been restored — a few judiciously, the majority
injudiciously ; a few only, so far, have entirely escaped.
Many causes in Dorset, as elsewhere, have led to extensive
restoration — the desire to adapt the building to the
form of worship fashionable at the time, or to put back,
as it is called, the church into what was supposed to be

1 Pronounced U-ern or You-ern.

The Churches of Dorset 47

its original form, as if such a thing- were possible ; the
love of uniformity, which has led to the removal of
seventeenth and eighteenth century additions, such as
pulpits and galleries, which were supposed to be out of
keeping with the main portion of the church ; by which
removals much interesting history has been destroyed.
Oak pews, sometimes carved, have been swept away in
order to put in more comfortable benches of pitch pine ;
encaustic tiles have taken the place of the old stones,
which, if they had become uneven, might have been
relaid ; ancient plaster has been stripped from walls, and
the stones pointed ; churchyards have been levelled, and,
in some cases, the paths have been paved with old head-
stones. Unfortunately for Dorset, there has been found
no lack of money to carry out these supposed " improve-
ments," so that the work of " restoration " has been done
most thoroughly throughout the length and breadth of the
county, and there is now little more that is likely to be
done. It is, indeed, almost too late to utter the prayer
of Thomas Hardy : —

From restorations of Thy fane,

From smoothings of Thy sward,
From zealous churchmen's pick and plane,

Deliver us, good Lord ! l

But despite the fact that Dorset is architecturally much
poorer at the beginning of the twentieth century than
at the beginning of the nineteenth, there is still much
that the archaeologist may take joy in, though his joy
may be mingled with regret at treasures of old time that
have vanished for ever.

One of the most interesting ecclesiastical buildings
in Dorset is the little church, disused for many years
save for an occasional service, of St. Martin, at Wareham.
Some of it is probably of Saxon date ; in size and propor-
tion it bears a remarkable likeness to St. Ealdhelm's

1 " The Levelled Churchyard," in Poems of the Past and Present.

48 Memorials of Old Dorset

recently re-discovered church of St. Lawrence, at
Bradford-on-Avon. This is specially interesting, as it
is said that St. Ealdhelm founded a monastery or nun-
nery at Wareham, and the similarity of this church to
that which he built at Bradford gives some confirmation
to the belief that this church also was built by him during
the time of his episcopate at Sherborne (705-709). Some
authorities, while recognising the church as of Saxon
foundation, would date it approximately 1050. The
chancel arch is low, like that at Bradford, but not so
narrow; the nave, though subsequently lengthened, is
short, narrow, and high — long and short work may be
seen in the coigns of the walls ; all these seem to indicate
its Saxon origin. The church, however, has been en-
larged from time to time; the north aisle is divided
from the nave by round-headed arches; the windows at
the east of the chancel and aisle, now walled up, are of
the Perpendicular period ; and a window in the south
wall of the nave is of Decorated date; but an early
Norman one may be seen on the north side of the chancel.
The tower, with a gabled roof, is an early addition to the
building. When, in 1762, a great fire destroyed about
a third of the town of Wareham, many of those whom
this disaster rendered homeless found a refuge within
the walls of the little church, which even then had
ceased to be used for service. Beneath the church a vast
number of burials took place; it would seem that the
limited space within the walls was used over and over
again for this purpose.

Among other examples of Saxon work to be found
in Dorset may be mentioned a walled-up doorway, with
triangular head, on the south wall of Worth Matravers
church, in the Isle of Purbeck ; a fragment of herring-bone
work in Corfe Castle, which may possibly be a portion
of a wall of the chapel founded here by St. Ealdhelm,
though it may, on the other hand, be of Norman date;
and fonts at Toller Fratrum and Martinstown; and the

St. Martin's Church, Wareham.

The Churches of Dorset 49

carved stone over the doorway of Tarrant Rushton, the
chancel arch of which church is also probably of pre-
Conquest date.

Norman work is naturally more abundant. The church
at Studland, in the Isle of Purbeck, is no doubt the most
complete example to be met with in the county. It is
also a fine example of restoration at its best. The church
was in great danger of falling, owing to the sinking of
an artificial bed of clay on which the foundations of some
of the walls were laid ; wide cracks had opened in the
walls, in the chancel arch, and other places ; the mortar
of the core of the walls had perished ; but by underpinning
the walls, grouting with cement, the insertion of metal
tie-beams, and stopping the cracks, the church has been
made safe. There is little work of post-Norman date,
but it is by no means certain that the Norman builders
built the church from its foundations ; there is good reason
to suppose that a previous church of rude rubble masonry
existed here, and that a great part of the original walls
was left standing, and that the Norman builders cut out
portions of the old walls to insert their own more perfect
work in various places. It is a long, narrow church,
without aisles ; a low central tower, probably never
completed, covered with a gable roof, stands between the
nave and chancel. The tower arches are low, and the
roof is vaulted. The Norman work probably dates from
about 1 130. The church bears some resemblance to the
well-known church at IfHey, but the decoration is not
so elaborate.

Next to Studland in interest comes the church of
Worth Matravers, also in the Isle of Purbeck. Here,
however, the tower stands at the west end. The chancel
is Early English, the roof is of wood ; but the chancel
arch is elaborately carved, as is also the door within the
south porch. In the parish of Worth stands a unique
building — the chapel of St. Ealdhelm, on St. Ealdhelm's
(or, as it is often incorrectly called, St. Alban's) Head. It
E

50 Memorials of Old Dorset

shares with the later chapel of St. Catherine, near Abbots-
bury, the peculiarity of being built, within and without,
walls and roof alike, of stone. The chapel of St. Ealdhelm
stands four square, with a pyramidal roof, now surmounted
by a cross, which has taken the place of the cresset in
which the beacon fire blazed on nights of storm or national
danger. No doubt it showed one of the " twinkling points
of fire " of Macaulay's ballad when the Armada had
been sighted off Alderney. There is a legend that it was
built by St. Ealdhelm, who, finding that he could not by
land get at the heathen of what we now call Dorset, came
in a boat and climbed the cliff, and afterwards founded
this chapel to mark the spot where he landed. That he
landed here is probable enough, but the style of archi-
tecture— Norman — shows that it was built long after
St. Ealdhelm's time. It is far more likely that his
chapel was built on the hill at " Corfesgeat," now
crowned with the ruins of Corfe Castle. Another more
romantic story tells us that this chapel on St. Eald-
helm's Head was founded by the Norman Lord of
the Manor, who, when his daughter, who had just
been married, set out from Poole Haven to sail down
channel to her home, came to this high spot to watch
the vessel that bore her pass, and saw it wrecked on the
rocks below. Hence it is said that he built this chapel
so that masses might be said there for her soul's rest.
Be this as it may, it is certain that for many centuries
the chaplain received his yearly stipend of fifty shillings
from the Royal Treasury, and the chapel was a seamen's
chantry, where prayers for their safety might be offered,
and whose flaming beacon served as a lighthouse. A
narrow Norman window, or, rather, a slit, near the north-
west corner of the east wall, alone admits light. A Norman
doorway, in the opposite wall, is the only entrance. The
stone vault is supported by ribs springing from a central
pier, an arrangement similar to that common in polygonal
chapter houses. The local name for the building was

The Churches of Dorset 51

at one time " The Devil's Chapel," and people sought to
gain their objects by some process of incantation, one
part of the rite being the dropping of a pin into a hole
in the central pier, a custom not altogether abandoned
even now. On Worth " club walking day," in Whitsun
week, the building was used as a dancing room ; at other
times of the year as a coast-guard store. It has, how-
ever, been refitted as a chapel, and service for the coast-
guard station is held at stated times by the rector of
Worth.

It is neither possible nor desirable to mention all the
Norman work which is to be found in Dorset, but
attention must be called to that at Bere Regis. In this
church may especially be noticed some curious carved
heads on some of the capitals ; on one, an arm comes
down from above, and the hand raises the eyelids —
evidently the gift of sight is here indicated ; on another
in like manner the fingers open the mouth — probably the
gift of speech is here represented, although the carving
might be intended to represent the gift of taste.

Work of the Early English period (thirteenth century)
is not very common in Dorset. We meet with it, however,
in the east end of Wimborne Minster, in the churches
of Knighton, Cranborne, Corfe Mullen, Portesham, and
Worth, among others.

Nor is the Decorated style more fully represented.
The best examples are Milton Abbey Church, which is
almost entirely in this style, and the aisles of Wimborne
Minster ; but it may also be seen in Gussage St. Michael,
Tarrant Rushton, and Wooton Glanville, and at St. Peter's,
Dorchester, a well-preserved arch for the Easter sepulchre
of this period may be seen. It was customary in such
arches to set up at Easter a movable wooden structure
representing the grave in Joseph's garden, where certain
rites commemorating the Burial and Resurrection were
performed. These sepulchres were very elaborate, and
associated with them were figures, of course of small

52 Memorials of Old Dorset

size, representing Christ, the Father, the Holy Ghost, the
armed guard, and angels and devils.

The great majority of the Dorset churches are of
Perpendicular date, and in churches of earlier date there
are few that do not contain some addition or insertion
made after the time when this peculiarly English style
had had its birth in the Abbey Church at Gloucester, and
had been adopted by William of Edington and William
of Wykeham in the transformation of the Norman
Cathedral Church at Winchester during the latter half
of the fourteenth century.

Why was it that so many churches were built
during the fifteenth century? Probably because con-
ditions had changed, and the building was no longer
the work chiefly of the bishops or of the religious
orders as it had been up to the thirteenth century,
or of the nobles as it had been in the fourteenth,,
but of the people. The French wars of Edward III.
emptied the purses of the nobles and the monasteries ;
the Black Death also counted many monks among its
victims, and had entirely swept away many of the smaller
religious houses, and decreased the numbers of brethren
in the larger ; * and the middle class rose after the Black
Death to a position that it had never occupied before.
This class demanded parish churches, as well as trade
halls and guild chapels, and built them, too — that is,
supplied money to pay masons. Architecture became more
of a trade and less of an art. Norfolk and Somerset were
especially rich districts at a time when England exported
the raw material, wool, and not, as now, manufactured
goods ; and hence in these two counties some of the largest
and grandest parish churches were built. And Dorset,
lying as it does on the Somerset border, showed, though

1 The heads of religious houses, being landowners, suffered financially, as
other landowners did, from the great increase in wages that farm labourers
were able to demand, because so many labourers having died, the supply fell
far short of the demand.

The Churches of Dorset 53

in less degree, the results of the new conditions. It has
no churches of this period to match in size St. Mary
Redcliffe at Bristol, or St. Mary Magdalene's at Taunton ;
it has no Perpendicular towers to rival those of Shepton
Mallet, St. Cuthbert's at Wells, or Huish Episcopi ; but it
has some fine examples, nevertheless, distinctly traceable
to Somerset influence. The parent design in Dorset may
perhaps be seen in Piddletrenthide, 1487 ; Fordington
St. George, the top of which tower has not been very wisely
altered of late, is a little more in advance ; St. Peter's,
Dorchester, and Charminster are still further developed ;
the two last probably are the finest individual towers in
the county. Bradford Abbas may be thought by some
more beautiful, but the builder borrowed details from the
Quantock group of churches. The tower at Cerne is
probably by the same builder as Bradford, judging from
the similarity of the buttresses and pinnacles in the two
churches. Beaminster also has a fine tower, and so has
Marnhull, though the general effect of the latter is ruined
by the clumsy modern parapet. Milton Abbey tower has
good details. In all these cases, excepting Cerne, there are
double windows in the belfry stage ; but this arrangement
is not so common in Dorset as in Somerset, and the writer
knows no instance of triple windows. A Somerset feature
that is very commonly met with in Dorset is an external
stair-turret, an arrangement not found in the East of
England. The Somerset builders often placed pinnacles
on the offsets of their buttresses ; these are rarely seen
in Dorset. Generally, the Dorset towers are not so richly
ornamented as those of Somerset.

It has been said before that there are only two Dorset
churches with spires built before the Reformation. A
few words may not be out of place descriptive of the
two. Steepleton is a long, narrow church, with nave and
chancel, but no aisle. A blocked-up Norman arch, and
a pointed one, similarly blocked, in the north wall of the
nave, indicate that originally a chapel, or chapels, stood

54 Memorials of Old Dorset

here. A curious stone, carved with the figure of a floating
angel, probably taken from the interior, was at some time
built into the exterior of the south wall of the nave.
It has by this means escaped destruction, but the damp
has caused lichen to grow on it. It bears a strong
resemblance to the angel to be seen over the chancel arch
of St. Lawrence's Church at Bradford-on-Avon. It is not
unlikely that the corresponding angel is on a stone that
has been used in blocking one of the arches mentioned
before. They possibly date from pre-Conquest days, or,
at any rate, from a time before the pre-Conquest style
had died out in this remote village, and may have formed
part of a representation of the Ascension. The western
stone may possibly date from the fourteenth century, as
a window in its east face, now covered by the raised roof,
shows geometrical tracery ; the windows in the other faces
are much later — probably they have been altered. The
main octagonal spire that rises from the tower does not
seem to have been part of the original design. On the
four spaces between the corners of the tower and the
spire are four spirelets ; these do not stand as pinnacles of
the tower, nor are they used, as sometimes spirelets were
used, to hide the awkward junction of a broad spire with
a square tower, for this is not a broad, but rises, as
fourteenth century spires generally do, from the tower roof,
though here a parapet hardly exists.

Trent Steeple, standing midway on the south side of
the church, is a very beautiful one ; the tower has double-
light windows, with geometrical tracery, and a pierced
parapet, with pinnacles, from which rises a very graceful
spire, the edges of which have a circular moulding. The
spire is slightly twisted from some subsidence, and cracks
have occurred in the tower. The church has no aisles,
but the projecting tower, the lower part of which serves
as an entrance porch, on the south, and the chapel and
organ chamber on the north, give it a very picturesque
appearance. A modern addition is a distinctly pleasant

The Churches of Dorset 55

feature, namely, an octagonal baptistery, which stands
beyond the church at the west end of the nave. The
interior is also pleasing. There are bench ends of oak,
black with age, a reading desk on the north side, of like
material, and a fine oak chancel screen. The carved
wooden pulpit, if not entirely modern, is very largely so.
In the churchyard are the steps and base of a churchyard
cross. It is an exceedingly beautiful church, and the few
houses in its immediate neighbourhood, with stone
mullioned windows, are all in keeping with the church.
The straggling cottages, the winding lanes, render it one
of the most picturesque villages in the county. It was a
distinct loss to Somerset and gain to Dorset when this
parish was transferred from the former to the latter
county.

This sketch of the Dorset churches would be
incomplete without reference to some of the note-
worthy features to be met with in the fittings of
some of them. The cast-lead font of St. Mary's,
Wareham, on which figures of the Apostles are still
distinguishable from each other, despite the rough
usage to which they have been subjected, may possibly
date from Saxon days, and from the resemblance it bears
to the font in Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire, they may
well have been contemporaneous. If so, it gives counte-
nance to the belief that this font dates from the time
when, as yet, the whole Wessex kingdom was one diocese
with its Bishop-stool at the Oxfordshire Dorchester — that
is, sometime between the conversion of Cynegils by
St. Birinus in 635 and the division of the diocese into the
two separate sees of Winchester and Sherborne in 705 ;
as after this event the Oxfordshire Dorchester would have
little to do with Dorset.

The church at Piddletown has escaped the drastic
restoration that has destroyed the interest of so many
of our Dorset churches. Archaeologists may well rejoice
that the gallery and pews have not been swept away

56 Memorials of Old Dorset

with ruthless zeal, and will pray that they may, for many
years to come, stand as witnesses of what was being done
in Dorset at a time when the storm was gathering that
was destined for a while to overthrow the power of king
and priest.

In Bloxworth Church there still remains in its stand
the hour-glass by which the preacher regulated the length
of his sermon. This probably was placed in its position
about the middle of the seventeenth century. The people
in those days liked sermons, and expected to be able
to listen to one for at least an hour, though sometimes
the preacher, when all the sand had run into the lower
half of the hour-glass, would give his congregation another
hour, turning the glass ; and sometimes yet once again
the glass was turned. As we look on this relic of sermon
loving days, we cannot help thinking of the eyes of the
weary children, doomed to sit under these long-winded
preachers, turned on the slowly trickling sand, and the
sense of relief they must have felt when the last grain
had run down, and the hour of their enforced listening
was at an end.

To this same seventeenth century may be ascribed
many of the elaborately carved oaken pulpits which are
to be found in Dorset, as, for instance, those at Beaminster,
Netherbury, Charminster, Iwerne Minster, and Abbotsbury.
In the last may still be seen two holes caused by bullets
fired by Cromwell's soldiers when the church was
garrisoned by Royalists under General Strangways.

At Frampton a stone pulpit, of fifteenth century date,
much restored,, still exists. At Corton Chapel a fine pre-
Reformation stone altar stands, which escaped destruction
when the order for the removal of stone altars was issued
in 1550, because Corton was one of those free chapels
which had been suppressed and deprived of its revenue
three years before by the Chantry Act of 1 Edward VI.

In the neighbouring church at Portesham a window
on the north side of the nave shews signs of the influence

The Churches of Dorset 57

which on the Continent led to the Flamboyant style. A
fine Jacobean screen may be seen at West Stafford Church,
which was removed from its original position and put
further to the east when the church was lengthened a
few years ago.

In Hilton Church there are twelve noteworthy mediaeval
panel paintings, each more than six feet high, representing
the Apostles. These once belonged to Milton Abbey.

When Tarrant Rushton Church was restored, on the
eastern face of the chancel arch were found two earthen-
ware vases. Their use is a matter of doubt, but an idea
formerly prevailed that such vessels gave richness to the
voice, and from this idea they were sometimes let into
the walls, and were known as acoustic vases.

Dorset is fairly rich in monumental effigies in stone and
alabaster. One of the most beautiful and best preserved
of the latter is that erected in Wimborne Minster by
the Lady Margaret, in memory of her father and mother,
John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and his wife. Cross-
legged effigies are to be seen in Wareham, Bridport,
Piddletown, Wimborne Minster, Dorchester, Trent,
Horton, Wimborne St. Giles, and Stock Gaylard. The
first four bear a close resemblance to one another. The
knight wears a sleeved tunic or hauberk of mail, a
hooded coif, and over this a helmet. This costume in-
dicates a date before the middle of the twelfth century.
The feet rest upon an animal. At one time the fact that
the legs were crossed was held to indicate that the person
represented was a Crusader ; if the legs were crossed at
the ankles it was supposed that he had made one pil-
grimage to the East ; if at the knees, two ; if higher up,
three. But all this is probably erroneous, for on the one
hand some known Crusaders are not represented with their
legs crossed, while others who are known not to have
gone to the Holy Land are so represented. And even a
stronger proof may be adduced, namely, that some of the
crossed-legged effigies represent knights who lived after

58 Memorials of Old Dorset

the Crusades were over; for example, that found on the
tomb of Sir Peter Carew at Exeter, who died in 1 57 1.
In Mappowder Church there is a miniature cross-legged
effigy, about two feet long. This is often spoken of as a
"boy crusader" — a child who is supposed to have gone
with his father to the Holy Land, and to have died there.
But this is probably a mistake. Similar diminutive
effigies are found in divers places; for instance, that at
Salisbury which goes by the name of the " Boy Bishop,"
and Bishop Ethelmer's (1260) at Winchester. Many
authorities think that, as it was customary in the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries to bury different parts of the
body in different places, these effigies mark the spot
where the heart was buried. The figure at Mappowder
holds a heart in its hands,, and this certainly lends coun-
tenance to this theory. A similar monument formerly
existed at Frampton, but it has disappeared. At
Trent is a crossed-legged effigy of a " franklin " — a
civilian who was allowed to wear a sword. There are
two figures in St. Peter's, Dorchester, laid on the sills of
windows ; it is said they were removed from the old
Priory Church. These are of later date, namely, the
end of the fourteenth century. They wear plate armour,
and on their heads pointed bassinets, while the great
helms that were worn over these serve as pillows for
their heads to rest on.

At West Chelborough there is a curious monument
without date or name : a lady lies asleep on a bed with
a child enveloped in the folds of her drapery ; probably
this indicates that she died in giving birth to the infant.
Another curious monument is met with in Sandford Orcas
Church, whereon may be seen William Knoyle kneeling
with one of his wives in front, and one behind him, and
behind the latter, four corpses of children ; the knight
and first wife have skulls in their hands, to indicate
that they were dead when the monument (1607) was
erected ; the second wife is dressed in black to show her

The Churches of Dorset 59

widowhood ; her seven children are also represented, the
four girls by her, and the three boys behind the father. It
will be noticed that the recumbent figures of earlier time
gave place to kneeling figures in the sixteenth century,
when the husband and wife were often represented
opposite to each other, with their children behind them
in graduated sizes. These are far less pleasing than
the monuments of earlier date ; but worse was to come,
an example of which may be seen at St. Peter's Church,
Dorchester, in the monument of Denzil, Lord Holies, so
well known in the history of the reign of Charles I.

A bare mention must suffice for other monuments.
In Marnhull, Thomas Howard (1582), a man of huge
stature, lies between his two wives, small delicate women,
who are absolutely alike in person and dress. It would
seem as if their effigies were mere conventional representa-
tions. In the neighbouring church of Stalbridge lies an
emaciated corpse in a shroud without date or name.

In Netherbury is a mutilated alabaster figure with
" S.S." on the collar ; at Melbury Sampford the alabaster
efhgy of William Brounyng, who died 1467, wears
plate armour and the Yorkist collar. At Charminster are
several canopied tombs of the Trenchards, in Purbeck
marble, of a form found in many Wessex churches, and
the figure of a daughter of Sir Thomas Trenchard, wife
of Sir William Pole, who died in 1636. She kneels before
a book lying open on a desk, and wears a fur tippet. In
Chideock Chapel may be seen a knight in plate armour,
possibly Sir John Chideock, who died in 1450. In
Came Church are the recumbent figures of Sir John Miller
and his wife Anna (1610).

In Farnham, over the altar, is a plain stone in memory
of one Alexander Bower, a preacher of God's Word, who
is said to have died " in the year of Christes incarnation
(1616)" This is interesting as showing the unabridged
form of the possessive case.

Built in the wall over the door of Durweston Church

60 Memorials of Old Dorset

is a piece of carving, which originally was above the altar
and beneath the east window, representing a blacksmith
shoeing a horse ; and over the west door of Hinton Parva
is a carving of an angel, a cross, and a butterfly.

The finest timber roof in the county is undoubtedly that
of Bere Regis nave. It is said that Cardinal Morton placed
this roof upon the church when he was Archbishop of
Canterbury. He was born near, or in, this village, and
after the battle of Towton was attainted. In the
central shield on the roof the arms of Morton are
impaled with the arms of the See of Canterbury ; this
gives the date of the erection somewhere between i486
and 1500, but a Cardinal's hat on one of the figures limits
the date still further, as it was not until 1493 that Morton
became a Cardinal. The figures, which project from the
hammer beams and look downwards, are popularly known
as the Apostles, but the dress precludes this idea, as one
is habited as a Deacon, and one, as said above, wears
a Cardinal's hat. The painting of the roof is modern,
done when the roof was restored.

One of the most remarkable buildings of the fifteenth
century is St. Catherine's Chapel, on the lofty hill which
overlooks the sea near Abbotsbury. In the construction of
this, wood plays no part — all is solid stone. The roof is
formed of transverse ribs, richly bossed where ridge and
purloin ribs intersect them, and each of the two rectangular
compartments between every pair of ribs on either side
thus formed is simply foliated like blank window lights.
There is not a thin stone vault below a stone outer roof
above with a space between them, but it is stone through-
out, and on St. Catherine's wind-swept hill the chapel
has stood uninjured since the Benedictine Monks of
Abbotsbury built this chantry nearly five hundred years
ago. The massive buttresses, from which no pinnacles
rise, the parapet pierced by holes for letting out the water,
the turret with its flat cap, in which once the beacon fire
used to be lighted in its iron cresset, render the chapel

The Churches of Dorset 6i

still more unique. Nowhere else in England, save on
St Ealdhelm's Head, can such a solidly-built structure
be found. The simple tracery of the windows remains,
but the glass has disappeared. The windows are boarded
up to keep out the rain, and the interior is bare. Resting
on a hill top, washed by the pure breezes, such a chapel
is fitly dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria.

THE MEMORIAL BRASSES
OF DORSET

By W. de C. Prideaux

ORSET is by no means rich in the number of
its monumental brasses. Haines, in his list
(1861), gives their number as thirty-three,
distributed over twenty -four churches ; but
recent researches and alterations in the county boundaries
have rendered his list no longer strictly accurate. Yet only
about one hundredth of the brasses to be found in England
are preserved in Dorset, though its area is about one fiftieth
of the area of England ; and so it will be seen that the
number of its brasses is considerably below the average,
although it must be remembered that brasses are very
unequally divided, the Eastern counties having by far
the largest proportion.

The earliest known brasses in England date from the
latter part of the thirteenth century; and for three
centuries this form of memorial was in great favour.
Brasses had many advantages over carved effigies in
stone ; they occupied less space, formed no obstruction
in the churches, were more easily executed, and possibly
cheaper. Fortunately, also, they have lasted longer, and
have preserved a wealth of valuable detail relating to
costume and heraldry far in excess of any other form of
monument.

62

The Memorial Brasses of Dorset 63

Monumental brasses may be divided roughly into two
classes : those in which the figure is engraved on a
rectangular plate, the background being plain or filled
in with diapered or scroll work, which is seen to such
great advantage on many Continental brasses, and those
in which there is no background, the plate being cut
around the outline of the figure, and fastened down into
a similarly shaped shallow matrix or casement in the
stone slab. Examples of both kinds are found in Dorset ;
but none of our examples are of very early date. One
of the oldest, commemorating Joan de St. Omer, dated
1436 (an engraving of which may be seen in Hutchins'
Dorset, vol. ii., p. 380, and a rubbing by the late Mr. Henry
Moule in the library of the Society of Antiquaries,
London1), has disappeared from St. Peter's Church,
Dorchester, although the matrix still remains. The Oke
brass at Shapwick, if of contemporary workmanship, may
be older.

Sometimes brasses were pulled out and sold by the
churchwardens for the value of the metal.2 Sometimes,
indeed, brasses which had commemorated some warrior,
priest, or worthy of former times were taken up, turned
over, re-engraved, and made to do duty in honour of
someone else, as may be seen in the retroscript brasses
at Litton Cheney ; but in several cases the brass,
after weathering the stormy times of the civil wars,
and escaping the greed of those whose business it was
to guard their church from the mutilation, were lost
through the gross neglect of the nineteenth century
restorer. The writer knows of several specimens now
loose and in danger.

1 Showing the horned head dress and gown, the whole almost identical
in outline and size with the Alyanora Pollard effigy, 1430, at Bishop's
Nympton, Devon.

2 Extract from the Stratton Churchwardens' Account, 1753, April 26th —
"Two brasses not wey'd at 7d. p. pound sopos'd to wey 12 pound they
wey'd but 9 lbs. 0.5.3." There are no brasses at Stratton now.

64 Memorials of Old Dorset

The following is a list of all the known brasses in
Dorset : —

Beaminster. — Ann, the wife of Henry Hillary, of Meerhay,

1653-

Elizabeth, the wife of William Milles, and

daughter of John Hillary, of Meerhay, 1674.

Mrs. Ann Hillary, died 1700.

William Milles, Esq., of Meerhay, and Mary, his
wife. He died 1760, aged 82 ; she died 1771, aged 95.

And outside the wall of south aisle, inscriptions
to—

Elizabeth Smitham, 1773, aged 61.

Rev. Edmund Lewis, 1766, aged 40.

Joseph Symes, gent., 1776, aged 75 ; also Frances,
his wife, 1737, aged 47.

And on a large slab in the floor of south aisle,,
formerly on an altar tomb —

Pray for the soule of Sr John Tone,l

Whose bodye lyeth berid under this tombe,

On whos soule J'hu have mercy A Pat'nost' & Ave.

All small inscriptions only.

Bere Regis. — J. Skerne and Margaret, his wife, 1596.
Kneeling figures, with heraldic shield and an eight-
line engraved verse, on altar tomb.

Robert Turberville, 1559. Inscription only.

Bryanston. — John Rogers and Elizabeth, his wife, 1528.
Inscription below matrices of their effigies and
heraldic shields.

Cecilia Rogers, wife of Sir Richard Rogers, of
Bryanston. A ten-line verse below matrices of her
effigy and heraldic shields, 1566.

Br id fort. — Edward Coker, gent. Inscription only, 1685.

1 According to tradition, a Knight of Malta.

The Memorial Brasses of Dorset 65

Caandle Purse. — William Longe, 1 500 ; Elizabeth Longe,
1527; Richard Brodewey, rector, 1536. All small
effigies, the two latter with inscriptions ; and all
loose when seen by the writer, with the exception of
a small plate to Peter Hoskyns, 1682,, above Longe
altar tomb.

Compton Valence. — Thomas Maldon, rector, rebuilder of
church, 1440. Half effigy, from which issue two
scrolls, with words from Ps. li. I.

Chesilborne. — A small inscribed brass to John Keate, 1 552>
and Margaret, his wife, 1554.

Corfe Mullen. — A small effigy of Richard Birt. Below
this there is a mutilated inscription to Ricardus Birt
and Alicia, his wife, 1437.

Crickel, Moor. — Isabel Uvedale, 1572. An effigy with a
ten-line engraved verse.

William Cyfrewast, Esquyer, 1581. Inscription
and two six-line verses.

Crichel, Long. — Johan' Gouys. A small inscription only.

Cranborne. — Margaret, daughter of Henry Ashelie, the
wife of William Wallop, 1582. Inscription only.
There is another inscribed plate bearing date 163 1 ;
otherwise illegible.

Dorchester, St. Peter. — Inscription and scroll to the lost
figure of Joan de St. Omer, widow of Robert More,
1436.

William and Johanna Sillon. Part of inscription.

Inscription to John Gollop.

Ever shot. — William Grey, rector, 1524, with chalice and
host. Inscription below effigy composed of quite a
different alloy.

Fleet Old Church. — Robert and Margaret Mohun, with
seventeen children, 1603.

Maximillian Mohun, his son, showing his wife and
thirteen children.
F

66 Memorials of Old Dorset

Holme Priory. — Richard Sidwaye, gent., 1612.

Knowle. — John Clavell, 1572, and two wives ; the first with
three sons and one daughter ; the second wife, Susan,
daughter of Robert Coker, of Mappowder, is kneeling
alone.

Litton Cheney. — Ralph Henvil, of Looke,, 1644. Anne
Henvill, daughter of Richard Henvill, of Looke, 1681.
Inscriptions only.

There is also an interesting retroscript brass, in
two pieces, having three inscriptions : —

1. — Johes Chapman, ffysch m5ger, 1471.
2. — Alexandriam (?) Warnby, i486.
3. — Johis Newpton et Thome Neupto.

Lytchett Matravers. — Thomas Pethyn (als. Talpathyn),
rector, in shroud, c. 1 470.

Margaret Clement, " generosa, specialis benefactrix
reedifkacionis huius ecclesie," 1505.

A matrix of a very large fret (the arms of
Matravers), with marginal inscription, to Sir John
Matravers, 1365.

Langton. — John Whitewod, gent, and his two wives,
Johanna and Alicia ; three effigies, with inscription,
bearing dates 1457, 1467, and portion of scrolls.

Melbury Sampford. — Sir Gyles Strangwayes, 1562, in
tabard. Two shields, with thirteen and fourteen
quarterings respectively, and inscriptions to Henry
Strangwayes, Esq., who " died at the syege of
Bolleyne," and his wife, Margaret, daughter of Lord
George Rosse ; and to Sir Gyles Strangwayes and his
wife, Joan, eldest daughter of John Wadham, Esq.
There are also strip brasses around recumbent marble
effigies of Sir Gyles Strangwayes the elder, and
William Brunyng, and a rectangular brass plate to
Laurencius Sampford, miles, and another to John and
Alicia Brounyng, with three coats of arms.

The Memorial Brasses of Dorset 67

Milton Abbey. — Sir John Tregonwell, D.C.L., 1565, in
tabard, with heraldic shields and inscription.

John Artur, a monk of the Abbey. A small brass
of about the middle of the fifteenth century.

Milborne St. Andrew. — John Morton, Esq., 1521, son of
Richard Morton, and nephew of John Morton,
Cardinal. Brass plate on altar tomb, below matrix
of a knight in armour.

Moreton. — James Frampton, 1523. He is shown kneeling,
with text on scrolls.

Owcrmoigne. — John Sturton, Esq., 1506. Inscription,
" causyd this wyndowe to be made."

On a loose plate, now lost, Nicholas Cheverel, Esq.,
and Jane, his wife, who both died in the year 1548.

Piddlehinton. — Thomas Browne, parson for 27 years, in
hat and clerical habit, having staff and book, with
a twelve-line verse and inscription, 161 7.

There was formerly a brass inscription to John
Chapman, 1494, in the north aisle.

Piddletown. — Roger Cheverell, 15 17. Half effigy, with
inscription and two shields of arms.

Christopher Martyn, Esq., 1524. Kneeling
effigy, in tabard, with shield of arms and partial
representation of the Trinity.

Nicholas Martyn, Esq., and wife, 1595, with three
sons and seven daughters, with armorial brass and
inscription between effigies, on back of altar tomb.

Pint feme. — Mrs. Dorothy Williams, wife of John Williams,
curate, 1694. A very curious effigy, with skeleton
below. " Edmund Colepeper fecit."

Puncknowle. — William Napper, Esq., brother of Sir Robert
Napper, in armour ; by his wife, Anne, daughter of
Wm. Shelton, Esq., of Onger Park, he had six sons.
Brass engraved c. 1600, before his death.

68 Memorials of Old Dorset

Rampisham. — Thomas Dygenys and his wife Isabel.
Two figures, with inscription at their feet, " gud
benefactors to this churche." Both died in 1523.

Shaftesbury, St. Peter. — Inscription to Stephen, son and
heir of Nicholas Payne, steward of the Monastery,
1508. On the slab are matrices of four brass
shields. This was removed from the Abbey.

In Holy Trinity churchyard is half a large blue
slab, having thereon the matrix of a large brass
which local tradition says was to King Edward the
Martyr.

Sha-pwick. — Inscription to Richard Chernok, als. Hogeson,
vicar, 1538.

A fine effigy of Maria, heiress of Lord de
Champneys, and wife of John Oke. The inscrip-
tion is to the latter ; the former has a dog at her
feet. Her first husband was Sir William Tourney,
and she married William Oke in the reign of
Richard II. ; so it is quite likely that this brass is
of the fourteenth century.

Sturminster Marshall. — An effigy of Henry Helme, vicar,
in gown, with moustache and pointed beard. He
was the founder of Baylye House (the vicarage), 1581.
The inscription is a ten-line verse. The brass is
fastened on a black marble slab.

Also, " Here lyeth Wylla' Benett, on whose sowle
Gode have merci." (No date.)

Swanage, als. Swanwich. — William Clavell (effigy lost),
with Margaret and Alicia, his wives, c. 1470.
John Harve, 15 10. Inscription only : —

Suche as I was, so be you, and as I am, so shall you be,
And of the soule of John Harve God have mercy.

Henry Welles, of Godlinstone, 1607, and Marie,
his first wife, 1560. Inscriptions only.

The Memorial Brasses of Dorset 69

Susan Cockram, wife of Brune Cockram, parson of
Swanwch, 1 64 1.

Thomas Serrell, the sonn of Anthony Serrell, of
Swanwhich, 1639.

Swyre. — John Russell, Esq., and Elizabeth, his wife,
daughter of John Frocksmer, Esq., 1505. Inscription,
with arms.

James Russell, Esq. (son of John Russell), and
Alys, his wife, daughter of John Wise, Esq., 15 10.
Inscription, with arms.1

George Gollop, of Berwick, tenth son of Thomas
Gollop, of Strode, Dorset; brass, c. 1787. Long
inscription only, to many of this family.

Tincleton. — Inscription to Thomas Faryngdon, armiger,
1404.

Tarrant Crawford. — In the year 1862, a small brass plate
was found on the Abbey site in memory of " d'ns Joh'es
Karrant."

Thomcombe. — Sir Thomas and Lady Brook. Two fine
effigies, with long inscription. Sir Thomas died
1419; Lady Brook, 1437; "on whose soules God
have mercy and pite that for us dyed on the rode
tree. Ame'."

Upwey. — William Gould, 168 1. Inscription only, on outer
side of north wall of chancel, opposite altar tomb.

West Stafford. — Inscription to Giles Long, 1 592, " then
Lord of Frome Bellett and patrone of the parsonage
and Stafford."

Wimborne Minster. — St. Ethelred, King of the West
Saxons, martyr, "Anno Domini 873 (871?) 23 die
Aprilis per manus dacorum paganorum occubuit."
Half effigy, engraved c. 1440; inscription restored c.
1600.

1 This James Russell was the father of John Russell of Berwick, K.G.,
created Baron Russell of Cheneys, 153S-9, and Earl of Bedford, 1550.

;o Memorials of Old Dorset

Woolland. — Mary, daughter of Robert Williams, of
Herringston, and wife of Robert Thornhull, and then
of Lewis Argenton, 1616. The inscription of twelve
lines is curious and descriptive, beginning: —

Here lyeth our landladie loved of all,
Whom Maty Argenton last wee did call.

Yetminster. — John Horsey, Esquire, 1 53 1, Lord of the
Manor of Clifton, and Elizabeth, his wife, Lady of
the Manor of Turges Melcombe. Two fine effigies,
with scrolls at sides and inscription at foot.

Of the foregoing brasses, the following deserve a longer
notice: —

Bere Regis. — J. Skerne and Margaret, his wife. This
monument consists of two kneeling figures, fourteen
inches high, cut round the outline, and represented
as kneeling on the pavement ; between them is a
rectangular plate, with coat of arms (Skerne impaling
Thornhull), and an inscription on another plate below.
Skerne wears a long gown, with sleeves nearly touch-
ing the ground ; his wife, a dress, with ruff and a
widow's wimple. The inscription states that the
memorial was erected by the aforesaid Margaret in
1596.

In the same church there is an inscription to Sir
Robert Turberville, 1559. There are also remains of
three altar tombs, all with empty matrices ; two in
the south aisle probably mark the last resting-places
of members of the Turberville family. It is of these
that John Durbeyfield, in Thomas Hardy's Tess,
boasted, " I've got a gr't family vault at Kingsbere
and knighted forefathers in lead coffins there."

Caundle Purse. — The brass of W. Longe, 26 ins. high,
represents a man in armour, with long flowing hair ;
the head is inclined to the right. Its matrix v/as
found by the writer in the North, or Longe, Chantry.

4wnM m miiimwccccCflTin

William Grey, 1524. Rector of Evershot.

The Memorial Brasses of Dorset 71

The brass is heavy, being f -in. thick ; it is poor in
execution, and is, unfortunately, away from its slab.

The monument of Richard Brodewey, rector, is
far more interesting. The head has been broken off ;
the figure, only ten inches high, represents the priest
as laid out for burial, clad in eucharistic vestments.
This brass is specially noteworthy, because it is the
only known memorial in England in which the maniple
is represented as buttoned or sewn, so as to form a loop
to prevent it from slipping off the wrist. This was
the final form that the maniple assumed ; in earlier
times it simply hung over the arm without attachment.

Evershot. — The brass commemorating William Grey is
rather larger than that at Caundle Purse, and is in
better condition. Like Brodewey, Grey is represented
as laid out in his eucharistic vestments — amice, alb,
maniple, stole, and chasuble ; between his raised
hands he holds a chalice, with the host (similar to
Henry Denton, priest, Higham Ferrers, 1498). There
are only about a dozen representations of chaliced
priests in England, so that this memorial may be
classed among rare examples. It was customary to
bury a chalice (usually of some secondary metal) with
all ecclesiastics in priests' orders.1

Fleet. — The two brasses in this church are engraved on
rectangular plates. In each, the husband kneels on
the opposite side to the wife (he dexter, she sinister),
with a prie Dieu between them. Their many sons
and daughters kneel behind the father and mother
respectively.

Milton Abbey. — Sir John Tregonwell is represented,
kneeling, in a tabard ; and this is the latest tabard
brass in England.

Another very interesting and almost unique brass

1 A coffin chalice and paten have, within recent years, been dis-
covered at Milton Abbey and Abbotsbury.

?2 Memorials of Old Dorset

in the Abbey is that to John Artur, of this place
" monacfais." Brasses to monks are exceedingly rare.

Moreton. — The inscription on the monument of James
Frampton is unusual ; the letters are raised above
the background, instead of being sunk in it.

Piddletown. — The effigy of Roger Cheverell has only the
upper part left — ioi in. by 6 in. in size. The dress is
that of a civilian of good standing, for the cloak
is lined with fur ; the head is bare and the hair long.
Christopher Martyn's brass is engraved on a
rectangular plate. The lower half is occupied by
the inscription ; above it kneels the figure in
conventional armour, with a tabard bearing arms over.
A scroll comes from the mouth, bearing, in abbreviated
form, the prayer, " Averte f aciem tuam a peccatis meis,
et omnes iniquitates meas dele." Two shields, one low
on the right side of the figure, another high above the
left shoulder, bear the well-known Martyn arms ; and
above the former, the All Father sits on a throne,
with two fingers of the right hand raised in blessing,
and the left hand holds between the knees a Tau-
shaped cross, on which the Son is nailed. There is,
however, no dove, so that it cannot be regarded as
a complete representation of the Trinity. At Bere
Regis there is a matrix of an enthroned figure of
almost identical outline.

The memorial to Nicholas Martyn and his wife
belongs to the other type of brass. In the centre,
indeed, are two rectangular plates, one bearing the
heraldic shield (Martyn impaling Wadham), the
other the inscription ; but the other plates are
cut round the figures, and have little background.
On the right or dexter side, the husband, clad
in armour, but not wearing a helmet, kneels, with
hands clasped in prayer, before an altar covered
with a fringed cloth, on which lies an open

The Memorial Brasses of Dorset 73

book ; behind him kneel his three sons, wearing
cloaks, with ruffs around their necks. On the left-
hand side, Margaret, his wife, kneels before a similar
altar and book ; behind her are her seven daughters,
all engaged in prayer. They all wear Elizabethan
costume — hoods, large ruffs, long bodied peaked
stomachers and skirts, extended by farthingales of
whalebone.

Thorncombe. — The brasses to Sir Thomas and Lady
Brooke, of Holditch and Weycroft, are two of the
most distinguished to be found of the fourteenth
century. He was sheriff of Somerset, 1389, and of
Devon, 1394, and is shown clad in a long gown with
deep dependent sleeves, guarded with fur around the
skirt, and pulled in at the waist by a belt studded with
roses ; within the gown a second garment appears,
with four rows of fur around the skirt. His hair is
short, and his feet rest on a greyhound couchant,
collared. Lady Brooke wears a long robe, fastened
across the breast by a cordon with tassels, over a
plain gown ; her hair is dressed in semi-mitre shape,
and confined by a richly jewelled net, over which is
placed the cover-chief, edged with embroidery and
dependent to the shoulders. At her feet is a little
dog, collared and belled. Sir Thomas and his wife
each wear the collar of SS. ; their arms are in tightly-
fitting sleeves, and the hands are raised in prayer.
The inscription around the effigies has been restored,
and plain shields inserted in place of originals, which
would have shown Gules on a chevron argent a lion
rampant sable ; Brooke with, among others, Cheddar,
Mayor of Bristol, 1 360-1, and Hanham.

Wimborne Minster. — The Ethelred efhgy here is only half
length. The king is represented, in part, in priestly
vestments. (" As kings by their coronation are
admitted into a sacred as well as a civil character,

74 Memorials of Old Dorset

the former of these is particularly manifested in the
investiture with clerical garments.") Though the
brass commemorates a king of the West Saxons, it
dates only from 1440. The inscription is on a copper
plate, and' the king's death is said thereon to have
occurred in 873, two years too late. A brass plate on
which the date is correctly given is preserved in the
Minster Library. It is supposed that the figure and
the plate bearing the inscription were removed from
the matrix and hidden for safety in the time of the
Civil Wars, and that the plate could not be found when
the figure was replaced, so that the copper one now
on the slab was engraved to take the place of the
one lost, which, however, was afterwards found, but
not laid on the stone. It is a noteworthy fact that
the effigy is fastened to the stone with nails of copper,
not of brass ; doubtless these are contemporary with
the copper plate which bears the inscription. The
Ethelred brass is the only brass commemorating a
king that is to be found in England, and is so
illustrated in Haines' Manual, p. 74.

Wraxall. — Elizabeth Lawrence, wife of Mr. William
Lawrence, 1672. A six-line verse and an impaled
coat of arms.

Y etminster. — This brass, one of the finest in Dorset, was
at one time loose at East Chelborough Rectory, but
it has now been fixed to a slab on the south wall
of the church. It was originally laid on a large stone
in the floor of the chancel. John Horsey is repre-
sented in full and very richly ornamented armour ;
his wife is in a graceful gown and mantle, with
dependent pomander, and fine head-dress.

SHERBORNE

By W. B. Wildman, M.A.

HERBORNE, as far as we can tell, owes its
existence as a town to the fact that it was chosen
in 705 to be the site where the bishop-stool was
fixed of St. Ealdhelm, the first bishop of Western
or Newer Wessex. Sherborne, like its daughter-towns
Wells and Salisbury, is a Bishop's town ; but, unlike them,
it was also, from 998 to 1539, the seat of a Benedictine
Monastery. Thus Sherborne has suffered two distinct
shocks in its career ; the first came upon it when it lost
its bishop in 1075 ; the second, when its Abbey was
dissolved in 1539.

Another point worth mentioning concerning the past
dignity of the town is this, that Sherborne, or at any
rate, a part of it — Newland — was once actually a borough,
as was also what we may call the suburb of Castleton.

This part of Sherborne is still called the Borough of
Newland ; it was given burghal privileges by Richard
Poore, Bishop of Sarum, in 1228, and, according to
Hutchins, it actually sent members to the House of
Commons in 1343. But long after Newland got rid of
this then burdensome privilege it still kept the name
and other privileges of a borough, and both it and
Castleton were for administrative purposes outside the
Hundred of Sherborne ; they kept their own tourns twice
a year, and their own courts every three weeks ; they
had their own view of frank-pledge quite apart from

75

76 Memorials of Old Dorset

the rest of the town and Hundred. It is not known to
what bishop Castleton owed its title and dignity of burgus.

When Sherborne came into being, the surrounding
country bore a very different look from that which we
see to-day. It lay on the western edge of the great
forest of Selwood, a fragment of which still remains to
us here in Sherborne Castle Park. There were then no
trim water-meadows, and the course of our river was
marked by moor and marsh. Here, in the last fold of
the Wessex hills, under which lies the great plain of
Somerset, Ealdhelm's seat was fixed, in a site central and
convenient for the new district, which had barely a quarter
of a century before been added to the West Saxon realm.

Sherborne was never a walled town ; it lay under the
protection of the fortified palace of its bishop-, and in
troublous times of Danish inroad its site was a safe one.
The story that Swegen ravaged the town rests on nothing
like contemporary evidence ; on the other hand, the safety
of its position, coupled with the fact that it was once
the second city of Wessex, accounts for its being chosen
by King ^Ethelbald for his capital, so to speak, when
Winchester, in 860, was laid waste by the Danes ; indeed,
the change may have taken place soon after 856.
Sherborne continued to be the capital of Wessex till
about the year 878. During a considerable part of that
time we may well believe that King Alfred spent his
boyhood here, almost certainly during King ^Ethelberht's
reign ; and here, in this centre of education which
Ealdhelm had founded, he may well have received such
education as he got during his boyhood. There is no
other centre of education which has so good a claim to
him ; here were buried his two brothers, ^thelbald and
^Ethelberht, who successively reigned before ^Ethelred
and himself. ^Ethelberht was his guardian after his
father's death. Alfred must have known Sherborne well ;
he was a benefactor of our church, and we claim his
boyhood.

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Sherborne yj

But besides Alfred and Ealdhelm, early Sherborne
claims other heroes ; Ealhstan, our bishop, the first West
Saxon general to win a decisive victory over the Danes,
was the right-hand man of Kings Ecgberht, ./Ethelwulf,
^Ethelbald, and yEthelberht ; he was the most powerful
man of his time. Here, in Sherborne, he lies buried beside
iEthelbald and ^Ethelberht.

We claim, too, among our Sherborne bishops, St.
Heahmund, who fell fighting against the Danes at Merton
(probably Marden, Wilts.) ; Asser, the biographer of King
Alfred, who is said to lie buried among us ; Werstan,
another warrior who fell in battle ; St. Wulfsy and St.
Alfwold, names rather forgotten now, but great and famous
in their day. St. Osmund, who compiled the Use of
Sarum, was one of our abbots ; and St. Stephen Harding,
the author of the Carta Caritatis, and the real founder
of the Cistercian Order, is the earliest scholar of
Sherborne School whom History records as such.

Nor can Sherborne forget what it owes to the great
Roger Niger, that dark, stalwart Bishop of Sarum, who
built the Norman Castle here and the Norman part of
our Abbey Church, who organized the English Court of
Exchequer, was the trusted adviser of the " Lion of
Justice," Henry I., and deserved a better end than to break
his heart in a contest with such a poor creature as King
Stephen.

Our Abbot, William Bradford, will not be forgotten
by lovers of architecture, for under his rule in the fifteenth
century the choir of our Abbey Church was rebuilt ;
while to another Abbot, Peter Ramsam, we owe, later in
the same century, the restoration of our nave. To Abbot
Mere we are indebted for a little building, which every
visitor to Sherborne knows, the Conduit, which stands in
our old market-place, now called by the somewhat affected
name of the " Parade." This conduit, though it was built,
as we have said, by Abbot Mere (i 504-1 535), is described
by one of those omniscient gentlemen who have lately

78 Memorials of Old Dorset

been enlightening us about the beauties of Wessex, as
" a structure of the fourteenth century." It originally
stood on the north side of the nave of the Abbey Church,
inside the Cloister Court, which is now a part of
Sherborne School ; but it was removed to its present
site, or nearly its present site, by the school governors
in the latter part of the sixteenth century. It is to this
day the property of the school.

And so we are brought to the time when our
ecclesiastical lords, the Bishop of Sarum and the Abbot
of Sherborne, passed away from us, and their places were
taken by lay lords. Here, too, we meet with famous
names. We have the Protector Somerset, to whom,
indirectly, Sherborne School may owe its post-Reformation
endowment. We have, also, Henry, Prince of Wales, that
" young Marcellus of the House of Stuart," the eldest son
of James I., whose hatchment, as that of a squire of
Sherborne, still hangs in our Abbey Church ; we have
Walter Ralegh, that restless, strenuous soul, whose dearly-
loved home Sherborne was, where he would gladly have
been buried ; we have John Digby, first Earl of Bristol,
whose name stands high among those of English worthies
in the reigns of James I. and Charles I., a man worthy
to have lived in a better age, and to have hazarded his
all in a better cause. And another name insistently
presents itself to anyone who has followed Sherborne
history — that of Hugo Daniel Harper. To him Sherborne
town and school owe much that is precious and enduring.
That a little town like ours has kept something of its
ancient state, that here we can still so easily call back
the past of Wessex, can still see standing in beauty and
dignity these buildings which the Middle Age has left
us — all this is in no small degree owing to that famous
headmaster of Sherborne School and to his successors.

We now proceed to write more particularly of the
most interesting of these ancient buildings and institutions.

Sherborne 79

They are four in number : the Abbey Church, the School,
the old Castle, and the Almshouse.

With the exception of a small part of the west front
of the Abbey Church, there is, so far as we can tell, not
a single piece of wall standing now in Sherborne which
was standing in the year 1107, when Roger of Caen
became Bishop of Sarum and Abbot of Sherborne. We
know that the doorway, now blocked up, on the north
side of the west front of the church, and, therefore, also
some of the adjoining wall, is older than Bishop Roger's
time ; but with that exception, we are forced to admit
that the Norman from Caen pulled down all the rest of
Ealdhelm's church. If he left any more of it, either time
has destroyed this, or he so used the walls that they
cannot now be recognised with any certainty. At the
same time there is a piece of outside wall at the north
end of the north transept, in the old slype, which looks
very like pre-Norman work.

The church which Roger built extended as far east
as the present church does, excluding the lady chapels ;
for the lady chapel of the thirteenth century must have
abutted on the Norman east end, just as it now does on
the Perpendicular ambulatory. The church extended
probably rather further to the west than the present church
does, for there exists evidence to show that, before the
parish church of All Hallows was built on to the west
end of the Abbey Church in the fourteenth century, the
west front of the Abbey Church was embellished with a
large porch of Norman work.

The chief traces of Roger's work still existing in the
church are the piers and arches that carry the tower, the
transept walls, the arches leading from the transept into
the side aisles of the nave, and the walls of these aisles.
Other interesting traces of Roger's work will be found
in the little chapel which projects eastwards from the
north transept ; also in the south and west walls of the
early English chapel on the north side of the north aisle

80 Memorials of Old Dorset

of the choir, commonly called Bishop Roger's Chapel, and
now used as the vestry ; these Norman walls were outside
walls of Roger's church before this early English addition
was made. There is also the jamb of a window to be
seen on the outside of the east wall of the south transept,
the only relic which gives us an idea of what the Norman
clerestory was like.

The choir of Roger's church extended west of the
central tower, and to allow room for the stall-work, the
shafts of the east and west tower arches were corbelled
off above the line of the stalls, as may still be seen in the
existing church. That part of the Abbey nave which lay
to the west of the Norman choir was used, until the building
of All Hallows, as the parish church ; and the fine Norman
south porch, which has been rather over-restored in the
nineteenth century, was, no doubt, a parochial porch, for
it faces the town, not the monastic buildings, which are
on the north side of the church.

The tower up to the floor of the bell-chamber is
Norman. Over the pier-arches which carry it, except on
the east side, there is a passage in the thickness of the
wall, with an arcade of semi-circular arches resting on
circular and octagonal shafts, eleven inches in diameter.
On the east side the Norman pier-arch was removed at
the re-building of the choir in the fifteenth century, and
the removal of this arch so weakened the tower that its
condition in the course of years became dangerous. The
tower was made secure in 1884-5, and these shafts on the
north-west and south sides of the lantern, which had been
concealed by the fifteenth century masonry, were again
displayed to view.

A large lady chapel was added in the thirteenth
century ; the fine Early English arch, by which it was
entered from the church, may still be seen in the east
wall of the ambulatory. The centre of this arch is to
the south of that of the fifteenth century arch, and
hence the corbels of the Perpendicular vaulting do not

Sherborne 8i

correspond at all with the Early English arch ; one of
them is actually constructed to hang as a pendant, free
of this arch altogether.

The changes made inside the church in the fourteenth
century were so slight as to need no mention. Outside
the church, however, a great change took place, for
towards the end of this century the church of All Hallows
was built. The great west porch was pulled down so
that All Hallows might stand directly against the west
front of the Norman church. There are still to be seen
remnants of All Hallows, viz., the lower part of the north
wall of the north aisle, and four responds built into the
west wall of the Abbey Church. When All Hallows was
standing with its pinnacled western tower, one would have
seen a church some 350 feet long, with a central and a
western tower. This latter tower had a ring of bells of
its own, at least five in number ; and it was to this ring
of the parish, not to the Abbey, that Wolsey gave our great
bell.

In the fifteenth century Sherborne saw great things
in the way of building; not only was the Almshouse then
built, but the church also underwent those changes which
gave it the appearance it keeps to-day. The choir was
taken down during the last year or two of Abbot John
Brunyng's rule, and rebuilt from the ground by his
successor, William Bradford (1436-1459). During this
same century the smaller lady chapel, called the Bow
Chapel, was built, and the nave restored in the style of
the time by Abbot Peter Ramsam (1475- 1504). To these
two men we owe our present splendid fabric. Any visitor
to Sherborne Abbey can for himself easily perceive the
differences which mark off the choir as a building from
the nave. The choir from floor to vault is one harmonious
piece of work, so lovely, so complete, that the wit of man
could scarcely design anything finer ; while the nave is
a compromise, for in the nave yet stand the old Norman
piers cased in Perpendicular panelling, and the effect
G

82 Memorials of Old Dorset

which the nave gives us is that of two stories distinctly
marked off the one from the other, the lower story bearing
strong traces of its Norman origin, the upper or clerestory
plainly a Perpendicular work, and worthy of the companion
clerestory of the choir. The pillars of the southern arcade
of the nave are not opposite those of the northern arcade,
and the arches are of different widths ; the clerestory
arches of the nave, on the other hand, are of equal widths,
and hence the clerestory arches are not directly above
the arcade arches. This compromise has, however, been
effected so cleverly that few people notice the irregularity.
The rebuilding of the Abbey Church choir in the
fifteenth century recalls to our mind the great quarrel
between the Abbey and the townsfolk, which came
to a head in the year 1437. It has already been noted
that in ancient times the townsfolk had been allowed by
the Abbot and Convent to use the western part of the
Abbey Church nave as a parish church. Thus the Abbey
Church had become a divided church — part was
conventual, part parochial. But as time went on this
arrangement ceased to please one or other, or both, parties,
and the consequence was that All Hallows was built at
the west end of the Abbey Church for the use of the
parishioners. After this addition was made, the large
Norman doorway at the west end of the south aisle of
the Abbey Church nave was narrowed by the insertion
of a smaller doorway. Now, All Hallows had not the
status of a parish church ; technically, the parish church
was still the western part of the Abbey Church nave,
and here it was still necessary for all Sherborne children
to be baptised in the font, which originally stood where
the present font stands. The parishioners, to get to the
font, had to enter All Hallows' Church, and pass thence
into the Abbey Church through the Norman doorway,
which had been narrowed. This the parishioners regarded
as a grievance. It appears, also, that the Abbot had
moved the font from the place where it now stands to some

Sherborne 83

other site which the parishioners regarded as inconvenient.
The parishioners, therefore, in 1436, took the law into
their own hands, and eight of them are charged before
the bishop with having set up a font in All Hallows. The
Abbot, of course, regarded this as a usurpation of the
rectorial rights of the Convent ; he complained, also, of
another grievance, to wit, that the parish bells rang to
matins at too early an hour, and disturbed the morning
slumbers of the monks. For though they got up at
midnight to sing matins and lauds, they went to bed
again, and slept till the hour for prime, somewhere
between 6 and 7 a.m. Abbot Bradford, therefore, appealed
to the Bishop of Sarum, Robert Nevile, who came to
Sherborne and held an inquiry on the 12th November,
1436, in what is now the chapel of the school, but was
then the Abbot's hall. He examined one hundred or
more of the parishioners, many of whom had not approved
of the high-handed course taken in the matter of the
font. After a thorough investigation, the Bishop, by the
advice of his counsel learned in the law, gave his decision
from his manor of Ramsbury, on the 8th January, 1437.
It was to this effect — {a) that the font in All Hallows was
to be at once utterly destroyed and removed and carried
out of the church by those who had caused it to be set
there ; (b) that the ringing of the bells to matins for the
parishioners throughout the year was not to be made till
after the sixth hour had struck on the clocka or horologium
of the monastery, except on the following solemn feasts :
All Saints, Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter ; (c) that the
font of the Abbey Church was to be replaced in its old
accustomed position, and all infants born or to be born
in Sherborne were, as of old, to be baptised therein ;
(d) that the intermediate door and entrance for the pro-
cession of parishioners to the font was to be enlarged
and arched so as to give ample space and bring it to
its original form ; (e) that the manner of the procession
and other ceremonies about the font were to be observed

84 Memorials of Old Dorset

in the old and wonted way ; (/) that there must be made,
at the expense of the monastery, in the nave of the
monastic church, close to the monks' choir, a partition,
so that there should be a distinct line of separation between
the monks and the parishioners ; (g) that the replacing
of the Abbey Church font in its wonted place, and the
enlarging of the door, must effectually be completed
before the following Christmas.

This admirable judgment was not received by the
disputants with the respect which it deserved ; delays
and evasions on both sides brought about a violent
termination of the dispute. The monks induced " one
Walter Gallor a stoute Bocher dwelling yn Sherborne"
to enter All Hallows, where " he defacid cleane the
Fontstone ; the townsmen, aided by an Erie of Huntindune
lying in these Quarters . . . rose in playne sedition
. . . a Preste of Alhalowes shot a shaft with her into
the Toppe of that part of St. Marye Church that divided
the Est Part that the monks usid ; and this Partition
chauncing at that tyme to be thakked yn the Rofe was
sette a fier, and consequently al the hole Chirch, the Lede
and Belles meltid, was defacid." After the fire the
monks were induced to agree to the legal transformation
of All Hallows' Chapel into the parish Church, in order
to get rid of the parishioners altogether.

The monks never removed the smaller doorway by
which the old Norman entrance was narrowed ; there
it stands to this day, a monument of that stormy time,
and connected with it there is still a curious tale to tell.
Among the eight parishioners who, " casting behind them
the fear of God," set up the obnoxious font in All Hallows,
and complained of the narrowed doorway, there was a
certain Richard Vowell. Anyone who now examines this
doorway will notice that the wall, which now blocks it
up, is almost wholly occupied by a large monumental
tablet to the memory of Benjamin Vowell, who died in
1783, and to his three wives; thus, as Professor Willis

Sherborne 85

neatly showed, the doorway which in the fifteenth century
Richard Vowell felt to be too narrow, Benjamin Vowell
in the eighteenth blocked up altogether. The " partition "
referred to, which was being thatched, must have been
the tower, which was being raised in height, and was
covered with a temporary roof of thatch to keep out the
rain ; no doubt, also, the new choir, which was already
built as high as the springing-stones of the vault, was also
thatched for the same purpose. The reddened stones in
the choir and tower still bear witness to this fire.

John Barnstaple, last Abbot of Sherborne, surrendered
the Abbey into the hands of King Henry VIII. on the
1 8th March, 1539. He received a pension of £100 a year,
and the Rectory of Stalbridge in 1540; this living had
been in the patronage of the Abbot and Convent. He
died in 1 560 ; we know neither the place of his death
nor of his burial, but he certainly was not buried at
Stalbridge ; he left a small legacy to Sherborne School.

Henry VIII. sold the Abbey Church, and the demesne
lands of the Abbey, to Sir John Horsey, of Clifton
Maybank ; Sir John, in 1540, sold the Abbey Church to
the parishioners ; the lead, however, with which the church
was roofed, had not been granted to Sir John, and the
parishioners had to buy that through him from the King.
The parishioners appear to have begun at once to sell
All Hallows for building stone. The parish accounts for
1540 and 1 541 are missing, but that for 1542-3 shows
the process of selling going merrily on, until, finally, in
the account for 1548-9, we get the last of it in such entries
as these : " George Swetnam, for vi. yerds off one syde
off the Tower, xxs. ; Robert ffoster, for foundation stones
of ye Northe Syde of ye Tower, xiiis. ; Mr. Sergyer, for
a yard off the grace table off the sowthe syde and for the
dore yn the north syde off ye Towr, xs." !

It may be interesting to set down here what the
parishioners paid for the Abbey Church and lead. We
have already noted that the parish accounts for 1540 and

86 Memorials of Old Dorset

i 541 are missing. They were not missing, however, in
the eighteenth century, as is evident from an entry in
the parish account book in use from 10th April, 1 721,
to 4th April, 1809. This entry is due to Francis Fisher,
a Sherborne attorney, who was steward to the Governors
of the School during the years 1720- 1730. He tells us
that by an indenture made the 28th September, 1545,
between the' King on the one part and Sir John Horsey
on the other, the parishioners paid £230 for the body of
the church and tower and for the lead. He adds that
the parish account rolls give us the following information :
In 1540 the parish paid £40 for the church, in 1541
£26 13s. 4d. for the same, in 1541 £17 17s. 6d. for the
bells of the Abbey, in 1542 £100 for the lead, in 1544
£%o in full payment for the church and lead. So that,
if the King got in 1545 £230, and the parish actually
paid £264 1 os. iod., Sir John put into his pocket the
balance. However we may regard this matter, the
parishioners of Sherborne made an excellent bargain.

No man can doubt but that the dissolution of the
monastery meant serious loss to Sherborne. Its Abbots
had ruled wisely and well, as far as we can judge, a
strip of territory stretching, though not in an unbroken
line, from Stalbridge to Exmouth. Anyone who will
make for himself a map of the manors in Dorset and
Devon belonging to our Abbey, will see that this is so ;
and besides these, our Abbey held other lands as well,
so that when Sherborne ceased to be the caput of this
fair estate, much that had once come our way ceased
to come hither any more. Though the presence of the
school here has in later times done much to redeem this
loss, one cannot say that it has entirely done so.

Of all the ancient institutions in Sherborne, that one
which has kept its dwelling-place longest, which is to-day
what it was before Wessex became one with England,
is Sherborne School. The old Castle is a ruin, the
Almshouse dates only from the fifteenth century, the

The Entrance to Sherborne School.

Sherborne 87

Abbey Church became the parish church only in 1540.
But the School, though it suffered pecuniary loss in 1539
by the dissolution of the monastery, suffered no breach
of continuity ; it was in existence when the Almshouse
was founded, it educated St. Stephen Harding in the
eleventh century, and we have no reason to think that
its existence suffered any break from Ealdhelm's day
till then. A school with such a history may well call
forth some reverence from those who love Wessex and
know something of its history. Our school has roots
which stretch down into the very beginnings of things
Christian among the West Saxons, and there is certainly
no existing school in Wessex that can rival its claim to
antiquity.

Sherborne School is fortunate in possessing many
ancient documents illustrative of its history ; among these
special mention must be made of a series of accounts
commencing in 1553 and continuing to the present time.
Only eleven are missing. Till towards the end of the
eighteenth century they are written on rolls of parchment,
and are for the most part in excellent condition. Besides
these there are a few early court rolls of the school manors
at Bradford Bryan and Barnesby, Lytchett Matravers and
Gillingham, and schedules and leases of its other lands.
Among these documents, too, are records belonging to
the old chantries, with the lands, of which Edward VI.
endowed the school ; some of these go back to the reign
of Henry VII.

There is no existing minute book of the governors'
proceedings older than that which begins in 1 592 ; but,
luckily, a draft of minutes exists relating to the years
1549 and 1550, relating, that is to say, to the time of
transition from the old condition of things which obtained
before the dissolution of the monastery, to the new
condition created by the charter granted to the school
by Edward VI. The series of minute books from 1592
onward is complete.

88 Memorials of Old Dorset

From the school statutes much can be gathered about
the character of the education given in the school. The
oldest statutes of the post-Reformation epoch are lost ;
they were based, as we learn from the accounts, on those
drawn up by Dean Colet for his school, once attached
to St. Paul's Cathedral. In 1592, however, a new set was
drawn up for the School of Sherborne by its visitor,
Richard Fletcher, Bishop of Bristol, who, as Dean of
Peterborough some years before, had imposed on him
the terrible task of attending Queen Mary Stuart on the
scaffold. Great stress is laid in these statutes on the
" abolishing of the Pope of Rome and all fforrein powers
superiorities and authorities." From time to time after
this new statutes were made to suit the changing
educational and political views. The statutes all still
exist, except those made in 1650 by the Puritans ; of
these all trace is lost, except the bill for engrossing them,
which amounted to 25s. Statutes were drawn up in 1662
by Gilbert Ironside, Bishop of Bristol, which the Governors
were unwilling to accept, because by these statutes the
headmaster was protected from arbitrary interference on
the part of the Governors. It was not till 1679 that
Bishop William Gulston succeeded in making them accept
a new body of statutes, which contain almost all that
Gilbert Ironside proposed, together with some additional
matter. In Bishop Ironside's draft and Bishop Gulston's
statutes, it is laid down that it is never lawful " for subjects
to take up armes ag1 theire Soveraigne upon any pretence
whoever." The language used in and out of school in
all official matters was Latin, and no scholar was to go
about the town alone, but with " a companion one of the
Schollars that may be a witness of his conversation and
behaviour under penalty of correction." The system of
monitorial rule has always been in vogue in the school ;
in 1592 these rulers are called Impositores — a somewhat
awkward term one must admit ; in 1662 and 1679 they
are called Prepositores ; nowadays they are called

Sherborne 89

Prefects. In 1679 they were four in number: "One for
discipline in the Schoole, to see all the Schollars demeane
themselves regularly there, the Second for manners both
in the Schoole and abroad any where, the Third for the
Churche and Fields, the Fourth to be Ostiarius, to sitt
by the doore, to give answere to strangers and to keepe
the rest from running out."

When the assizes were held at Sherborne, the judge
sat in what is now the schoolhouse dining-hall — it was then
the big schoolroom ; and just before the assizes took place,
we get from time to time an entry of the following kind
in the school accounts : " for washinge of ye King, 6d."
The King referred to is the statue of Edward VI., which
still adorns the room ; it is of painted Purbeck marble,
and is the work of a certain Godfrey Arnold ; it cost
£g 5s. 4d., and was set up in 1614.

The two royal coats of arms, which may still be seen
on the south wall of the old house of the headmaster,
and over the south door of the schoolhouse dining-hall,
were taken down by order of a Commonwealth official in
1650 ; but they were carefully preserved, and were restored
to their old positions at the Restoration. That on the
old house dates from 1560; that on the dining-hall from
1607. They used to be bright with tinctures and metals,
but since 1670 they have been "only washed over with
oil or some sad colour, without any more adorning." The
chronogram on the dining-hall is unique, for it can be
made to give two different dates, according to the ways
in which the significant letters are taken. Mr. Hilton,
our chief authority on chronograms, knows of no other
which gives two dates in this fashion. The first date
which our chronogram gives is 1550, the date of the
granting of the charter ; the second date which it gives
is 1670, that of the rebuilding of the dining-hall.

Among other school buildings of ancient date we must
not omit the library, partly of the thirteenth century,
but certainly restored in the fifteenth ; and the school

90 Memorials of Old Dorset

chapel, with its undercroft of the twelfth century, and
its upper story of the fifteenth. The undercroft is a
very precious relic of the past, but the school chapel,
which was once the Abbot's Hall, has undergone changes
and additions ; it still keeps its fine fifteenth century
timber roof. The library, on the other hand, has gone
through little change. It was the Guest House of the
Monastery, and has kept its timber roof of the fifteenth
century. It is curious that the windows on the east
side of the room are not quite opposite those on the
west side, nor is the divergence uniform ; the large
window in the south end of the room is not in the
middle of the wall, but rather towards the west side.

The modern buildings of the school harmonize well
with the older work, for they are all built of the same lovely
stone, and the style in which they are built, though it
is in no sense an imitation of this older work, is yet
in harmony with and worthy of it. One of these buildings
deserves more than passing notice, viz., the new big
schoolroom, completed in 1879. The whole group of
buildings, with its surroundings, classrooms, museum,
laboratory, drawing school, music house, Morris tube
range, bath and fives courts, deserves more attention than
it usually gets from visitors to Sherborne. These
sojourners often forget that the north side of the exterior
of the church is likely to be as interesting as the south
side ; if once they take the trouble to get to this north
side, they will be surprised to find how much fine work,
ancient and modern, is to be seen there.

Sherborne Old Castle is situated on an elevated piece
of ground to the east of the town ; this ground is about
300 yards long by 150 yards broad ; the surface has been
made level, and an oval area, 150 yards long by 105 yards
broad, has been traced out, and its edges scarped to a
steep slope, with a ditch about 45 feet deep. The
material taken away in forming this scarp and ditch has
been thrown outward, so that the counter scarp is formed

Sherborne 91

of a mound more or less artificial. It was within this
area, above described, that our Pageant of 1905 was given.

The remains of the Castle are as follows : parts of
the curtain wall, with the gatehouse, the keep, the chapel
and hall, along with other parts of the domestic buildings
— all ruinous. The builder of this castle was Bishop
Roger ; and William of Malmesbury, who knew it well,
has described the masonry in glowing terms. All that
remains is of this Norman period, though it was somewhat
restored and altered in the fifteenth century. The keep
belongs to the class of square keeps. To judge from
two windows of the chapel which still remain in a
fragmentary condition, that building must have been of
a very ornate character. The barrel vaulting of the
basement of the keep is worth study, and a Norman
pillar, still standing and supporting a quadripartite vault,
is well known to students of architecture. There is also
a Norman chimney with three flues in the gatehouse.

The ruinous condition of the Castle is not so much
due to time as to gunpowder, for in 1645, after the Castle
was taken by Fairfax, it was blown up by order of the
Long Parliament, so as to be no longer tenable as a
fortress. After this, while the troops of the Parliament
occupied Sherborne, their barracks were the school, and
their " Court of Guard " the schoolhouse dining-hall.

This is not the place to deal with the vicissitudes in
the tenure of Sherborne Castle — how the Bishops of
Sherborne lost and regained it. It finally passed from
Bishop Henry Cotton into the hands of Queen Elizabeth
in 1599. Sir Walter Ralegh had, however, been tenant
of it since 1592, and when Queen Elizabeth got the fee-
simple of it, she gave it to Ralegh. Ralegh, however, did
not care to live in it ; other magnates in this part of the
world were building fine modern houses, and he followed
their example. Thus arose the modern Castle, known in
former days as Sherborne Lodge, on the other side of
the lake, the central and loftier part of which is due to

92 Memorials of Old Dorset

Ralegh. There is no trace of any evidence that Sherborne
Castle was ever besieged before the great Civil War.
It was used at times in the Middle Ages as a prison ; for
example, in King John's reign. King John himself
stayed here in 1207 and in 12 16.

After some tragic vicissitudes the Sherborne estate
came to the Digbys in 161 7, and since this date, with
the exception of the troublous period of the great Civil
War, it has remained with them.

Sherborne Castle was twice besieged during the Civil
War, first in 1642, and again in 1645. The first siege was
uneventful and unimportant. In 1644 Charles I. had been
here after his successful campaign in the West ; Prince
Rupert, too, had come, and there had been great doings
with reviews of men in Sherborne Park, after which
followed the second battle of Newbury and the self-
denying ordinance and the creation of the New Model.
The second siege, that of 1645, was more important; not
only was Fairfax drawn hither by it, but Cromwell, too,
came as general of cavalry. Though the Parliamentary
troops destroyed much of the old castle that we should
like to see standing now, we must, on the whole, acquit
them of having done any great injury to the buildings
of the church or school.

In 1688, King William III. — then Prince of Orange —
on his advance from Exeter to London, stayed in the
modern castle here ; his proclamation to the English
people is said to have been printed in the drawing-room
at a printing-press set up on the great hearth-stone, which
was cracked by it.

Let us now turn to the last of our four ancient
institutions, viz., the Almshouse. This institution is
certainly older than the year 1437, in which year, by a
license from King Henry VI. to Robert Nevile, Bishop
of Sarum, to Humfrey Stafford, Kt, Margaret Goghe,
John Fauntleroy, and John Baret, it was refounded in
honour of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.

Sherborne 93

It is actually older than this, because some accounts of the
chanty exist for a few years prior to this date. Some
day, no doubt, the history of the institution will be more
fully worked out than it is at present. Plenty of material
exists in its account rolls which could hardly fail to throw
light on old Sherborne life.

According to the deed of foundation, there were, we
are told, to be twenty brethren, called the Masters of
SS. Johns' House — they are now called master and
brethren — together with a perpetual priest to pray for the
good estate and the souls of the founders and inmates.
The house was to contain twelve poor men and four
poor women, who were to be governed by one of them-
selves, called the Prior, of their own election, and a
woman of domestic ability was to buy their food and
dress it, wash their clothes and make their beds, who
should be called the Housewife of SS. Johns' House.
The older part of the building was finished in 1448, and
here still stand, not much altered from what they were
then, the chapel, ante-chapel, and dining-hall, with a long
dormitory over the dlning-hall ; this dormitory used to
open into the chapel, so that the sick and infirm might
hear the service, and, so far as they could, join in it.
The chapel contains an interesting triptych of the fifteenth
century by a Flemish artist, name unknown. One cannot
imagine a more desirable haven of rest than this for
those who are fortunate enough to become its inmates.

Enough has now been told to show that among old
English towns Sherborne holds a peculiarly interesting
place. It still keeps much of its old-world look and
ancient dignity, and its inhabitants, many of whom bear
the names of the old stock who were living here in
in the time of Henry VI., are a kindly race, among whom
it is a pleasure and a privilege to live.

MILTON ABBEY

By the Rev. Herbert Pentin, M.A.

IHE county of Dorset is one of the few counties in
England that contain three great minsters in good
repair and in parochial use — Sherborne,
Wimborne, and Milton. And each of these
minsters is of Saxon and Royal foundation. King
Athelstan, the grandson of Alfred the Great, founded the
Monastery and Collegiate Church of Milton for Secular
Canons, in or about the year 938. In the year 964 King
Edgar and Archbishop Dunstan of Canterbury converted
the monastery into an abbey, with forty Benedictine
monks, and chose a very able man, Cynewearde (or
Kynewardus), as the first Abbot. This Cynewearde, a
few years afterwards, to the loss of Milton, was made
Bishop of Wells.

The original minster built by Athelstan was a noble
stone building of its time, and was very rich in shrines
and relics. The King gave a piece of our Saviour's
Cross, a great cross of gold and silver with precious stones,
and many bones of the saints, which were placed in five
gilt shrines. The bones of his mother were also brought
to the church (for burial). We also know that the Saxon
Minster was restored and enlarged, if not rebuilt, in
Norman times. It has been reasonably conjectured that
the size of the Norman Abbey was that of the choir and
presbytery of the present church. Some large fragments

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Milton Abbey

95

of Norman masonry have been dug up,1 which show that
the Norman Abbey was a building of some considerable
architectural pretensions ; and encased in the south wall
of the present choir and presbytery are the remains of
two enriched Norman arches which escaped destruction
in the fire of 1309. In that year the church was struck
by lightning, and was almost entirely burnt to the ground.

King Athelstan.
Founder of Milton Abbey.

{From a Painting in the Church.)

" Athelstan's Mother."

Buried in Milton Abbey.

{From a Painting in the Church.)

Thirteen years later, however, under Abbot Walter
Archer, the present Abbey Church was commenced on
the same site, but on a much larger and grander scale ;
and building operations went on, from time to time,

1 One of these Norman fragments was sent in 1904, as a relic, to the
parish church of Milton, near Boston, Massachusetts. The American town
of Milton, incorporated in 1662, was named after Milton, in Dorset, and the
crest on its corporate seal is a reproduction of the west front of Milton
Abbey (see illustration at the end of this chapter).

96 Memorials of Old Dorset

until within a short period before the Dissolution in

1539-

The following styles of architecture are represented

in the main portions of the church, built of stone from
Ham Hill and Tisbury: — First Decorated, the choir and
presbytery of seven bays, with aisles ; Second Decorated,
the south transept ; Third Decorated, the two western
piers of the " crossing " ; Perpendicular, the north transept
and central tower. The Perpendicular work was under-
taken by the penultimate Abbot, William de Middleton,
assisted by Bishop Thomas Langton, of Salisbury and
of Winchester, the Abbey of Cerne, and the families of
Bingham, Coker, Latimer, Morton, and others.

At the Dissolution, the Abbey estates were granted by
Henry VIII. to Sir John Tregonwell, who had helped to
procure the King's divorce from Catharine of Aragon ;
but the whole of the Abbey Church was preserved for
the parishioners, with the exception of the Ladye Chapel,
which was pulled down, although some of its vaulting
shafts can still be seen outside the east end of the
church. The last of the Abbots (John Bradley, B.D.),
after leaving Milton in Tregonwell's hands, was con-
secrated Suffragan Bishop of St. Asaph, with the title
of Bishop of Shaftesbury,1 and the Abbey Church of
Milton then passed under the sole spiritual control of
Richard Hall, Vicar of Milton, and his successors.

Unfortunately, the Abbey underwent a " restoration "
in 1789, when the church was despoiled of many of its
fittings ; and chantry chapels and other valuable objects
of interest went down under the hand of the " restorer."
But Sir Gilbert Scott, in 1865, restored the church at the

1 It is curious that the first Abbot and the last Abbot of Milton should
have become bishops, while none of the intervening abbots were raised to
the episcopate. It is true that in 1261 William de Taunton, Abbot of
Milton, was elected to the bishopric of Winchester, but he desisted from
his right. A Milton monk, however, in 1292, filled the See of Salisbury
(Nicholas Longspee) ; and Thomas Jan, a native of Milton, became Bishop
of Norwich in 1499.

■VV. ....

■/ .'■ ■•'.. .. .... ti . .

• v. , > '• ■• •• ;• '••

A v « & .* . j

N

Milton Abbey: Interior.

Milton Abbey

97

expense of the late Baron Hambro, and left the Abbey
in its present beautiful condition, and, as far as was
possible, in its original state.

The Tabernacle.

H

98 Memorials of Old Dorset

The view of the church at the beginning of this
chapter will save the necessity of a description of its
exterior. But the interior contains many things which
demand notice.

And first of all must be mentioned the " ornament,"
which many antiquaries consider to be a Tabernacle for
reserving the Eucharist. This very beautiful and richly
carved " Sacrament-house " dates from the fifteenth
century, and is made of oak in the form of a spire
composed of four storeys, the lowest containing the
opening through which the reserved elements may have
been passed. It is not in its original position, but is now
fastened to the west wall of the south transept beneath
the triforium.

The great altar-screen is a very lofty, beautiful, and
peculiarly rich construction, even though the two long
rows of ornamental niches now lack the statues of the
saints that once stood in them — saints with " very bluff
countenances, painted in very bright colours and heavily
gilded." On its lower portion there is a Latin inscription,
which bids prayers for the souls of William Middleton,
Abbot of Milton, and Thomas Wilken, Vicar of the parish,
who worthily decorated (" honorifice depinxerunt ") the
screen in 1492. The three stone sedilia in the sanctuary
are fine specimens. The bosses throughout the church
are of very rich design.

The Abbey also contains two fifteenth century oil
paintings of a crude description, one of which represents
Athelstan, the founder, giving to the first head of the
monastery a model of the minster (with three spires)1 over
which he was to preside. The other painting is supposed
to represent Athelstan's mother — Egwynna, " femina
illustris" 2

1 In the thirteenth century seal of the Abbey " the Church of Midelton "
is also represented with three spires.

2 See Dorset Nat. Hist, and Antiquarian Field Club's Proceedings,
vol. xxvi., 201 ff.

Milton Abbey 99

The tombs of the abbots within the Abbey are most
interesting. In front of the altar steps there is a Purbeck
marble grave-slab of the fourteenth century, which was
once inlaid with the brass figure of an abbot clad in
pontificalia, with a marginal Latin inscription in Lom-
bardic capitals -.

ABBA : VALTERE : TE : FATA : CITO : RAPVERE : TE :
RADINGA : DEDIT : SED : MORS : MALE : NOS :
TVA : LEDIT.

This is the slab of an Abbot of Milton whose
Christian name was Walter, and who was formerly a monk
of Reading, probably Walter de Sydelinge, who died in
13 15. In the north transept there is a thirteenth
century grave-slab of another abbot. This slab is also
of Purbeck marble, but the upper portion is broken off.
The remaining portion shows part of an incised figure of
an abbot, with pastoral staff, chasuble, stole, maniple,
alb, and an imperfect marginal inscription in Norman
French :

VVS ; KI : PAR ; I • CI • PASSET : PVR \ LEALME j
PRIE...

...RCI i LISET j LE • PARDVN j I \ CH

There are other large marble grave-slabs, without
inscriptions, in the church, which are supposed to cover
abbots, monks, and benefactors. On some there are the
matrices of missing brasses. One, in front of the altar
steps, shows the outline of a civilian in a plain gown,
and his wife wearing a " butterfly " head-dress, with
their five sons and four daughters, circa 1490. In St.
John the Baptist's Chapel, at the east end of the north
aisle of the church, there is a small fifteenth century
brass to John Artur, one of the monks of the Abbey,

1 This inscription is discussed in the Dorset Nat. Hist, and Antiquarian
Field Club's Proceedings, vol. xxv., 191 ff. It announces an indulgence to
those passers-by who pray for the soul of the deceased abbot (possibly
William de Stokes, who died in 1256).

ioo Memorials of Old Dorset

with a Latin inscription, which bids God have mercy
on his soul. In the same chapel, a very fine coloured
armorial brass over Sir John Tregonwell's altar-
tomb contains the latest tabard example on a brass in
England (1565).1

But to mention all the ancient or modern memorials
(some of wondrous beauty, such as those of Lord and
Lady Milton, and Baron Hambro) would take far too much
space. A marble tablet in the vestry informs the reader
that John Tregonwell, Esquire, who died in the year 1680,
" by his last will and testament gave all the bookes
within this vestry to the use of this Abby Church for
ever, as a thankfuld acknowledgement of God's wonderfull
mercy in his preservation when he fell from the top of
this Church." This incident happened when he was a
child ; he was absolutely uninjured, his stiff skirts having
acted as a parachute.2 The chained library of sixty-six
leather-bound volumes comprises the works of the Latin
and Greek Fathers and other early Christian writers, and
some standard theological works of the seventeenth
century. The books have been kept at the vicarage for
many years.

The abbey now contains very little painted glass.3

1A full description of these brasses appeared in The Antiquary for
March, 1904.

2 A full account of this incident and of the bequest appears in Heath
and Prideaux's Some Dorset Manor Houses, pp. 199, 200.

3 In connection with the glass in the windows of Milton Abbey, it
may oe of interest to add the tradition that John Milton " planned " his
// Penseroso at Milton, and that the following lines in the poem are
supposed to have been suggested to him by the Abbey Church :

But let my due feet never fail

To walk the studious cloister's pale,

And love the high embowed roof

With antic pillars massy proof,

And storied windows richly dight

Casting a dim religious light ;

There let the pealing organ blow,

To the full voiced quire below,

In service high and anthems clear

As may with sweetness, through mine ear,

Dissolve me into ecstasies,

And bring all heav'n before mine eyes.

Milton Abbey

ioi

There is a large " Jesse window " by the elder Pugin in
the south transept, and some coloured coats of arms and
devices of kings, nobles, and abbots in some of the other
windows. The dwarfed east window contains the only
pre-Reformation glass in the church.1 The Abbatial
Arms are emblazoned in several parts of the building.
They consist of three baskets of bread, each containing
three loaves. On one of the walls in the south aisle, near
the vestry, there is the carved coloured rebus of Abbot
William de Middleton, with the date 15 14 in Arabic
numerals — the 4 being represented by half an eight.

Abbot Middlkton's Rebus.

It comprises the letter W with a pastoral staff,
and a windmill on a large cask — in other words,
a mill and a tun (Mil-ton). The old miserere seats
still remain in the choir, but the carving thereon is not
very elaborate, and many of them have been renewed.
The inscriptions on the Communion plate (which consists
of two large silver barrel-shaped flagons, a bell-shaped
chalice, and a large and a small paten) tell us that " John
Chappell, Sitteson and Stationer of London, 1637," and

1 A full description of this glass {temp. Henry VII.) appeared in The
Antiquary for May, 1907.

102 Memorials of Old Dorset

"Mary Savage, 1658," and " Maddam Jane Tregonwell,
widdow, 1675," gave these to " Milton Abby."

There are several other interesting things in the
church, albeit not ancient — e.g., the rood-loft, the font, and
the pulpit.

The rood-loft, although not entirely ancient, is
composed of ancient materials. When the party-walls of
St. John the Baptist's Chapel, the chantry of Abbot
William de Middleton, and other side-chapels, were
destroyed or mutilated at the "restoration" in 1789,
some of the materials were used to reconstruct the rood-
loft. The eastern cornice, for instance, is probably a
portion of Abbot Middleton's chantry, and bears thirteen
coats of arms, including those of the Abbeys of Milton,
Sherborne, and Abbotsbury, and the families of Chidiock,
Latimer, Lucy, Stafford of Hooke, Thomas of Wood-
stock, and others.

The font of the Abbey, in the south transept, is
modern, but of unusual design. It is composed of two
beautiful life-sized white marble female figures, repre-
senting Faith and Victory, with a baptismal shell at their
feet.

Near the font is an oak case containing a fourteenth
century coffin chalice and paten, and fragments of a
wooden pastoral staff and sandals, discovered during the
restoration of the church in 1865.1

The pulpit is also modern, of carved oak ; but it is
interesting, because it contains statues of all the patron
saints connected with the Abbey and the parish, and of
these there are no fewer than six, viz. : St. Sampson of
Dol, St. Branwalader,2 St. Mary the Blessed Virgin,

1 A full description of these burial relics appeared in The Antiquary
for July, 1905.

2 It is possible that Athelstan found a Celtic sanctuary at Milton
dedicated to these two Celtic bishops, and retained the dedications for his
new minster in order to conciliate the vanquished race. Such a graceful
act would be quite in keeping with the King's imperial maxim :
" Gloriosus regem facer e quam regem esse,"

Milton Abbey

103

St. Michael the warrior-archangel, St. Catherine of
Alexandria, and St. James the Great.

St. Catherine of Alexandria is the patron-saint of
" King Athelstan's Chapel," which stands in the woods at
the top of the hill to the east of the Abbey. And
this little church has also had a history well worth
the telling. When Athelstan was fighting for his throne
he had to pass through the county of Dorset, and
he encamped on Milton Hill, and threw up an earth-
work, or made use of one already existing there, the
remains of which can still be seen beyond the east end
of the chapel. During the night he believed that some
supernatural revelation was made to him, assuring him
that he would conquer his many enemies and become
King of all England. He pushed on, and at Brunanburh,
" Christ helping him, he had the victory, and there slew
five kings and seven earls " (Saxon Chronicle). The song
commemorating this important and decisive victory is
given in the Old English Chronicle ; and the first stanza
of Professor Freeman's version and that of Lord Tennyson
reads thus :

Now ^Ethelstan King,

Of Earls the Lord,

In warriors the ring giver

And his brother eke,

Eadmund ^Etheling,

Eld-long glory

Won in the fight

With the swords' edge

By Brunanburh,

The boardwall they clave,

And hewed the war-linden,

With hammer's leavings

Offspring of Eadward.

Freeman.

Athelstan King,
Lord among Earls,
Bracelet bestower and
Baron of Barons,
He, with his brother
Edmund Atheling
Gaining a life-long
Glory in battle,
Slew with the sword-edge
There by Brunanburh,
Brake the shield-wall,
Hew'd the linderwood,
Hack'd the battle-shield,
Sons of Edward, with
hammer'd brands.

Tennyson.

104

Memorials of Old Dorset

Athelstan, being a thoroughly religious man, as well
as a great warrior, expressed his thankfulness to God in
the way usual in those times. He founded the monastery
at Milton, and erected the ecclesiola, afterwards dedi-
cated to St. Catherine, within the entrenchment where
he received the remarkable revelation. Chapels on the
top of hills were often dedicated to St. Catherine of
Alexandria, on account of the legend which tells that

St. Catherine's Chapel.

St. Catherine's body was buried by angels on Mount
Sinai. Other instances, in many places, of this dedication
with its connection still remain — in Dorset, for example,
at Abbotsbury and Holworth. The little church at Milton
did its work in Saxon times, and then underwent a con-
siderable restoration in Norman days. It also underwent
a lesser restoration in the early part of the sixteenth
century. As it stands at present, it consists of a nave
and chancel. The main walls, which are very thick, and

Milton Abbey 105

the door arches are Norman. On the west jamb of the
south door there is a curious and rare inscription in
Lombardic capitals relating to an indulgence :

INDVLGENCIA j H' j SCI j LOCI i C : E ; X ■ DIES :l

The windows in the nave are Early Norman and Perpen-
dicular. The old west front was taken down for some
reason in the eighteenth century, and at this time
an effigy of a monk in his habit (lying along and resting
on his hands, looking down at the Abbey below) was
destroyed. Some paintings also perished at the same
time. The chancel was also partly rebuilt, and the roof
raised, but the Transition-Norman chancel-arch was
preserved. On the south side of the altar is a pedestal,
on which the statue of St. Catherine may have formerly
stood. The encaustic tiles in the chancel were removed
from the Abbey Church in the year 1865. Some of these
mediaeval tiles are heraldic, and contain the arms of the
See of Exeter, the Earls of Cornwall, Gloucester and
Hertford, and others. A tile manufactured at Malvern
has an inscription and date, 1456.

In pre-Reformation days King Athelstan's Chapel was
possibly used as the capella extra portas — the chapel, that
is, outside the gates of the monastery, at which strangers
and women who were not admitted within the gates
might hear Mass. That women used St. Catherine's
Chapel for another purpose is also possible. St. Catherine
is the patron-saint of spinsters, and in days gone by she
was supposed to have the power of finding a husband for
those who sought her aid. The following Milton rhymes

1 This thirteenth century inscription is discussed in the Dorset Nat. Hist,
and Antiquarian Field Club's Proceedings, vol. xxv., 187 ff. One wonders if
this indulgence was granted by Robert Kilwarby, Archbishop of Canterbury,
on the occasion of his visit to Milton Abbey in 1277. The indulgence was
offered, presumably, to those who would contribute to the fabric fund of the
chapel.

106 Memorials of Old Dorset

in use to-day may be echoes of the mediaeval Latin
doggerels : —

St. Catherine, St. Catherine, O lend me thine aid,
And grant that I never may die an old maid.

A husband, St. Catherine,
A good one, St. Catherine ;
But arn-a-one better than
Narn-a-one, St. Catherine.

Sweet St. Catherine,
A husband, St. Catherine,
Handsome, St. Catherine,
Rich, St. Catherine,
Soon, St. Catherine.

After the Reformation the chapel was allowed to
decay and to become desecrated. In the eighteenth
century there is a record that it was being used as a
pigeon-house. Then, when more houses were needed
in the parish, the " Chapel Royal " was turned into a
labourer's cottage — the interior was whitewashed, and a
ceiling added ; the chancel became a bedroom, and the
nave a living room, with a kitchen grate and chimney
affixed. Afterwards the little church was used as a
carpenter's workshop, and then as a lumber store. But,
in 1 901, the neglected building was cleaned out, and a
service was held there on St. Catherine's night (November
25th). The parishioners assembled in the building, the
roof of which was full of holes (admitting ivy, wind and
wet), the windows had long been broken, and the south
wall was dangerously bulging. Confession of wrong was
made for the past desecrations, and prayers were offered
that the Church of St. Catherine might for the future be
reverently treated as a " holy place " (as the Indulgence-
inscription calls it) ; and, happily, the building has since
been most conservatively restored by Mr. Everard Hambro,
the lord of the manor. Thus, the little church which
commemorates a very critical event in the early history
of England has been saved from further desecration and

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Milton Abbey

107

decay ; and King Athelstan's Chapel is once again used
for the service of God, while remaining a valuable historic
relic of Saxon days.

Another capella belonging to the Abbey, but now in
private ownership, has been less fortunate. Liscombe
Chapel,1 in the parish of Milton, five miles from the
Abbey Church and two miles from Chesilborne, is still
desecrated. This little building, built principally of flint,
stone, and large blocks of rock chalk, is entire, and consists

Liscombe Chapel.

of chancel and nave, divided by a handsome Transition-
Norman arch, with massive rounded columns. The east
window and the two other chancel windows are Norman,
with some later work inserted. But the chapel of
Liscombe has been desecrated for a long time. The nave
thereof is now used as a bakehouse (there is a large open
grate, oven, and chimney in the centre), and the chancel
is used as a log-house. A flight of stone stairs has been

1 A full account of Liscombe appeared in the Dorset Nat. Hist, and
Antiquarian Field Club's Proceedings, vol. xxvi., 1 ff.

io8 Memorials of Old Dorset

erected in the chancel, which leads to the bedrooms over
the bakehouse and log-house. The bedrooms have been
ceiled, and the whole interior of the little church has
been whitewashed, including the handsome chancel arch ;
the roof of the building is of thatch. An old stone
sundial is preserved in the west wall. Warne, in his
Ancient Dorset, states that the chapel is credited with
being " tenanted by a supernatural visitor " ; and this is
still believed by the country folk. The house adjoining
this desecrated sanctuary is also ancient, and built chiefly
of flint and stone. It possesses several interesting win-
dows of various dates (including a loup in the east wall),
and an old stone sundial on its south wall. The interior
contains some oak-work, portions of which may be
pre-Reformation. This house is now used as a labourer's
cottage ; but there is a tradition that it was formerly
inhabited by the monks, who ministered (" Divina
celebrant: ") in the little church. And the building itself,
from its position and evident antiquity, lends colour to the
tradition ; but there are marks that it became the manor
farmhouse after the Dissolution. There is also a tradition
that the stream which now runs through the hamlet of
Liscombe was formerly larger than it is now, and that
there were fish-ponds close by, and that the monks at
Liscombe supplied their over-lord, the Abbot of Milton,
with fresh-water fish.

Milton Abbey also possessed three other Norman
capellae — in Woolland, Whitcombe, and Holworth respec-
tively ; but Woolland is now a separate ecclesiastical
parish ; Whitcombe is a donative held by the Rector of
Came (it was held for many years by William Barnes, the
Dorset poet) ; and Holworth, alone of the three, still
remains a part of the ecclesiastical parish of Milton.

Holworth is sixteen miles from the Abbey Church,
and now possesses a modern chapel, on a hill near the
" Burning Cliff," known as the Chapel of St. Catherine-
by-the-Sea. It is said that in days gone by the monks

Milton Abbey 109

at Holworth supplied their Abbot, at Milton, with salt-
water fish. The hamlet of Holworth, overlooking
Weymouth Bay and Portland Roads, has been well
described as resting in " a most lonely and most lovely
valley by the sea, an earthly paradise, which those who
have discovered cherish and dream about. It is far away
from the haunts of men, and remote from the cares of life ;
where the newspaper is two days' old before it invades
the religious calm of a mind attuned by the most exquisite
scenery to rise to thoughts above this world ; where one
may walk along the undulating downs that skirt the
Channel, held in place by parapets of cliff that break
down straight into the sea ; where one may walk mile
after mile on natural lawn and not meet a soul — just one's
self, the birds, the glorious scenery, and God."1

The hamlet of Holworth is, indeed, worthy of being
a portion of the parish that is acknowledged to be one
of the most beautiful places in Dorset. The village of
Milton lies enfolded between richly-wooded hills, at the
foot of a wonderfully picturesque descent. Sir Frederick
Treves, in his Highways and Byways in Dorset, says
that " there is nothing like to it in any part of England."
He calls it a " surprising " village, " a toy town." The
first impression on seeing it " is one of amazement, for the
place is both extraordinary and unexpected." Each of
the houses is of the same pattern, and each is separated
from the others by a chestnut tree. The builder of this
unique village, as will be seen, was Joseph, Lord Milton
(afterwards Earl of Dorchester). The old town of Milton
lay near the south side of the Abbey Church ; but the
ancient town was pulled down by Lord Milton about the

1 The loneliness of Holworth has also been remarked upon by Thomas
Hardy in his smuggling story, "The Distracted Preacher" {IVessex Tales).
Such a lonely spot, with its under-cliff sheltered by "White Nose" — the great
white promontory jutting like an enormous Wellington nose into the sea —
naturally attracted smugglers, who, as tradition says, hid their goods in the
tower of the neighbouring parish church of Owermoigne. In this church
there is an interesting inscription recording the will of " Adam Jones of
Holworth, in the parish of Abbotsmilton " {tie), 1653.

no Memorials of Old Dorset

year 1780, as it was too close to his new mansion (in
which he had incorporated the magnificent fifteenth cen-
tury monastic refectory),! and proved an annoyance to him.
The death, in 1775, of his wife ("the most noble and
most excellent Lady Caroline, Lady Milton, daughter of
Lyonel, Duke of Dorset, the wisest and most lovely, the
best and most virtuous of women "), to whom he was
passionately attached, and the suicide, in the following
year, of his eldest son (the husband of " the beautiful
Anne Seymour Damer " 1), probably had a hardening
influence on Lord Milton's character, and made him use
his giant's strength tyrannously like a giant. At any
rate, he swept away the old town, and the " new town "
was then built, further off, as a substitute. Some frag-
mentary particulars of the old town of Milton have been
gathered together,2 which perhaps are of sufficient
interest to be reproduced here.

The old town was one of the most ancient in Dorset.
It grew up with the Abbey, and was known as Middleton
(of which Milton is a contraction), because it was the
middle town of the county. It contained shops of all
kinds, four inns, a pre-Reformation Grammar School, alms-
houses built in 1674, and a brewery, which helped to
supply Weymouth, Poole, and other large towns in Dorset.
Milton Abbey ales were at one time among the most
famous in the county ; they could also be obtained in
London. The tradesmen of old Milton were prosperous,
but the "working classes" were very poor. Their staple
food was barley cake ; and to keep down expenses they
saved every morsel of fat and made their own candles in
pewter moulds. Two, if not more, of the leading shop-
keepers issued " tokens " in the seventeenth century,3

1 See Mary Craven's Famous Beauties of Two Reigns, pp. 141- 151.

2 See Old Milton, and Dorset Nat. Hist, and Antiquarian Field Club's
Proceedings, vol. xxv., 1 ff.

3 Zanchy Harvyn, grocer, of " Abby Milton," was the second trades-
man in Dorset to issue a " token" (1651).

*

a •?

^

Milton Abbey hi

specimens of which exist ; and among the old parish
papers are a number of apprenticeship indentures which
bound poor boys to various tradesmen in the place.
The girls of the parish were taught to spin.

The handsome fifteenth century market cross was one
of the finest in the kingdom, quite worthy of its position
near the Abbey Church. It had an ascent of no fewer
than thirty steps. Its site is marked in the present park
by a very massive octagonal socket stone, which is said
to be a portion of the original cross. The parish registers
state that, in the days of the Commonwealth, banns of
marriage were published "in the markett."1 The weekly
market was well attended, it being the central market
of the county, and was held around the market cross.
The annual fair was held on St. Sampson's Eve and
Day, July 27th and 28th, St. Sampson being the chief
patron saint of the Abbey. This fair, like the market,
was granted by King Athelstan ; but it was practically
discontinued when the old town was pulled down.

The sports in old Milton were badger-baiting under
the cedar trees in the Abbey churchyard ; cock-squailing,
cock-fighting, and " fives," outside the west end of the
church ; bowls were played on the bowling green, and
ringing was very popular. The ringers only claimed
" bread and beare " for their services each year — on the
Restoration Day of Charles II. (May 29th), on Guy
Fawkes' Day (November 5th), and on Christmas Day.
They were also paid on special occasions, such as " for
ringing ye Bishope throu Towne " ; but episcopal visits
were rare. During Lent the children went " shroving "
and " Lent crocking." On Shrove Tuesday the children,

1 See Milton Abbey Marriage Registers, in Phillimore's " Dorset "
series. But during the years 1657-8 the banns of some of the more zealous
church-people were published in the church.

ii2 Memorials of Old Dorset

carrying sticks, knocked at the doors of the principal
residents and repeated this doggerel verse :

Please I've come a-shroving
For a piece of pancake,
Or a little ruckle cheese
Of your own making.
If you don't give me some,
If you don't give me none,
I'll knock down your door
With a great marrow bone
And a-way I'll run.

The result of this threat was that the children were given
hot half-pence, apples, eggs, a piece of pancake, or a
hunch of ruckle-cheese. A ruckle-cheese was a small
sour-milk home-made cheese, weighing about one pound.
It could be ruckled — i.e., rolled along the ground. Hence
its name. In the evening the " Lent-crocking " began.
Those people who had not given the children anything
when they came " a-shroving " were then punished by having
pieces of crockery and pans and other missiles thrown at
their doors. In this way real damage was often done,
and the two parish constables do not seem to have
interfered. The practice of shroving is still continued in
the present village of Milton : it is one of the customs
that have survived the demolition of the old town. It
obtains in other Dorset parishes, but is gradually dying
out.

The Abbey churchyard was a very large one. Its area
was about three times the area of the Abbey Church.
The sports which took place therein have been already
mentioned. It was also used as a public flogging-place
for offenders against the law. Lord Milton, when he
decided to pull down the old town, had all the headstones
in the churchyard removed, broken up, or buried. In
converting the churchyard into lawns, many bones of
parishioners were turned up and irreverently treated ; and

Milton Abbey 113

the superstitious tradition in the present village is that,
in consequence of this, Lord Milton died of a gruesome
disease. There was an ancient cross in the churchyard
called the " Druid's Cross," and also a preaching cross.1
It is hardly necessary to add that these perished with the
churchyard.

The old Grammar School, founded by Abbot
Middleton in 1521, was also pulled down. It was one of
the chief public schools in the south-west of England, and
was known as " the Eton of the West."2 It had, as a rule,
between eighty to one hundred boys, mostly boarders,
sons of the leading county families. There were several
boarding-houses for the boys in Milton, and the existence
of the school helped on the prosperity of the town. Two
of its most distinguished alumni were Thomas Masterman
Hardy, Nelson's favourite captain, who in after life did
not forget his old friends at Milton3 ; and Thomas
Beach, a native of Milton, the famous Dorset portrait
painter, who from 1772 to 1800 "limned the features of
everybody who was anybody."

It must be admitted, reluctantly, that the Grammar
School boys were an undoubted nuisance to Lord Milton.
They lived within a stone's throw of his mansion, they
broke into his privacy and seclusion, they scoured his
gardens and plantations in every direction, stole his fruit,
and disturbed his game. Records exist of the expulsion
of some boys bearing the most honoured of Dorset names
for persistent stone-throwing down chimneys, and for
stealing cucumbers from the Abbey gardens, and game-
fowl eggs for the purpose of rearing birds to compete
in fighting. In the Abbey Church the Grammar School

1 See Alfred Pope's The Old Stone Crosses of Dorset, pp. 69-71.

2 See Milton Abbey and its School, chap. ii.

3 See Broadley and Bartelot's The Three Dorset Captains at Trafalgar,
124.

ii4 Memorials of Old Dorset

boys sat in a large gallery which stretched from the
rood-loft to the west wall. This gallery was pulled down
by Lord Milton's orders as soon as he had removed the
school. The head-master and assistant-masters of the
school, being in Holy Orders, frequently held the position
of Vicar or Curate of the Abbey Church. Among them
was John Hutchins, the Dorset historian, who was Curate
of the Abbey and " usher " of the school.1

It must not be thought that Lord Milton's " fine
quarter-deck high-handedness " aroused no outcry. The
parishioners regarded his action as a cruel piece of
tyranny, and they resisted it with stubborn and obstinate
opposition.2 For over twenty years his lordship was
involved in considerable trouble and expense while
gradually getting all the houses into his possession, in
order that he might raze them to the ground. Mr.
Harrison, a resident solicitor, refused to sell his lease,
although he was offered three times its value ; so Lord
Milton let the water from the "Abbot's Pond" (a small
pond which then lay just below the Abbey Church) creep
around the premises. Mr. Harrison at once entered an
action against his lordship for flooding his house, and the
lawyer won the case. A few days afterwards Lord
Milton went to London, and on his way to Blandford he
heard the Abbey bells ringing. This he interpreted as
a sign of parochial joy at his defeat and departure ; and
nothing would satisfy him but the sale of the offending
bells. The bells were really ringing to commemorate

1 During Hutchins' residence at Milton, the Lord of the Manor (Mr. Jacob
Bancks, M.P.) employed him to make some antiquarian researches concerning
Sir John Tregonwell ; and while making these researches Hutchins conceived
the idea of writing a book on the antiquities of Dorset. He began to collect
materials, and at Milton laid the plan of his monumental history. His wife,
Ann Stephens, is described in the Melcombe Bingham marriage registers as
belonging to the parish of Milton.

2 This fight between squire and people recalls Thomas Hardy's allusion, in
The Woodlanders, to " Middleton Abbey" as being a place where one might
gain strength, " particularly strength of mind."

Milton Abbey 115

Guy Fawkes' Day ■ it was November 5th. But the bells
had to go : " the autocrat " had spoken. And his friend,
the Dean of Norwich, had said that "bell-ringing caused
much idleness and drinking." There is a record that,
when the parishioners saw their bells carted away, they
stood at their house-doors weeping, even though two of
the bells were saved for the new Church of St. James.

In pulling down the old town Lord Milton preserved
the Abbey Church, and employed James Wyatt to restore
it. Much havoc was then wrought in the interior, but
at the same time the vast building underwent a thorough
repair, which it needed very badly. There is a tradition
that this restoration cost Lord Milton no less than
£60,000 ; but this seems a fabulous sum.

With the materials from the demolished buildings of
the old town Lord Milton built the present village of
Milton (he also built some ecclesiastical-looking sham
" ruins " in the park, which are still standing) ; l and the
stone and timber from the old Abbey tithe-barn were used
to construct a new church in the new village. The few
interesting things in this church, which is dedicated to
St. James the Great, were originally possessions of the
Abbey — two bells of the fourteenth and sixteenth
centuries respectively, a thirteenth century Purbeck marble
octagonal font, an old pulpit, two pewter plates, two oak
coffin-stools, and three elaborately-bound volumes, in
black letter, of Fox's Acts and Monuments of the
Christian Martyrs (1632), which aforetime were chained
in the Abbey to a desk covered with " red shagg " and
studded with 200 brass nails.

But although St. James' Church suffers loss by
comparison with the other more ancient churches in the
parish, its churchyard is remarkable in that it is higher

1 A full account of these " ruins " appeared in the Dorset Nat. Hist,
and Antiquarian Field Club's Proceedings, vol. xxvi., 195 ff.

n6

Memorials of Old Dorset

than the church itself. The dead are buried not below
the level of the church, but above the level of its roof.
This is certainly unusual.

Yet it may be regarded as a fitting -finale for the
inhabitants of a parish that has been described truly as
" a curiosity, surprising, and remarkable."

The Seal of the town of

Milton in America.

Incorporated 1662.

WIMBORNE MINSTER

By the Rev. Thomas Perkins, M.A.

jIMBORNE MINSTER, as it is called to
distinguish it from the village of Wimborne
St. Giles and Monkton-up-Wimborne, is at
the present day a bright, clean, prosperous-
looking little market town, showing few remains of olden
times save in its church. There is no doubt that its name
is connected with the little river or " bourne " on which
it stands, for the two villages mentioned above, bearing
names of which Wimborne forms a part, stand on the
same stream, which, like some other Dorset rivers — the
Var or Frome, the Piddle or Trent — bears two names, the
Wim or the Allen.

And yet it is an ancient place. Here, early in the
eighth century, Cudburh, or Cuthberga, sister of Ine, the
famous King of the West Saxons, whose laws were the
foundation of the liberties of his subjects, and show a
spirit of tolerance hitherto unknown towards the conquered
Celts, founded a nunnery. Here, in 851, the then Earl
of Devon is said to have defeated the Danes ; here
^Ethelred, the brother and immediate predecessor of
^Elfred on the West Saxon throne, having died of a
wound received in battle with the Danes, we know not
where, was buried in 871. Hither came the Danes again,
plundering the town and destroying the convent. Hither,
too, after the death of Alfred, in 901, came ^Ethelwold,
the ^Etheling (son of Alfred's brother,, ^Ethelred, who
had been passed over as too young to rule when his

117

n8 Memorials of Old Dorset

father died) rebelling against the new King, Alfred's son,
Eadward the Unconquered, and possessed himself of
Wimborne. Eadward marched from the south against
him, and encamped within the rampart of Badbury
Rings, a few miles to the west of Wimborne ; hence he
sent a message to ^Ethelwold, bidding him surrender.
To this ^Ethelwold returned stout answer that he would
either live or die in Wimborne. But after the messenger
had gone back he took counsel with himself, and decided
that as the first alternative was impossible, and the second
unpleasant, he would see if a third course were not open
to him — namely, to live elsewhere. So he fled to
Normandy, and thence to Northumberland, which was
then under Danish rule, and, throwing in his lot with the
enemies of Wessex, he collected a band of freebooters
from beyond the sea, and received some assistance from
the East Anglian Danes. But all to no purpose, for the
" Unconquered " King overthrew him and his Danish
allies in many fights, and recovered all the booty they
had carried off.

But it is the church that is the centre of interest of
Wimborne. Ine, King of the West Saxons, had two
sisters, perhaps more, but only two are connected with
Wimborne. Cuthberga was betrothed to the Northumbrian
King, ^Ecgfred, or Osric, as he is often called, but when
she met him she found his rough northern manners and
his intemperate habits little in harmony with her more
refined disposition and mode of life. Therefore, she
persuaded him to allow her to devote herself to a religious
life, and retired to the nunnery at Barking ; and afterwards,
at what exact date we do not know, but probably not
later than 705, she founded a nunnery at Wimborne, her
sister being associated with her in the work. Both of
these royal ladies were buried within the precincts, and
in due time canonised as St. Cuthberga and St. Cwen-
berga ; the former was commemorated as a virgin on
August 31st. A special service appointed for the day

y.

s

c

-. , I. '.-- I
■1 .1..' .1.

Wimborne Minster 119

may still be read in a Missal kept in the Cathedral
Library at Salisbury.

The convent of Wimborne can boast of another
illustrious lady among those who took the veil within
its walls — St. Walburga, or Walpurgis. Somewhere about
the end of the seventh or beginning of the eighth century,
she was born in Sussex, and was educated at the newly-
founded nunnery at Wimborne, and became in due course
a nun ; here she stayed for yet another twenty-seven
years. Then, by the desire of her uncle, St. Boniface, and
her brother Wilibald, she set out with thirty other nuns
to found religious houses in Germany. She first settled
at Bischofsheim, in the diocese of Maintz, and in 754
became Abbess of the Benedictine house at Heidenheim,
which was situated within the diocese of Eichstadt, in
Bavaria, of which her brother, Wilibald, was Bishop.
Another brother, Winebald, was head of the Benedictine
monastery in the same place ; and when he died, in 760,
Walburga received the charge of this house in addition
to her own, and continued to rule both until her death
in 779. She was buried in a hollow rock at Eichstadt,
from which a bituminous oil, afterwards called Walpurgis'
oil, exuded. This was supposed to possess miraculous
powers of healing, so that her grave was much visited
by pilgrims, and a church was built over it. She is com-
memorated at different times in different places, but chiefly
on May 1st, a day originally celebrated with heathen
ceremonies, emblematical of the birth of Summer. Hence
some of the heathen rites still lingered on, just as certain
of our Christmas customs are of heathen origin. The
readers of Goethe's Faust cannot help remembering the
revels of the witches on the Brocken on Walpurgis'
night.

The nunnery at Wimborne perished in some plundering
raid of the Danes some time during the ninth century.
Whether yElfred did anything to restore it we do not
know, but a king of the name of Eadward, either Alfred's

120 Memorials of Old Dorset

son, the " Unconquered," or the Confessor, founded a
college of secular priests at Wimborne. Again, we know
not whether the church of this college occupied the site of
the old convent church or not. The names of the deans
from 1224 until the Dissolution, in 1547, have come down
to us. The only one of these whose name is known in
history is the last but one — Cardinal Pole, who held this
position from 15 17 till 1537, being only seventeen years of
age at the time of his appointment. When the deanery
was abolished, Wimborne Minster became a Royal
Peculiar, under the administration of three priest-vicars.
The arrangement was a somewhat unusual one ; each of
the three was responsible for the services for one week,
one of the other two acted as his curate in the Minster,
and the other took charge of the chapelry of Holt. The
next week they changed places; and so on continually.
This curious arrangement continued in force till 1876,
when one vicar retired on a pension, another removed to
Holt, where a parsonage had been built for him, and the
third became sole vicar of the Minster and the parish
attached to it.

The history of the church is best read in its stones ;
written records are scanty. The central part, all in
Norman style, the work of the twelfth century, is the
oldest ; from this the building gradually extended north,
south, east, and west, as well as upwards, in the course
of the next three centuries ; but the builders who
enlarged did not wantonly destroy the work of their
predecessors. Probably the chief cause of this was lack of
funds ; there was no shrine of saint, nor tomb of martyr,
nor wonder-waking relic to attract pilgrims, whose alms,
had they come,, would have enriched the church, as many
another church was enriched, and had to pay the penalty
of over-much wealth in the form of demolition and re-
construction. Wimborne Minster was simply enlarged ; the
outer walls, of course, had sometimes to be pulled down.
Thus in the thirteenth century the Norman east end,

Wimborne Minster 121

which was probably apsidal, had to be demolished to
afford space for eastward extension, and the date of this
extension is determined by the character of the east
window ; the windows of the aisles proclaim themselves
to be of fourteenth century date ; the western tower is
a century later. The church is one of the few that
possess two towers, set tandem fashion, one at the crossing,
the other at the west end. It is not a very satisfactory
arrangement from an artistic point of view, and has in
the few instances in which it has been introduced been
unfortunate. Hereford had two towers thus placed, but
the western one fell; Wymondham, in Norfolk, has two
still standing, but the east end of the church is a ruin ;
Wimborne central tower was once surmounted by a spire,
but this fell. Exeter and Ottery have two towers, but
these are placed in a different manner, their bases forming
the north and south ends of the transept.

The central tower at Wimborne is the older. It is
supported on four massive Norman piers ; the east and
west arches beneath it are wider than the other two ; to
bring the capitals from which they spring all into one
horizontal plane and the crowns of the four arches all into
another horizontal plane, the builders made the wider
arches segments of a circle less than semi-circles, and the
narrower ones segments greater than semi-circles, giving
them the shape of horse-shoes. Above this lower stage are
three others — the triforium stage, with a gallery in the
thickness of the wall ; above this comes the clerestory,
added later ; and above it another stage, still later,
because here, in place of the simple arches seen on the
outside of the lower stages, we find interesting arches
forming lancet-headed openings; above this is a heavy,
ugly parapet and set of pinnacles, erected in 1608 after
the fall of the central spire. The western tower is higher
than the central one, contains the bells, and, just outside
the easternmost window, on the north side of the belfry
stage, there stands the wooden figure of a soldier, who

122 Memorials of Old Dorset

strikes the quarter-hours on two bells, one on each side
of him, and is known as the " Quarter Jack."

Inside this western tower, on the face of the south
wall, is a curious clock made by Peter Lightfoot, a monk
of Glastonbury, in the early part of the fourteenth
century. It tells not only the time of day, but the day
of the month and the age of the moon. The earth is
represented by a globe in the centre ; the sun by a ball
on a disc, which travels round it in twenty-four hours,
showing the time of day ; the moon as a globe on another
disc, which revolves once in a lunar month. Half of this
globe is painted black, the other half is gilt, and the age
of the moon is indicated by the respective proportions
of black and gilt shown, for the ball itself rotates on its
axis ; when the moon is full the gilt half is entirely
visible ; when new, the black half. The clock is still in
working order. A screen separates the lower stage of
the tower from the nave, and forms a baptistry, in which
stands an octagonal font of Norman character, large
enough for baptising an infant by immersion.

From the west end, the church presents a very
imposing appearance. The nearer pillars, it is true, are
rather mean ; they are of fourteenth century date, and
very plain. It has been, with some probability, con-
jectured that they were brought from some other church
which had been pulled down just before the time when this
church was extended westward, possibly when the western
tower was built. The pillars of the original nave are
cylindrical and massive,, the arches of the main arcading
resting upon them are pointed ; above is a plain wall ;
the division between the original and the added work is
shown by the different character of the mouldings of the
arches, and of the string-course above them, and by the
fact that to the east there are the original Norman
clerestory windows, while the walls to the west are not
broken by any openings whatever.

The floor of the presbytery is raised considerably above

Wimborne Minster 123

that of the choir, and this is itself higher than the floor
of the nave, so that the altar stands at a considerable
elevation. One peculiarity is noteworthy — there are no
altar rails, but their place is taken by three massive oaken
benches, covered at all times with the " houseling linen,"
fair white cloths — the use of which goes back to very
early times. The benches which now stand across the
presbytery floor, close to the topmost of the flight of
steps leading up to it, are the remains of ten such benches,
which were made in Puritan times for communicants to
sit on as they received the sacred elements. When the
custom of kneeling was revived, these benches were placed
on the steps ; and on " Sacrament Sundays," the clerk,
after morning prayer, went to the lectern and bade those
who were prepared to receive the Holy Communion to
draw near, whereupon intending communicants left the
nave and knelt at the benches, or in the choir stalls, until
the officiating clergy brought them the sacramental bread
and wine. In 1852, when sundry changes were being
made in the arrangements of the church, all these benches
except three were removed — the three which were in
use as altar-rails.

The beautiful triplet of windows, over the altar, end
the long vista seen from the west. Beneath the presbytery
floor is a vaulted crypt. This is not, as many crypts are,
dark and gloomy, but well lit by triangular windows,
which from the outside are seen to be just above the
level of the churchyard. This crypt does not retain its
original altar, but its place is marked by a piscina on the
southern side ; two arches open out into the choir
aisles, through which those kneeling in the aisles might
look down on the priest officiating at the altar of the
crypt.

There are several monuments worthy of notice, but
by far the most interesting is the Beaufort altar-tomb on
the south side of the presbytery. This was erected, to the
memory of her father and mother, by the Lady Margaret,

124 Memorials of Old Dorset

foundress of Christ's and St. John's Colleges, at Cambridge,
well known for her many benefactions, and from the
fact that she was the mother of Henry VII. As the
history of this family — the Beauforts — is interesting, and
its details little touched on by the writers of English
history, it may not be out of place, especially as they were
connected with Wimborne, to give an outline of it here.
Everyone knows that John of Gaunt was the third son of
Edward III. and the father of Henry IV., but many know
only in a general way that the House of Tudor traced
through him their claim to the English crown. John
of Gaunt married Blanche, great-granddaughter of
Edmund Crouchback, second son of Henry III., who was
created Earl of Lancaster in 1257. Her father, on
account of his valour in the French wars of Edward III.,
had been made a Duke — a new title as far as England
was concerned, for the only English Duke that had been
previously created was the Duke of Cornwall, better known
as the Black Prince. Through Blanche, his wife, John
of Gaunt succeeded to the estates of the Duke of
Lancaster, among them to the Castle of Beaufort, in
Anjou. He was himself in 1362 created Duke of
Lancaster. Among Blanche's maids of honour was one
Kate, daughter of Sir Payne Roet, and widow of Sir Owen
Swynford. When Blanche died, John married Constance
of Castile, but took unto himself Kate Swynford as his
mistress ; by her he became the father of four children,
all born at Beaufort Castle. As they were illegitimate,
they took the name of their birthplace as a surname. The
eldest of these was John de Beaufort, and the second,
Henry, the celebrated Cardinal Beaufort. When Constance
died, these four children were legitimatised by
a Bull of Urban VI., then by Richard II., then
by Act of Parliament. The Duke then married Kate.
On January 13th, 1396, John de Beaufort was created
Earl of Somerset. He died in 14 10, leaving four sons
and two daughters ; the eldest, Henry, did not long

Wimborne Minster 125

survive his father, and his title and estates passed to his
next brother, John. He greatly distinguished himself in
the French wars, and was made Duke of Somerset, Earl
of Kendale, Lieutenant of the Duchy of Aquitaine and
Captain-General of the whole realm of France and
Normandy. In 1436 the Duke of Bedford, the Regent,
died, and as the King, Henry VI., was still a minor, another
regent had to be appointed. The Duke of Lancaster
thought he should have obtained this important post, but
it was conferred on the Duke of York, and Lancaster
therefore retired from active service, and in 1440 married
Margaret, widow of Oliver St. John, and daughter of
John, Lord Beauchamp, of Bletsoe Manor, Bedfordshire.
This John, Duke of Somerset, and Margaret, his wife,
are they whose figures lie side by side in alabaster on
their altar-tomb at Wimborne. Their right hands are
clasped together ; angels guard their heads ; his feet rest
on a dog, hers on an antelope ; he is clad in complete
armour, the face and right hand alone bare ; the left
hand holds the right-hand gauntlet, which he has taken
off before taking the lady's hand. On the apex of the
arch, above the tomb, hangs the helm which he, during his
life, used to wear in tournaments. Their only child was
born in 1441 — Margaret, of whom mention has been made.
Her father died in 1444, aged thirty-nine years, and the
Duchy of Somerset became extinct in the Beaufort family.
His death took place at Kingston Lacy, an estate close
to Wimborne, belonging to the Beaufort family. His
widow and daughter went to live on the Bedfordshire
property. In about four years time, the widow married
her third husband, Lord Welles. Young Margaret, when
only nine years of age, was sought by the Duke of Suffolk
as a wife for his son, John de la Pole, and by King
Henry VI. as wife for his half-brother, Edmund Tudor, Earl
of Richmond, son of Catherine, the Queen of Henry V.,
by her second husband, Sir Owen Tudor. Margaret
was a clever girl, well educated, knowing even then Latin

126 Memorials of Old Dorset

and French ; but sorely distraught was she to know which
of the two suitors to choose : so she consulted an old
gentlewoman, who advised her to commit the matter to
St. Nicholas. She took the advice, prayed to the saint,
and fell asleep, and about four o'clock next morning,
whether sleeping or waking she could not tell, saw one
standing in her room, habited in a bishop's robes, who
bade her accept Edmund Tudor as a husband. She told
her mother, and she was betrothed to the Earl of
Richmond, and they were married in 1455, when she was
fourteen years of age and he twenty-four. They lived
at Pembroke Castle, which belonged to Jasper Tudor,
Earl of Pembroke. In 1456 her only son, Henry, after-
wards Henry VII., was born, and shortly after this her
husband died. He was buried at Caermarthen Abbey,
and when the monastery was suppressed, his body was
removed to the Cathedral Church at St. David's. His
mother, anxious to keep quite aloof from party strife (for
the War of the Roses had already broken out), lived on
at Pembroke, educating her son. In 1459 she married
her second husband, Sir Humphrey Stafford ; widowhood,
for one of exalted rank, not being a desirable condition
in those times of war and turmoil. It has been seen that
her mother was thrice married, and Margaret followed her
example, for when Sir Humphrey died in 1481, she, at the
end of a year, being then about forty years of age, married
Thomas, Lord Stanley. After fifteen years she separated
from him with his consent, in order to devote herself to a
religious life, and retired to the convent at Woking, in
Surrey. It must not be supposed that she had a peaceful
or happy life. Her thoughts were centred on her only
son, and many were the years of separation from this
son that his mother had to endure. The story of his
wanderings, his dangers, his detention in Brittany, are
too long to be told here — suffice it to say that Richard III.
became so odious to the chief nobles that at last it was
arranged that Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, Margaret's

Wimborne Minster 127

son, should be recognised by the Lancastrian party as
their leader, and should claim the throne ; and that in
order to gain the adherence of those members of the
Yorkist party who were opposed to Richard, a marriage
should take place between Henry and Elizabeth, the
daughter of Edward IV. Both the mothers agreed to the
union : but the first attempt at invasion by Richmond was
a failure, and Richard seemed free from all danger ; and
with a view to win over his Yorkist opponents, he made
up his mind to marry Elizabeth himself, although she was
his own brother's child. This step led to a fresh invasion
— this time a successful one — and the death of Richard
on Bosworth field virtually placed the crown on Henry's
head (1485). So at last the Lady Margaret's troubles
were at an end, and she saw her son crowned and wedded,
and the red and white roses twined together. It remains
only to speak of her benefactions. Those at Cambridge are
well known ; and the writer of this chapter, who once held
at Christ's College one of the scholarships she founded,
cherishes the memory of the royal and pious lady with all
due gratitude. But it is of her benefactions at Wimborne
that mention must now be made. About 1498 she built
the beautiful monument to her father and mother in the
Minster ; founded a chantry, where, for her own soul, and
for those of her son, her parents, and ancestors, Mass
was to be duly said. She founded and endowed the
Grammar School, though, as its endowments were greatly
added to by Queen Elizabeth, its name was afterwards
changed from the Lady Margaret's to that of Queen
Elizabeth's Free Grammar School.

The Lady Margaret just outlived her son ; both died
in the same year, 1509, but she rather later than he.

Of the other monuments space forbids mention of
any, save that of Anthony Etricke, if it can be called
a monument, for it is really the sarcophagus that contains
the body of this eccentric magistrate, who lived at Holt,
and was recorder of Poole. He desired, for some

128 Memorials of Old Dorset

reason, to be buried neither above the ground nor under
it, neither within the church nor outside of it ; and in
order to carry out this strange wish, he got permission to
cut a niche in the south wall, partly below the level of
the surface of the churchyard, and in it fixed a slate
sarcophagus. In this he ordered his coffin to be
deposited when he died ; and he made all the preparations
he could beforehand, even to the painting of the date
of his death on the side of the slate coffin. He had a
presentiment that he should die in 1691, but he lived till
1703, so that the real date of his death had to be placed
on the coffin. The other date was not obliterated, but
the new one was painted on the other, and the two may
be seen there to-day. The arms of his family are painted
on the lid, and, as he left twenty shillings per annum to
keep coffin and niche in good repair, the sarcophagus
is bright and smart as paint, gilding, and varnish can
make it.

The chained library, as it is called, is placed in a
chamber above the vestry, rebuilt when the church was
restored. It was formed by the Rev. William Stone,
Principal of New Inn Hall, Oxford, afterwards one of the
" three vicars " of the church. By his will he left some land
to St. Margaret's Hospital, and his collection of books to
the Minster. These were brought from Oxford in 1686,
and placed in what was then known as the Treasury.
They were chiefly the writings of the Fathers, with certain
other theological books, and were intended for the free
use of the people of Wimborne. In these days few would
care to pore over these dry and heavy tomes, or make
use of the library, for it does not contain any novels,
standard or ephemeral ; but there were days when it was
used for study. In 1725 a catalogue was made, and the
number of the books was then two hundred ; when next
catalogued, about one hundred and fifty years later, the
number had dropped to one hundred and eighty-five,
despite the fact that ten books not mentioned in the

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CO

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—

3

WlMBORNE MlMSTER 129

former catalogue were on the shelves. There is but one
MS., bearing date 1343, "Regimen Animarum," written
on vellum, and containing some illuminated initials. The
majority of the books were printed between 1520 and
1710. The most interesting are: a Polyglot Bible (1657),
a Breeches' Bible (1595), and Sir Walter Ralegh's History
of the World (16 14). No less than one hundred and four
pages of this History have had a hole burnt through them.
Tradition says that Matthew Prior, the poet, was reading
this book by candle light, and fell asleep ; when he awoke
he found that some snuff from his candle had fallen on
the book and done the mischief. He stuck small pieces
of parchment over the hole in every page,, and inserted
the missing letters or words with pen and ink. But the
interesting tradition has been controverted in modern
times.

The books were originally chained to the shelves, one
end of the chain being fastened to the edge of the
binding, the other to a ring which would slide along a
rod. Many of the books had got loose in the course of
years, and lay dusty and uncared for ; but at the restora-
tion, new rods were fastened along the new shelves, and
the old chains repaired and put to their former use.

In two oaken chests in this room many deeds relating
to the Collegiate Church (the earliest dating from the
time of Henry III., the latest from that of Henry VIII.)
are preserved. Among them is the deed founding the
Chantry and Grammar School, drawn up by the
executors of the Lady Margaret's will ; and also the
charter granted by Charles I. to the Governors of the
church, from which they derive the powers of appointing
clergy, choristers, clerk, vergers, etc., which powers they
use to-day.

There is one other ancient ecclesiastical foundation

in the neighbourhood of Wimborne, about a quarter of

a mile from the town on the road to Blandford. It is now

an almshouse, where three poor married couples, three poor

K

130 Memorials of Old Dorset

single men, and the same number of unmarried women,
are maintained ; but its original purpose was to relieve
only such of the poor as were suffering from leprosy. It
is generally said to have been founded by John of Gaunt,
and so to have been another connection between that
family and Wimborne. There is, it may be said, an old
kitchen at Canford which is still called " John of Gaunt's
Kitchen " ; whether he had anything to do with the
building of the kitchen or the endowment of the Lazar-
house we do not know, but it is certain that he did not
found the latter, for, in the reign of King John, Hugo
of Lingiveria gave to it an acre of land, and in 1282 the
Bishop of Exeter gave an indulgence to any who would
contribute to its support. A deed of the date of
Henry VIII. refers to a Bull of Innocent IV., dated 1245,
in which this hospital is mentioned. Various gifts of
land, vestments, plate, etc., were bestowed on the hospital,
to which a small chapel dedicated to St. Margaret and
St. Anthony is attached. A chantry was founded here
by one John Redcoddes, in order that a priest might
daily say masses for his soul's welfare. The chapel, the
architecture of which shows that it was originally built in
the thirteenth century, still stands, and is fitted up for
service. Hither once a week one of the clergy comes
from the Minster to conduct a service, which the alms-
house people attend.

Other than the buildings already mentioned, there is
little mediaeval work to be seen in Wimborne. The old
Free Grammar School buildings have given place to
modern ones erected in 185 1, and the school is now
managed by a governing body appointed under a scheme
drawn up by the Charity Commissioners. So " the old
order changeth, giving place to the new " ; but, seen from
far or near, the two-towered Minster, with its parti-
coloured walls of deep red and drab stone, rises grand
and old amid its modern surroundings — a noble memorial
of the mediaeval builder's art.

FORD ABBEY

By Sidney Heath

(ARIOUS authorities agree with Camden in
stating that Ford Abbey (originally in Devon,
but now included in the county of Dorset),
near Chard, was founded in the year 1140, for
Cistercian monks, by Adeliza, daughter of Baldwin de
Brioniis, and a grand-niece of William the Conqueror.
The circumstances of its origin are interesting and
romantic. It appears that Adeliza's brother, Richard of
Okehampton, had given, in 1 133, certain lands at Brightley,
within his barony, to an Abbey of the Cistercian Order,
and had secured twelve monks to dwell therein from
Gilbert, Abbot of Waverley, in Surrey. This small com-
munity remained at Brightley for five years, when they,
" by reason of great want and barrenness, could abide
there no longer," and commenced a return journey to
their original home in Surrey. On their way they passed
through Thorncombe, the parish wherein Ford is situated,
where they encountered Adeliza, who, hearing with great
regret of the failure of her brother's enterprise, exclaimed :
" Behold my manor where you now are, which is very
fruitful and well wooded, which I give you for ever in
exchange for your barren lands at Brightley, together with
the mansion-house and other houses. Stay there until a
more convenient monastery may be built for you upon
some other part of the estate." The site selected by
the monks for the erection of the Abbey was in a valley,
on the left bank of the river Axe, at a place called,
according to Leland, " Hertbath " (balneum cervorum), and

131

132 Memorials of Old Dorset

which, from its nearness to a ford crossing the river at
this spot, subsequently became known as Ford.

Such is the accepted origin of the splendid pile of
buildings which sprang up in this fertile and sequestered
valley in 1148, and which still, notwithstanding the
pillage at its dissolution, and its many structural altera-
tions, commands our admiration and our attention ;
although, if we except some small portion of what is
known as "the chapel," at the eastern end of the south
front, nothing now remains of the original foundation
erected by the pious Adeliza.

The original purpose of this ancient part of the
building, known as n the chapel," is somewhat obscure.
It has been commonly regarded as that portion of the
religious house which its name indicates, and as being
the burial-place of its founder and other benefactors.
Dr. Oliver, however, in the supplement to his Monasticon,
speaks of it as the " Chapter House " — a likely suggestion.
In his Memoir of Thomas Chard, D.D., Dr. J. H. Pring
writes :

That except in the deed of surrender, and a short reference made to
it by Hearne, I have not been able to discover the slightest notice of
"the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Ford" in any of the numerous
accounts which have been given of the abbey ; though when we read of
frequent interments, some on the north, others on the south side of the
choir — others, such as that of Robert Courtenay, who, we are told, was
buried on the 28th July, 1242, in the chancel, before the high altar, under
a stately monument exhibiting the figure of an armed knight — there can
be little doubt, I think, that these took place, not in what is now known
as the Chapel, but in the Abbey Church, which stood at the east end
of the abbey, about two hundred feet above the chapel.

This portion of the edifice, whose original uses are
conjectural, shows, both inside and out, considerable
vestiges which appear to suggest a Norman origin, and
which we may assume were possibly erected under tlie
immediate auspices, if not under the personal superin-
tendence, of the Lady Adeliza. The exterior angles of
the eastern end exhibit the quoins so characteristic of
the Norman style of building, and the interior has many

o

Ford Abbey 133

fine examples of Anglo-Norman work, in the pillars, the
groined stone roof, the arches at either end, of a slightly
pointed character, with the well-known zig-zag or chevron
moulding. The eastern window is of much later date,
being Perpendicular in style, and it is believed to have
been inserted by Thomas Chard, the last Abbot, as the
upper panel of the left-hand side depicts a stag's head,
whilst the companion panel, parallel to it, contains faint
traces of the oft-repeated monogram, T. C.

The next feature in point of antiquity is what is now
termed the " Monks' Walk," a range of ivy-clad buildings
running back for nearly four hundred feet from the
eastern end of the Abbey in a northerly direction, and it
is thought that a similar range ran parallel to it. The
remaining wing is on the eastern side, and consists of two
storeys, the lower of which possesses some beautiful Early
English work, and the upper one was probably the monks'
dormitory. In the centre is an archway of fourteenth
century date, and along the entire length of the wing is
a series of lancet windows, almost perfect on the western
side, but destroyed or built up on the eastern. Hearne
thus notices this wing :

But now, though one of the chief uses of the cloisters was for walk-
ing, yet in Religious Houses they had sometime galleries for the same
end. We have an instance of it in Ford Abbey in Devonshire, which is
one of the most entire abbeys in England ; in the east front whereof,
which is the oldest of the two fronts (though the south front be the
chiefest), there is a gallery called the Monks' Walk, with small cells on the
right hand, and little narrow windows on the left.

Great as is the antiquarian interest of these fragments
of what we may reasonably presume to have formed
part of the original foundation, the greater part of the
existing fabric is the work of Abbot Chard, of whom we
shall have something to say later. The best view of the
building is obtained from the front, where nearly all that
meets the eye affords a striking instance of the consum-
mate taste and devoted perseverance of this remarkable

134

Memorials of Old Dorset

man under circumstances that may well have discouraged
the boldest. The storm which culminated in the dis-
solution of the monastic houses was gathering ; but
instead of being filled with dismay, as were so many of
his fellow-churchmen, Thomas Chard spared no effort
to beautify his beloved abbey, perhaps that the very
glamour of her loveliness might enchant the eyes of the
spoilers and turn them from their purpose of ruthless
spoliation. To a great extent, his work was preserved,
for, although the abbey did suffer, and that grievously,

Sldncl Heotb I9°T

Behilj from Cloijter/. Fordffbbey.

yet it escaped the wanton wreckage by which most of
these foundations throughout the land were devastated.

The first portion of Chard's building to claim attention
is the cloister, late Perpendicular in style, with mullions
and window tracery which present an appearance at once
good and bold, and show no signs of the debasement
and formality that are so characteristic of the late
buildings of this period. Above the windows a frieze
of stonework depicts on shields the arms of various bene-
factors to the Abbey — as those of Courtenay quartering
Rivers, Poulett, the Bishop of Exeter, etc. ; and on many
shields appear either the monogram or the name of
Thomas Chard.

Ford Abbey 135

An excellent account of the cloister — and, indeed, of
the whole Abbey — is contained in a very rare little volume,
entitled, a History of Ford Abbey, written anonymously
many years "ago, but acknowledged by ecclesiologists to
be the work of one who for a long period must have
resided there, and who thus, by daily associations with
the fabric, became more familiar with its minute archi-
tectural details than could possibly be the case with
anyone who had not enjoyed a similar privilege. As this
volume is rare, as well as interesting and accurate in
regard to its architectural information, no apology is
needed for quoting certain passages from it here. In
reference to the cloister we learn that :

The cloister is divided by a suite of rooms and arcade from the
grand porch-tower, so conspicuous for its architectural beauty, and which
in days gone by was no doubt the original entrance. It is richly
ornamented with first-rate sculpture, some of it obviously unfinished ;
the central boss in the vaulting uncut ; and the blank shield in the
centre, below the basement window, encircled by the garter, was doubt-
less intended for the royal arms. The uncut shield on the sinister side,
having the pelican and dolphin for supporters, was for Courtenay. The
two small shields cut are charged with a lion rampant for De Redvers,
and cheeky two bars for Baldwin de Brioniis. Immediately over the
arch of the door is a large scroll shield of a more modern date, bearing
the arms of Prideaux, impaling those of his second wife, Ivery. On
the upper part of this elegant specimen of Dr. Chard's taste, in the
centre shield, are his initials, T.C., with the crosier and mitre (Dr. Chard
was a Suffragan Bishop); and the two smaller shields, with the T.C.,
crosier, and abbot's cap, alternate with the stag's head cabossed —
supposed to be the bearing of the then Bishop of Exeter ; and just
below the battlement of the tower is the following inscription : —

AN'O D'NI MILLESIMO QUINGESIMO VICMO OCTA0. A D'NO
FACTUM EST THOMA CHARD, ABB.

Now, while there is no doubt that Chard united in his
own person the offices of Abbot and Suffragan Bishop,
the above account is at fault in attributing " the stag's
head cabossed " to the then Bishop of Exeter, for it formed
no part of the armorial bearings either of Bishop Oldham
or of his successor, Veysey. In a letter from Dr. Chard to

136

Memorials of Old Dorset

Cardinal Wolsey " the stag's head cabossed " is used as
the seal, and is expressly referred to in the body of the
letter as " sigillum meum," and we find the same device
associated with his name or monogram in various parts
of the Abbey buildings ; the most probable solution being
that it relates to the ancient cognizance of the Abbey, or
the site whereon it stands, which, as we have already
seen, was Hertbath (balneum cervorum).

Further confirmation of Dr. Chard's double office of
Bishop and Abbot is found in a remarkable panel in the

Panel from Cloijterf. Ford -ffbbsy.

frieze (see illustratiori), which appears to have been
designed for the purpose of attesting this fact, if not in
actual words, yet in unmistakable and appropriate
symbolism. The small top corner shields of this panel
contain the letters T. C, and the lower ones an abbot's
and a bishop's staff, respectively ; whilst on the hatchment-
shaped panel in the centre occurs the stag's head and
bishop's staff, the name " Tho. Chard " on a scroll entwined
round an abbot's staff ; and above these, as a fitting
termination to the whole, appears the abbot's cap, sur-
mounted by the bishop's mitre.

Ford Abbey 137

The entrance porch contains a fine west window of
the same character as those of the adjoining great hall,
which in their turn correspond with those of the cloister,
and above them is a frieze of grotesque animals. To
quote once more from the book already referred to :

This part of the building has been shorn of its length, as, on minute
inspection, will appear. The royal arms are not in the centre, as they
no doubt originally were. They consist of a rose crowned, encircled with
a garter, and supported by a dragon and greyhound, the badges of
Henry VII. . . . Although the remaining portion of this wing has
been altered, it was built by Thomas Chard, the battlements correspond-
ing with the tower and chapel ; and as a more decisive proof that it was
so, there is, at the western end of the building, but hid by ivy, the
portcullis cut in stone, another of the badges of Henry VII. ; and to the
north, or back side, are the initials T. C, with the crosier and cap.

The ancient guest-chamber, so integral a part of these
old foundations, appears to have been at right angles to
the great hall, as it was noticed some years ago on the
collapse of portions of the ceiling that the ancient timber
roof was still in situ. We shall have a little to say later
about the alteration and adaptation of the interior for the
purposes of a modern mansion, when, happily, much of
Dr. Chard's work was not disturbed ; but we have,
unfortunately, no record of the condition of the fabric
prior to the restorations of the above prelate, and his task
seems to have been little less than the re-building of the
greater part of the edifice. The antiquary Leland,
visiting the Abbey during Dr. Chard's alterations, writes :
" Ccenobium nunc sumptibus plane non credendis abbas
magnificentissime restaiirat." l This beautiful structure
had scarcely had its delicate stonework mellowed by the
soft winds from the Devonshire moors, when the Dissolu-
tion, long impending, burst in fury upon the larger
religious houses, and on March 8th, 1539, Thomas Chard
was induced to sign the surrender of his beloved Abbey

l " The Abbot at incredible expense is now restoring the monastery most
gloriously."

138 Memorials of Old Dorset

of Ford, which was endeared to him by many sacred
associations, and on which he had lavished his own private
fortune and the artistic genius of a master mind. The
following is a translation (according to Dr. Pring) of the
document of surrender, the wording of which, we may be
sure, accorded ill with the reluctant hands that attached
the names and seals-. —

To all the faithful in Christ, to whom this present writing shall
come : Thomas Chard, abbot of the monastery or abbey, and of
the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of Ford, in the county of
Devon, of the Cistercian order, and the same place and convent,
everlasting salvation in the Lord.

Per me Thoma abbem Know ye that WCj the aforesaid abbot and

Wilms Rede, prior convent, by our unanimous assent and

John Cosen consent, with our deliberate minds, right,

Robte Yetminster. knowledge, and mere motion, from certain

Johes Newman. just ancj reasonable causes especially

Johes Bridgwaf. moving our minds and consciences have

Thomas Stafford. freely, and of our own accord given and

Johes Ffawell. granted, and by these presents do give,

W. Wmsor. grant, and surrender and confirm to our

Elizeus Oliscomb. illustrious prince, Henry VIII., by the

William Keynston. grace 0f God, king of England, lord of

William Dynyngton. Ireland, supreme head of the Church of

Richard Kingesbury. England in this land, all our said

monastery or abbacy of Ford aforesaid. And also all and singular
manors, lordships, messuages, etc. In testimony whereof, we, the
aforesaid abbot and convent, have caused our common seal to be affixed
to these presents. Given at our Chapter House of Ford aforesaid, on
the 8th day of the month of March, and in the thirtieth year of the
reign of King Henry aforesaid. Before me, William Petre, one of the
clerks, etc., the day and year above written.

By me, Willmn Petre.

No sooner had the document been signed than the
work of pillage commenced ; but one is inclined to agree
with the Devonshire historian Prince, that, " by what
lucky chance he knew not, Ford Abbey escaped better
than its fellows, and continueth for the greatest part
standing to this day." At the same time, there is little
doubt that much havoc took place, although, perhaps, not

Ford Abbey 139

to the extent recorded by Risdon, who says it now
merely " somewhat showeth of what magnificence once
it was."

It is just possible that Thomas Chard's beautiful work
softened the hearts of the spoilers, and its very wealth
of ornament caused it to be retained as too valuable
a prize to be utterly demolished ; but, whether standing
entire or razed to the ground, it appears to have been an
encumbrance, for on October 28th, in the year of its
surrender, it was granted by the King, " with all and
singular its manors, lordships, and messuages, etc.," to
Richard Pollard, Esq.

At the time of its dissolution the annual revenues of
the Abbey were computed at £374 10s. 6\d. by Dugdale,
and at £381 10s. 6d. by Speed, and the net revenue was,
no doubt, somewhere between these two sums.

Born probably at Tracy, near Awliscombe, Honiton,
about the year 1470, Thomas Chard was one of the most
distinguished ecclesiastics of his day, and evidently, as
his works attest, an accomplished architect and a most
munificent man. The highly ornamental facade of the
institution over which he presided as last abbot is con-
sidered to be the finest example of its kind in the West
of England. On entering holy orders, Chard appears
to have held several livings in Somerset, Devon, and
Cornwall, and was elected Abbot of Ford about 1520.
Previous to this, in 1508, he was appointed Suffragan to
Bishop Oldham by the title " Episcopus Solubricencis,"
in 1 5 13 Warden of the College of Lady St. Mary, at
Ottery, and in 1515 Prior of the Benedictine or Cluniac
Priory of Montacute. It has been suggested that as
Dr. Chard was Warden of Ottery College about the time
that the beautiful Dorset Chapel was built (15 13-18) — one
of the most lovely pieces of Perpendicular building we
possess — the inspiration of this eminent architect may
have done much to influence the splendid design of this
portion of the Church of Lady St. Mary at Ottery.

140

Memorials of Old Dorset

It was Bishop Chard who officiated for Bishop Veysey,
of Exeter, at the noble obsequies of Katherine Courtenay,
daughter of Edward IV., and widow of William Cour-
tenay, Earl of Devon, buried at Tiverton in 1527. It is
thought that his choice for this office was determined by
his headship of the Monastery of Ford, of which founda-
tion the Courtenays had
always been great patrons
and benefactors.

The burial place of
Thomas Chard is un-
known, but may possibly
be in the chapel of the
Hospital of St. Margaret,
near Honiton. Dr. Oliver,
who visited this chapel
many years ago, writes :
" The west door is secured
by a large sepulchral slab,
to which was formerly
affixed a brass plate." This
has long since disappeared,
but many writers agree
that there is little doubt
that this slab covered the
dust of the Abbot-Bishop.
The old abbey seal,1 which had eluded the research of
many antiquaries, including the editors of Dugdale's
Monasticon, was discovered by Mr. Davidson, of Sector,
near Axminster. It is of oval form, the usual shape for
monastic seals, and is divided into three compartments,
in the uppermost of which is a bell suspended in a steeple,
and in the canopy beneath we see the Blessed Virgin with
the Divine Infant on her knee. On one side is the
shield of Courtenay, bearing — or, three torteaux, with
a label of three points. On the other side is the shield

MS.

ize

1 Engraved in Oliver's Monasticon Diocesis Exoniensis.

Ford Abbey 141

of Beaumont — barry of six, vair and gules. The lowest
compartment occupies rather more than half the seal in-
side the inscription, and shows an abbot standing, in his
right hand a pastoral staff, and holding in his left hand
a book; and at his feet are three monks kneeling, with
their hands together in supplication.

With this description of the seal the claims of Ford
Abbey to figure in this volume of " Memorials " are
practically finished, yet it may be of interest to continue
a little further in the personal and architectural
history of this wonderful old house. As we have seen,
Henry VIII. granted the abbey and all its appurtenances
to Richard Pollard, Esq., who was subsequently knighted
by Henry VIII, and from this gentleman it passed to his
son, Sir John Pollard, who sold it to his cousin, Sir Amias
Poulett, of Hinton St. George, and Curry Mallet, who had
held the office of head steward of the abbey under the
regime of Dr. Chard (as had his father, Sir Hugh Poulett,
before him), and who was for a short time the custodian of
Mary Queen of Scots. From Sir Amias Poulett, the abbey
and estates passed by purchase to William Rosewell, Esq.,
Solicitor-General to Queen Elizabeth, and thence to his
son, Sir Henry Rosewell, who, in 1649, conveyed them to
Sir Edmund Prideaux, Bart., of Netherton, county Devon.
He was educated at Cambridge, and after being admitted
a student of the Inner Temple was called to the Bar, 23rd
November, 1623. He was returned as Burgess for Lyme
Regis and took part against the King. He appears to
have been a man of marked abilities, as in 1643 we find
him appointed one of the Commissioners of the Great Seal,
and three years later he was granted the privileges of a
King's Counsel, the combined offices being worth some
£7,000 a year. It is somewhat singular that, while holding
the first-named office he was allowed to retain his seat
in Parliament, and when he relinquished the Grent Seal,
the House of Commons, as an acknowledgment of his
valuable services, ordered that he should practise within

142 Memorials of Old Dorset

the Bar, and have precedence next after the Solicitor-
General, to which office he himself was raised in 1647.
Although attached to the Parliamentary cause he took
no part in the King's trial, nor in the trials of the Duke
of Hamilton and others. Nevertheless, he shortly after-
wards accepted from the dominant party the office of
Attorney-General, a post which he retained for the re-
mainder of his life. His remarkable organising abilities were
shown in 1649, when, as Master of the Post Messengers
and Carriers, a post he had acquired in 1644, he established
a weekly conveyance to every part of the kingdom, a
great improvement on the system he had found in vogue,
and under which letters were sent by special messengers,
one of whose duties it was to supply relays of horses at
a given mileage. It is said that the emoluments accruing
to his private purse from this improved postal service were
not less than ;£ 15,000 a year. Sir Edmund was twice
married, and by his first wife Jane, daughter and sole
heiress of Henry Collins, Esq., of Ottery St. Mary, he
had a daughter Mary. His second wife was Margaret,
daughter and co-heir of William Ivery, of Cotthay,
Somerset, and by her he had three daughters, and a son
Edmund, who succeeded him at Ford Abbey. It was Sir
Edmund Prideaux who brought Inigo Jones to the Abbey
to carry out certain alterations, which he did by inserting
square-headed windows in the walls of the state rooms,
and by adding these and other classical affectations on
to the old Gothic building he destroyed the harmonious
composition of the whole, and it is not, perhaps, a matter
of regret that this architect died in 1654, before his
designs for converting this fine old house into a sham
" classical " building were carried out, although the interior
of the house was embellished with magnificent decorations
and the whole place made into a beautiful, comfortable,
and habitable mansion.

Edmund Prideaux, the younger, had for his tutor
John Tillotson, who afterwards became Archbishop of

Ford Abbey 143

Canterbury. Although he took but little part in the grave
political troubles of his day, he is remembered in history
as the entertainer of the ill-starred Duke of Monmouth, who
visited Ford in 1680, on his journey of pleasure to the
west country, where he was royally entertained by his
host, whose connection with his noble guest did not end
here, as after the Rye House affair he was suspected of
favouring the Duke, and the house was searched for arms.
When the Duke subsequently landed at Lyme Regis in
1685, Mr. Prideaux, like a prudent man, remained quietly
at home, but was visited at night by a small party of
rebels requiring horses, and it is said that one of them
while in the house drank to the health of Monmouth, which
indiscretion becoming known in London, a warrant was
issued for Mr. Prideaux's arrest, and he was taken to the
Tower on a charge of high treason. Notwithstanding
that nothing could be proved against him, he was kept a
close prisoner until he had paid the sum of £15,000 to
the infamous Jeffreys, when his pardon was signed on
March 20th, 1685. On the accession of William III. he
petitioned Parliament for leave to bring in a Bill to charge
the estates of Jeffreys with the restitution of this money,
but the Act failed to pass.

The sole surviving daughter of Edmund Prideaux (and
his wife, Amy Fraunceis), in 1690, married her cousin,
Francis Gwyn, Esq., of Llansandr, co. Glamorgan, who
thus inherited Ford Abbey, and was succeeded in the
estates by his fourth son, Francis Gwyn, who, dying
without issue in 1777, devised this house and all his other
lands to his kinsman, John Fraunceis, or Francis, of
Combe-Florey, on condition of his taking the name of
Gwyn, and in this family the Abbey remained until the
decease of a John Francis Gwyn, in 1846, when it was
purchased by G. F. W. Miles, Esq., and afterwards by
Miss Evans. It is now the property of Mrs. Freeman
Roper. The famous Jeremy Bentham rented the abbey
early in the nineteenth century and here he entertained

144 Memorials of Old Dorset

James Mill and other social and literary magnates. One of
the numerous Francis Gwyns was Queen Anne's Secretary
for War, and to him Her Majesty presented the magnifi-
cent tapestries now hung in the saloon. They are worked
from original cartoons by Raphael, said to have been
designed at the request of Pope Leo. Charles I. is said
to have purchased the cartoons on the advice of Rubens,
and to have removed them from Brussels in 1630. They
were first placed, it is thought, at Whitehall, and
William III. had them hung at Hampton Court Palace,
where they remained until 1865, when they were taken to
their present home, the Victoria and Albert Museum.
These designs were the property of His Majesty King
Edward VII., who has, I think, recently bequeathed them
to the nation.

It was in 1842 that, for the convenience of county
business, the parish of Thorncombe, containing Ford
Abbey, was transferred to the county of Dorset.

DORCHESTER1

By the Lord Bishop of Durham, D.D.

jF Bede is right, the Roman armies did not leave our
shores till A.D. 452. Whether it was then, so near
the end of the old Western Empire, or a little
earlier, it must have been a dark hour for Dorset,
which no doubt saw something of the embarkation; some
considerable force, in that strict order which to the last
the legions maintained, would no doubt march from Durno-
varia to Clavinio (Weymouth) to take ship. The light of
history falls faint over Dorset and Dorchester for many
a year from that Roman exodus. But it is interesting
to find that the " Saxons," to use the familiar term, took
a century and a half to master Dorset ; our fathers must
have made a stubborn fight against endless raids. It is
at least possible that the victory of Badon Hill — in which,
says the Arthurian legend, the Saxon hordes were
ruinously beaten by the " Britons," led perhaps by a
Rome-trained chief — was won in Dorset ; Badbury, near
Wimborne, in the belief of Edwin Guest of Cambridge,
was Badon. But Wessex in due time absorbed Dorset
and Dorchester ; and now our fields and woodlands were
well sprinkled with royal manors, while our town, beyond
a doubt, still kept much of its old dignity and culture ;
for the Saxons left the walled cities largely alone, after

1 The writer has used, among other books, the Guides of Savage and
Young, Mrs. Frampton's Journal, and his brother Mr. H. J. Moule's Old
Dorset and Dorchester Antiquities.

L 145

146 Memorials of Old Dorset

disarming their inhabitants. Durnovaria, with its name
changed to Dorceastre, still stood fenced with its massive
wall and still contained many a stately house, tessellated
and frescoed. Kings of Wessex doubtless visited Dorset
often, for the chase, and for sustenance on their manors,
and to keep state at Dorceastre. Alfred, in all likelihood,
was known by sight in the town. His grandson, Athelstan,
allowed it the right of coinage — a sure testimony to its
importance.

It suffered sorely from the Danes a century later.
Sweyn, in 1002, taking awful revenge for the massacre
wrought by Ethelred the " Unredy "—that is to say, the
" Counsel-less " — marched from Devon to Wilts by Dorset,
and left Dorchester a desolation. It is said that he tore
down the walls, but this, almost for certain, was not so ;
they were too massive to be wrecked without long labour,
which the rovers would not care to spend ; and there is
large evidence for their existence far into the seventeenth
century. However, Danish fire and sword must have left the
town black and blood-stained within its ramparts. Half
a century later, under the Confessor, Dorchester counted
1 72 houses ; the number is recorded in Domesday Book
(1085-6) as large, in contrast to the eighty-eight at the date
of the survey. Very likely the building of the Norman
Castle (where now stands the Prison) had to do with the
shrinkage ; the castle was sure to be a centre of spoliation.

The restless John was in the town in 1201, and often
later — hunting, no doubt, and taking his " one night's
firm," the statutable sustenance due to the King and his
men. Under Edward I., in 1295, we sent burgesses to
the first English Parliament. Our last burgess sat from
1874 till 1885. Dorchester is now only the centre of an
electoral division.

In that same reign appears the first mention of our
town churches : Holy Trinity, St. Peter's, and All Saints'.
Not that the parishes are no older than that date ; indeed,
the porch of St. Peter's contains a twelfth century
fragment.

High Street, Dorchester.

Dorchester 147

The reign of Edward III. experienced the terror of the
Great Plague, carried from China over Asia to Europe,
where literally millions of people perished. It burst into
England, alas ! from a ship which put in at the Dorset
shore, and no doubt our town owed to that awful scourge
the low state of industry recorded a little later. Things
had mended by the time of Henry VI., and from then,
upon the whole, the place has been prosperous. In the
seventeenth century it was busy with cloth-making and, as
now, with the brewing of beer. In the old times of
farming it was a great centre of grain commerce. Stories
are told of Dorchester fair-days, when wheat-laden wagons
stood ranged in long file from Cornhill, along South Street,
and far out upon the Weymouth road.

The town had its troubles in " the great century."
In August, 161 3, a fierce fire swept it almost clean away.
The old churches of Trinity and All Saints vanished,
with nearly every other building within the walls (and
some outside their circuit, in Fordington), save only St.
Peter's and the houses near it — among which would be
that now almost solitary relic of picturesque Old
Dorchester, " Jeffreys' lodgings."

But the rebuilding must have been energetic, for in
the Civil Wars we find Dorchester populous and active
enough to be a troublesome focus of " malignity." " A
place more entirely disaffected to the King, England had
not," says Clarendon. One probable cause of this
attitude lay in the commanding influence of John White,
Rector of Holy Trinity from 1606 to 1648. White was
an Oxonian, a man of culture and piety, and evidently of
strong personal influence. Preachers to-day may envy, if
they please, the pulpit privileges given him by the
town. The borough records show, for example, that in
1630 one Nycholls was brought to justice for having
" offered speeche concerning Mr. John White's preaching."
White helped to plan the colony of Massachusetts,
but he did not join the emigration. His power was felt

148 Memorials of Old Dorset

at home, in the Westminster Assembly, and in the
politics of Dorchester.

In 1642 the walls were solidly repaired, and outside
works thrown up at, among other points, Maumbury Ring.
Watch was kept day and night at the gates and on
St. Peter's Tower. But the spirit of the town strangely
failed when, on the approach of the enemy, one Master
Strode predicted that the walls would hold off the King's
men for just half-an-hour. The Governor, Sir Walter Erie,
hearing that Lord Carnarvon was coming with two
thousand men, and Prince Maurice's artillery besides,
promptly left the place, and the citizens opened the gates
on a promise that they should be spared violence.
Carnarvon would have kept the promise with chivalrous
fidelity, but Maurice let his men loose, and Dorchester was
so badly handled that Carnarvon threw up his command
and went to serve the King in person. A little later the
town behaved much more bravely, and baffled a small
Irish force under Lord Inchiquin till help from Weymouth
completed the rout of the Royalists. Later again Essex
occupied the town in force ; and then Sir Lewis Dives,
for the King, surprised it with brilliant success, but was
badly beaten on a second attempt. Yet later there was
a skirmish at Dorchester, when the royalist Mercurius
says that no less a captain than Cromwell himself was put
to flight by Lord Goring ; but the account lacks full
confirmation. A story of that skirmish clings to a corner
of lower Fordington, a curve in the road near Grey's
Bridge, known as Tupp's, or Tubb's, Corner ; it is said
that a Cromwellian hero of that name fled thereby at a
speed memorable for all time.

A still darker experience than that of war awaited
Dorchester not long after. When Monmouth fought at
Sedgemoor (1685) our Dorset peasants were among the
bravest of his rude but heroic army. And when the
abortive rising was over, the Bloody Assizes began, and
Jeffreys sat at Dorchester. His lodgings are still shown,

Dorchester

149

the most striking house-front in the town, with its black
timbers and long, low windows ; and still, in the Town
Hall, is kept the chair from which the terrible Chief
Justice, in a court hung with red, dealt out death with
grim smiles and ghastly jests. Nearly three hundred
men, told that it was their only hope, pleaded guilty, but
for most of them the only result was a few days' respite.
Seventy-four were executed at Dorchester, with all the
horrible circumstances of death for treason. For years

A<y/re,

Judge Jeffreys' Lodgings

afterwards grim human relics of that evil time still clung
to the railings round St. Peter's, greeting the entering
worshippers.

This was not quite the last scene of horror at
Dorchester, though it was alone in its dreadful kind. As
late as within the eighteenth century an unhappy woman,
convicted of the murder of her husband, was hanged and
then burned within Maumbury, amidst a vast gazing
multitude.

150 Memorials of Old Dorset

It is a relief to think that about the same time the
town put on a beauty of a sort unique, I think, in England.
The walls had somehow largely disappeared within the
last half of the seventeenth century ; and now it was
proposed to plant double rows of trees all along the line
of their foundations. By 171 2 the planting was complete,
and for nearly two complete centuries Dorchester has been
surrounded by the noble range of avenues which we call
The Walks, renewed from time to time, and kept
with increasing care. From close to Glide Path Hill
(" Glippath ") the visitor can walk under long successive
aisles of sycamores or chestnuts on a well-laid gravel
road, now facing east, now south, now west, now north,
till he finds himself close to the foot of High Street,
within ten minutes of his point of departure. I have
seen the noble avenues at King's Lynn, and those of the
Backs at Cambridge are only less dear to me than our
Walks. But I do not think that anything even there can
quite equal these bowery ramparts of our ancient town —
certainly not when we put together the natural charm and
the historical interest.

The Walks were still young about the year 1730, when
a poet, in the course of a tour from London to Exeter
with a group of friends, rode through Dorchester. It
was Pope's intimate, John Gay. The travellers first saw
the town, of course, from Stinsford Hill, over a foreground
which then,, no doubt, was less full of trees. The reaches
of the Frome and the broad water-meadows pleased Gay,
as well they might, and in his delightful verse-journal we
read his impression :

Now the steep hill fair Dorchester o'erlooks,
Border'd by meads and wash'd by silver brooks.

In 1762 we find recorded as noteworthy the paving and
fencing of a side-walk in the lower High Street ; and in
1774 came the first public lighting of the streets. A
decade later Miss Burney (Mme. D'Arblay) gives a lively
picture of Dorchester as she saw it when travelling in

Dorchester 151

the suite of George III. to Weymouth : " The city had
so antique an air, I longed to investigate its old buildings.
The houses have the most ancient appearance of any that
are inhabited that I have happened to see ; and inhabited
they were indeed ! There was an amazing quantity of
indigenous residers — old women and young children," who,
as she shrewdly remarks, could not have come in from
a distance, and so formed an index of population. Yet the
town could not have counted then more than 3,000
inhabitants. It contains now just 10,500.

We reach at last the nineteenth century. The town,
like the county, and like all rural England, was in grave
alarm in 1830 at the time of the "rick-burnings." Mrs.
Mary Frampton's Journal speaks much of the scenes of
riot and of wild alarms. I possess letters written by my
mother, then the young mistress of Fordington Vicarage,1
in which she speaks of the nightly watch and ward kept
all around, and of her husband's active share in it, and
the relief, under the terrible strain, which was given by
the friendly attitude of Fordington towards him. Just
later the Frampton Journal describes the battle royal of an
election scene on Poundbury (Pummery, as I must be
allowed still to call it), when the greatest of all Dorset's
sons, the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury, then Lord Ashley,
stood for the county.

That date brings me to times only a little previous
to my own memory, and well within the memory of my
brothers and friends, and familiar of course to my father,
who from 1829 to 1880, as Vicar of Fordington, laboured
alike for the spiritual and social good of his parishioners.
I may be allowed to close my narrative with a small sheaf
of reminiscences from his and other memories. Then,
after a brief glance of the mind's eye over my native
town, my task of love is done.

1 One part of that house is the oldest piece of inhabited building in the
borough.

152 Memorials of Old Dorset

My father knew very old people who " remembered
when rooms were first carpeted at Dorchester." One
aged parishioner could recall the change of style in the
calendar in 1752 ; the children were taken to a stile in
the Great Field as a memento. He and my mother saw,
from Maumbury, about 1832, the Princess Victoria with
her mother, passing in their carriage on the way to Wey-
mouth. My brother, since 1880 Bishop in Mid-China,
recalls the bringing into the town, in carts, about 1834,
loads of saplings sent to be planted along the London
Road ; and a noble avenue they made, which now, alas !
is no more than a relic of itself.

I just remember the days of the stage coaches in
Dorchester. I see the old Emerald still, and hear the
bugle of the guard. In "1852 I travelled by coach to
Dorchester from Bath. And how vividly I can see the
excitement of the crowd on the arrival of the first South-
western train, in 1847! An old woman still runs across
my field of view, crying out : " There, I did never zee a
coach avore goo wi'out 'osses ! " I remember, two years
later, Prince Albert's arrival at the station, where he took
carriage for Weymouth, there to lay the first stone of the
Breakwater. Very vividly I recall the thousands of lamps
festooned along the Walks to illuminate an entertainment
for old people after the Crimean peace. Two years
earlier, a few weeks before the Alma, I remember the
awful outburst of the cholera in Fordington ; it was
brought from London in tainted clothing which was sent
to the wash in a Fordington cottage. My father " stood
between the dead and the living " at that dark time, and,
with admirable assistance, was able, under God, to bar
the pestilence from entering the town.

But I must not ramble further into narrative.
Dorchester, with its integral neighbour, Fordington
(incorporated into the borough in 1835), *s very dear to
my heart, and it is not easy to put narrow limits upon
reminiscence. Yet scarcely a word has been said here

Dorchester

i53

about our chief architectural features of the place. I have
but named Trinity Church, the third structure in succession
to that which perished in 1613, as All Saints' Church is
the second in like sequence — All Saints', whose fine spire,
raised in 1852, gave a wholly new feature to the town.
St. Peter's is the ecclesiastical crown of Dorchester — a
noble Perpendicular church, with a dignified tower, vocal
with eight fine bells ; in its churchyard stands a bronze

""^fe/jj

CORNHILL

statue of our Dorset poet, William Barnes. At the head
of High Street, where the tree-vaulted Bridport road runs
out westward, stands the modern St. Mary's, the church
of West Fordington ; the pretty original church, Christ
Church, now the chapel of the Artillery Barracks, was
built by my father's efforts in 1847, when the parish was
divided from old Fordington. The County Hall and
Town Hall are leading features of the High Street.

154 Memorials of Old Dorset

The present Town Hall, in 1849, took the place of a
building visible still to my memory, under which opened
an archway leading into North Square, and which itself
succeeded, in 1791, " The Cupola," near the Town Pump.
The Museum, where my brother, Henry Moule, long
superintended and developed the excellent geological
and antiquarian collections, is a handsome modern feature
of the middle High Street ; it stands at a point where,
almost within the oldest living memory, projecting houses
so narrowed the roadway that the stage-coach could pass
up and down only with great caution. The County
Hospital, founded in 1841, has grown into abundant use-
fulness, and makes, with its beautiful little chapel, a
dignified feature of the place. In South Street the quaint
front of the " Napper's Mite " almshouses, and the
Grammar School, are conspicuous.

With Fordington Church, St. George's, let me close. As
I write1 it is about to be largely rebuilt, for Fordington has
grown fast; and the north aisle of 1833 is, indeed, very
far from beautiful. But, whilst I rejoice that space and
form should be added to the church, my mind must still
and always see it as it was, with its simple chancel of
1750; its rude, partly Norman, north aisle; its pulpit of
1 592, now approached by a rood-stair re-opened in 1 863 ;
its remarkable eleventh century tympanum at the south
door, which shows (probably) St. George routing the
Saracens at Antioch, in armour of the Bayeux type ; and
its very noble fifteenth century tower, a model of propor-
tion. Let us climb that tower, by the stairs familiar to
me all my days, and from it bid farewell to Dorchester.
Beautiful is the prospect, near and far. Below us lies
the spacious churchyard, a burial-place, in parts, ever since
the Roman period. Westward you see Dorchester, tower,
spire, and bowery Walks, with Poundbury beyond them.
South-westward lies expanded the vast field of Fordington^

1 Spring, 1907.

Dorchester

i55

which till 1870 was unbroken by fence, and was tilled by
the farmers on a system of annual exchange, older,
probably, than the Christian era. Beyond it stretches
the green, massive rampart of Maiden Castle, and, more
distant still, the aerial dome of Blackdown, crowned by
the monumental tower which commemorates Nelson's
Hardy. North-westward we can almost see beautiful
Wolfeton House, cradle of the greatness of the Bedfords.
Northward, we look down on the roofs and lanes of dear

^U/e^

Napper's Mite "

old Fordington ; and eastward lie the long, fair levels of
the Swingbridge meadows, where Frome is sluiced into
hundreds of channels, bright with living water. The
bowery slopes of Stinsford and Kingston flank the
meadows ; and then, eastward, the broad valley leads
the eye away to the vanishing yet abiding line of the
Purbecks, a cloud of tenderest blue. South-eastward, over
the village and its bartons, the woods of Came appear,
and the sea-ridge runs above them with its long line of

156 Memorials of Old Dorset

Danish burial-mounds. Almost in sight are Max Gate,
the home of Mr. Hardy, our renowned novelist, and the
thatched roof of Came Rectory, once the home of our
poet, William Barnes — deep student, true pastor, clear
and tender seer of nature and of man.

O fields and streams, another race
Already comes to take our place,

To claim their right in you,
Our homes to hold, our walks to rove —
But who shall love you with our love,

Shall know you as we knew?

WEYMOUTH

By Sidney Heath

T has become customary in recent years for topo-
graphical and other writers to depict Weymouth, if
not exactly as a town of mushroom growth, at least
as one whose history and antiquity date no further
back than from the time when George III. found its
salubrious air so suited to his health. True, the aspect
of the modern town has little left of its pre-Georgian days
to tempt the archaeologist or allure the casual literary
worker ; but a few hours spent among the old records of
the town would speedily remove this first impression of
modernity, and convince even the most sceptical antiquary
that the old town of Weymouth is one of the most
ancient in the county of Dorset. The casual visitor may,
therefore, be forgiven his impression that Weymouth
was founded by George III. ; for so nearly were the older
buildings swept away at the time of this royal invasion
that even loyal Weymouth citizens now find it difficult
to realise how living a thing was the ancient past of
their town, since whatever was left untouched by the
Georgian builders has been well-nigh destroyed in more
recent times to make way for what is called modern
convenience and improvement.

The word Weymouth is derived directly from the
Saxon "Waegemuth," waeg meaning a wave, that is the
sea ; and mutha, an opening. The Celtic name for the
river Wey, allied to the Welsh word gwy, meaning water,

i57

158

Memorials of Old Dorset

w^mcj1!)

seems to have caused some confusion in the Saxon mind,
and have led them to regard the mouth of the estuary

(the Backwater) as the
inlet of the sea rather
than the outlet of a
small stream.

The earliest begin-
nings of the town are
lost in obscurity ; yet,
even if we are not pre-
pared to accept the
assertion of certain his-
torians that the Tyrian
and Phoenician merchants
traded here in their
numerous visits to these
shores, we have evidence of a more than respect-
able antiquity in some traces and memorials of the
Roman occupation, in the way of roads, coins, and
pottery ; while at Preston, an almost adjoining village,
remains of a Roman villa may still be seen, and con-
siderable Roman remains have been found at Radipole.

There are very few records or official documents
antecedent to the reign of William L, and naturally
many chasms occur in the continuity of the recorded
history of Weymouth. The earliest mention of the
place is in Saxon annals, which state that King
Athelstan, A.D. 938, granted to the Abbey of Middleton
(Milton), in Dorset, in order that masses might be said
for his soul and the souls of his ancestors and successors,
Kings of England :

All that water within the shore of Waymuth, and half the stream
of that Waymuth out at sea : twelve acres for the support of the wear
and its officer, three thaynes and a saltern by the wear, and sixty-seven
hides of land in its neighbourhood.

The next mention of the place occurs in a Saxon
charter of King Ethelred II., wherein the King gives

Weymouth i 59

land to his minister, Atsere, during his life, and
licence to leave the inheritance of it as he wills. The
charter is signed by the King with the sign of the cross ;
by Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Oswald,
Archbishop of York ; and the Bishops Athelwold, Living,
and Hirwold. The date of this interesting document is
either obliterated or was never inserted ; but in 980
Dunstan was Grand-Master of the fraternity of free and
accepted Masons in England, and both he and Oswald
died about 988.

We find no further record of Weymouth until 1042,
when Edward the Confessor caused a charge to be brought
by Robert, Bishop of London, accusing his mother, Queen
Emma, of consenting to the death of her son Alfred, of
endeavouring to poison Edward, another of her sons, and
of maintaining an infamous connection with her kinsman,
Alwin, Bishop of Winton, to the King's and her own
dishonour. The Queen was ordered to purge herself by
" fiery ordeal," which she did at Winchester Cathedral
in the presence of the King and his nobles ; and, having
passed barefooted and blindfold over nine red-hot plough-
shares without harm, she was adjudged to have cleared
herself of the accusations and to have furnished her
accusers with an example of what female chastity is able
to accomplish. The King publicly solicited his mother's
pardon ; but the Church of Winton was not so easily
appeased at the charge brought against its Bishop, and
forced the repentant King to submit to severe penance,
and to give nine manors to Holy Mother Church,
accordingly — " Ex libello donatorium Wintoniae Ecclesiae,
S. Edwardus rex, dedit Portelond, Wikes, Hellwell, et
Waimuth maneriis, cum ceteris aliis, ad Wintoniaa
ecclesiae " ; and this grant was confirmed by a bull of
Pope Innocent II.

In Domesday there are several parcels of land separately
surveyed under the name of wai and waia, with no

160 Memorials of Old Dorset

additional name to distinguish them, and they are held
by different individuals.

Henry I. granted by a charter (without date) tc
the Prior and Monks of St. Swithun,. Winton, the ports
of " Waimuth and Melecumb, with all their appurtenances,
together with the manors of Wike and Portelond," which
King Edward gave them, and that they might enjoy all
the liberties, wrecks, and all free customs, by sea and by
land, as they had ever enjoyed them. This charter was
confirmed by Henry II.

In the reign of Henry III. the manor appears to have
been considered as a dependency of Wyke, and again as
appertaining to Portland, but it is certain that in the
early part of this reign it was granted to Henry Blois,
Bishop of Winchester, and his successors, as appears
by the entry on the Charter Rolls. The Bishops
did not keep the manor long, for it soon became the
property of the opulent family of Clare, from whom was
descended Edward IV. It would be tedious to trace the
varying fortunes of the Clare family, who were for
centuries among the most powerful in the kingdom ;
and although much could be written of the subsequent
holders of the manor, the following brief records must
suffice for several decades: —

40 Edward III. — Lionel, Duke of Clarence, held the
boroughs of Weymouth and Wareham, the manors of
Portland and Wyke, with many others.

22 Richard II. — Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, held
the borough of Weymouth, the manors of Portland and
Wyke, with many others.

1 1 Henry V. — Anna, wife of Edward, Earl of March,
held the borough of Weymouth, etc.

By the marriage of Ann Mortimer, sister of the Earl
of March, with Richard de Conysburgh, Earl of Cam-
bridge, the manor fell to the house of York, for their son,
Richard Plantagenety Duke of York, succeeded them ;

Weymouth 161

and in 1 1 Henry VI., the King granted to Richard, Duke
of York, livery of Weymouth, and all the castles, manors,
lands, etc., which Ann, late wife of Edmund, Comes
Marchice^ held in dower of the inheritance of the Duke.
The town is mentioned by Leland (1538), Coker (1630
circa), and Camden. The first-named writes :

The Tounlet of Waymouth lyith strait agayn Milton (Melcombe) on
the other side of the haven, and at this place, the Trajectus is by a bote
and a rope, bent over the haven, so that yn the fery-bote they use no ores.

In another part of the Itinerary we read :

Waiymouth Town rite agen Milton, on the other side of the Haven
yt is bigger than Miltoun ys now. The Est South Est point of the Haven
of Waymouth ys caulid St. Aldelm's point, being a litl foreland. Ther
ys a Chapelle by on the Hille. The Paroch Chirch ys a mile of — a Kay
for shippes in the town — the Haven Mouth almost at hand. Half a mile
and more to the New Castelle — an open Barbecane to the Castelle.
Weimouth is counted 20 miles from Pole.

Camden states that in the reign of Edward III., the
King got together a powerful army and fleet for the
purpose of invading France, and the town provided twenty
ships and 264 mariners for the siege of Calais ; but these
figures are disputed by Hackluit, who says there were but
fifteen ships and 263 mariners. In March, 1347, the
bailiffs of Weymouth seized all the goods, chattels, jewels,
and armour of Geoffry, Earl of Harcautly, who had joined
the army of the French King. In 1377 the town suffered
considerably from the fleet of Charles V., when great
portions of the ports of Dartmouth, Plymouth, Ports-
mouth, Hastings, and Weymouth were destroyed.

The next event of importance was the landing here,
on April 14th, 1471, of Margaret of Anjou, the consort
of Henry VI., on her return from France with her son,
Prince Edward.

So the tide of history swept on, with periodical

ravages from pirates and enemies, until the appearance

off the harbour of a large foreign fleet of eighty sail, which

had voyaged from Middleburg on January 10th, 1505, to

M

1 62 Memorials of Old Dorset

escort Philip and Johanna to their Kingdom of Castile ;
but a violent hurricane caused the ships to run to
Weymouth for shelter. The inhabitants, being unaware
of the quality of their visitors, and alarmed at so formid-
able an array of vessels, speedily armed themselves, and
sent word to Sir Thomas Trenchard, at Wolfeton, who,
with Sir John Carew, marched into the town at the
head of some hastily improvised troops. On the rank
of the visitors becoming known, Sir Thomas invited them
to his house at Wolfeton until he could advise the King,
Henry VII, of the fortuitous circumstance. As soon as
Henry had notice of the arrival of these royal visitors, he
despatched the Earl of Arundel with a troop of 300 horse,
carrying torches, to escort them to London.

There is much in the minor history of the town that
one would fain linger over, but we must confine ourselves
to those larger and more far-reaching historical events
with which the old life of Weymouth was so closely
bound up.

In 1544 the bailiffs of Weymouth received the follow-
ing letter from the King, Henry VIII. : —

(By the King.)
Henr. R.

Trustie and well beloved, we greate you well. And whereas
betweene us and the Emperor upon provocation of manyfolde injuries
committed by the Frenche Kyng unto us both particulate ; And for
his confederation wyth the Turke, against ye whole commonwealthe of
Christendome. It ys agreede that eche of us aparte, in person, with
his puissant Armie in several parties this soommer, shall invade the
Realme of Fraunce ; and beyng not yet furneyshed as to our honour
appertayneth : —

We have appoynted you to send us the nombre of xv hable fotemen,
well furneyshed for the warres as appertayneth, whereof iii to bee archers,
every oone furneyshed with a goode bowe in a cace, with xxiii goode
arrows in a cace, a goode sworde, and a dagger, and the rest to be
billmen, havyng besydes theyre bill, a goode sworde, and a dagger, to
be levyed of your owne servants and tenants.

And that you put the saide nombre in such a redyness, furnished with
coats and hosen of such colours as is appointed for the battel of our
Armey,

Weymouth 163

As they faile not within oone houres warnyng to march forward to

such place as shall be appoynted accordinglie : —

Yeven under our Sygnete at our palace of Westmr., the vth daie

of Iune, the xxxv yere of our reigne.-

Henr. R-

Weymouth had been created a borough in the reign of
Edward II., at the time that his nephew, Gilbert of Clare,
Earl of Gloucester, was lord of the manor (one of whose
sisters had married Piers Gaveston, and the other sister
was the wife of Hugh le Despencer) ; and although the
town is styled a " burg " in several documents relating to
previous reigns, it was not until the nineteenth year of
the reign of Edward II. that it returned a representative
to Parliament.

The borough of Weymouth and the adjoining
one of Melcombe (which together now make up modern
Weymouth) had long viewed each other with jealous
eyes ; and so many complaints being made through
their respective members, the Parliament prepared a
charter, at the suggestion of Cecil, it is said, which was
approved by Queen Elizabeth in the thirteenth year of
her reign, which united these two discordant elements into
one borough.

The merchants of the town, like all those of our
southern ports, played a zealous and active part in fitting
out ships to fight the Armada ; and from a MS. in the
Cottonian Library we learn that the following vessels set
out from Weymouth in 1588, with instructions to guard
the coast and seek out the Invincible Armada : —

Name. Tonnage.

Master.

Men

The Gallion

100

Richard Miller

50

The Catherine

60

30

The Heath Hen

60

. . .

30

The Golden Lion

120

60

The Sutton

70

Hugh Preston

40

The Expedition

;o

5°

164

Memorials of Old Dorset

Notwithstanding that their largest vessel was only of
120 tons, the Weymouth contingent captured two of the
galleons and brought them as prizes into the harbour.
The only other vessels sent by the county on this
occasion were two from Lyme Regis — The Revenge,

"S^tfe

GJfc/ic y theJtrtnada-

of 60 tons, and The Jacob, of 90 tons — and four
from Poole. In the Guildhall there is a memorial of the
event in the shape of a massive iron-bound chest (see illus-
tration), believed to have been brought from one of the
captured galleons ; and many other relics are scattered over
the county, as at Bingham's Melcombe, where there is a

Weymouth 165

magnificent oval dining-table, of massive form and
marvellous workmanship, with the crest of a Spanish
grandee in the centre, the whole mounted on a sea-chest
in lieu of legs. Many Spanish coins have been washed
ashore on the Chesil Bank, and it is possible that
others of the ill-fated ships sank in the vicinity of Port-
land, or that the dons threw their money and valuables
overboard rather than let them fall into the hands of
their captors.

Little is recorded during the next fifty years, save the
building of a wooden bridge of seventeen arches to unite
the two towns, in 1 594 ; and thirteen years later the town
was visited by one of those great plagues which periodically
swept over mediaeval England.

The outbreak of the Civil War in 1642 found the
county fairly evenly divided in support of the rival parties,
and Corfe Castle became the headquarters of the Royalist,
and Bingham's Melcombe that of the Parliamentary forces.
In 1643 the Earl of Carnarvon seized and held for the
King, Weymouth, Melcombe, and Portland, and left them
in charge of Prince Maurice, whose troops are said to have
pillaged and ravaged the district. The following year the
Earl of Essex defeated the Royalist troops, and took the
town for the Parliament, when he was assisted
by a fleet under the Lord High Admiral, the Earl
of Warwick. The towns proved a rich prize for the
captors, as, in addition to much ammunition, etc., no less
than sixty ships fell into their hands. The troubles of
the inhabitants, however, were far from over, as in 1645
Sir Lewis Dyves received orders from the King to make
an attempt to re-capture Weymouth, which, with the help
of Sir W. Hastings, the Governor of Portland, he succeeded
in doing, and drove the defenders across the harbour into
Melcombe. On June 15th, 1644, the town surrendered to
the Parliamentary Commander, Sir William Balfour, the
final overthrow being largely due to the Earl of Warwick,
who appeared off the harbour with a large fleet, originally

i66

Memorials of Old Dorset

mobilised for the relief of Lyme Regis. The spoils of
war which fell into the hands of the captors included
ioo pieces of ordnance, 2,000 muskets, 150 cases of pistols,
200 barrels of powder, and 1,000 swords, in addition to
sixty ships of various tonnage lying in the harbour. The
losses sustained by the combined towns in the Civil War
amounted to £20,000, as a certificate from the Justices, in
the Parliamentary Roll, testifies. The town to-day shows
no trace of the fierce bombardments it underwent, but a
house in Maiden Street has a " bogus " memento in the

<Jimdfho\ 7f

ensile

shape of a cannon ball foolishly inserted in the masonry
some decades since.

In 1649 the inhabitants petitioned Parliament for a
grant of £3,000, to enable them to enlarge Melcombe
Church, build a new bridge, and free the harbour from
rubbish.

The " Old Castle," otherwise Sandsfoot Castle, situated
about half a mile from Weymouth proper, is to-day nothing
but a mere shell of the former stronghold. It was built by
Henry VIII., about 1539, and was part of his scheme for the
fortification of various parts of the coast, particularly

Weymouth

167

Portsmouth, Portland, and Weymouth, against a possible
invasion on the part of Papal Europe on his throwing
off the Roman yoke in 1540. Leland calls it "a right
goodlie and warlyke castel, havyng one open barbicane."
The existing masonry shows its form to have been a
parallelogram, and from its commanding position it, no

Doorway Sandffoof fa **•

Coftle

doubt, was a fortress of considerable strength. It is
difficult to identify, from its crumbling remains, the various
portions of the castle, but that portion to the north, from
its vaulted character, appears to have been the Governor's
apartment ; while fronting south was the gun platform,
as the embrasure shows. This platform would also flank
its east and west sides, which were also pierced for big

1 68 Memorials of Old Dorset

guns, while almost level with the ground was the barbican,
with two tiers of loop-holes for small arms.

On a tombstone at Whitchurch Canonicorum is the
following inscription: —

Here lyeth Iohn Wadham of Catherstone, Esquyer, who deceased
A.D. 1584, who was dewring his life time Captayne of the Queene's Maties
castell called Sandesfote, besides Waymouth in the countye of Dorset.

Among its other Governors were George Bamneld,
1 631; Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1643; Colonel
Ashburnham and Colonel William Sydenham, 1644; and
Humphrey Weld,, of Lulworth, 1685. It is a matter for
regret that this old building should have been so neglected,
as each year sees large masses of its masonry falling over
the cliff. As a writer as long ago as 1829 said:

Its remains even now attract many an inquisitive enquiry as to why
it has been so neglected, as where the neighing of hostile steeds, and the
busy clang of arms once sounded to the battle's din, the humble grass now
grows, its walls are the dormitories of the birds of the air, and its rooms
afford pasturage to the cattle ; a change certainly more gratifying to us
as a nation ; but still its bold towering appearance, as seen ascending the
hill, or viewing it from the hill, reminds us of some by-gone tale.

In addition to the castle, the town was further
protected by several forts. Probably none of these were
in the nature of permanent fortifications, except the Block-
house, which stood near the east end of Blockhouse Lane.
The New Fort, or Jetty Fort, was erected at the entrance
of the harbour, at the end of the old pier, and was
dismantled in 1661, although in Hutchins' time three
guns were placed in position on the same site. Then
there was Dock Fort, under the hill, west of the Jetty
Pier, St. Nicholas' Chapel converted into a fort by the
Parliamentary troops, and a small fort called the Nothe
Fort.

Few events seem to have occurred during the Protec-
torate that need recording beyond the great naval victory
gained by Blake over Van Tromp, off Portland ; and,
as some compensation for the damage done to their

Weymouth

169

The Town ToKen

Thomar Nyde

property during the reign of his father, Charles II. granted
the town in 1660 an annuity of £100 a year for ten
years from the Customs' dues. It was during this reign
that tradesmen coined small money or tokens for the
convenience of those wishing to buy small quantities of
goods, as but little small money was coined by authority.
In 1594 the Mayor of Bristol was
granted permission to coin a token,
and the benefit to the community
proved so great that the custom
spread to other towns. Weymouth
coined many of these tokens {see
illustration), which were made of
copper, brass, or lead, and decor-
ated as fancy dictated. Every
person and tradesman in the town
was obliged to take them, and
they undoubtedly answered the
purpose of providing the people
with small money. In 1672, how-
ever, Charles II. ordered to be
coined a sufficient number of half-
pence and farthings for the
exigencies of the State, and these
numorum famuli were prohibited
as being an infringement of the
King's prerogative.

The grant of armorial bearings
to Weymouth and Melcombe Regis
bears the date of May 1st, 1592.
The seals of the town were eight
in number, a description of which is recorded in Ellis's
History of W ey mouth.

When the ill-starred Duke of Monmouth landed at
Lyme Regis in 1685, no Weymouthians seem to have
flocked to his standard. Upon the failure of the
rebellion the participants of the neighbourhood were

Bartholomew Beer

Jamef Stanley

JamefBudd

ofortie Weymouth
To/fens . .

170

Memorials of Old Dorset

quickly disposed of by Judge Jeffreys, who opened his
Bloody Assize at Dorchester, and ordered them to be

hanged at Greenhill, and
their bodies to be dis-
membered and exhibited
throughout the county as
a warning to rebels.

So we come down to
the close of the seven-
teenth century with little
to record save devastating
fires, plagues, and storms.
A general period of poverty and depression seems
then to have overtaken the two towns. The causes
leading to this change, which had begun to show itself
in the reign of Elizabeth, were many and various,
and may be briefly ascribed to the concrete result of the
vicious rule of the Stuarts, the removal of the wool trade
to Poole, the loss of the Newfoundland trade, and the
injury received during the Civil War. Ellis tells us
that, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, " scarcely
any idea can be formed of the general devastation
and depression that everywhere prevailed. Houses were
of little value . . . the population had dwindled
to a mere nothing . . . old tenements fell down
. . . the inhabitants consisted chiefly of smugglers
and fishermen."

Before we turn to the brighter days which set in
towards the middle of the reign of George III., a short
account must be given of the larger memorials of the
town — e.g., the old bridge, the priory, and the parish
church, although it must be confessed that of important
antiquities dating before the Georgian era the town has
little to show beyond a few remnants of Jacobean houses,
part of one solitary pillar of the chapel, and possibly a few
old doorways; and in later and minor memorials the town
is little better off. There is, in the Guildhall, the fine

Weymouth

171

iron-bound chest before mentioned, and another, said
to be of similar origin, bequeathed by the late Sir Richard
Howard. There is also an ancient chair with a cardinal's hat
carved on the back, and the old stocks and whipping-post ;

£ Clef Novje on North
% Q.vay Weymovth.%^

but for the most part nothing has survived save the truly
Georgian, such as round windows, picturesque doorways,
and part of the old Gloucester Lodge, now an hotel — an
altogether disappointing record in comparison with the
long and varied history of the place.

172

Memorials of Old Dorset

Of the old chapel,1 the one remaining stone is pre-
served in the wall of a school. The chapel was a chapel
of ease to Wyke Regis, the mother-church of Weymouth,
and was dedicated to St. Nicholas. It stood on the
summit of a hill overlooking the old town of Weymouth,
and its site is commemorated in the name " Chapelhaye,"
by which the district is known. There are several docu-
ments extant relating to this chapel, and among extracts
from the Liceirce is the following: —

None shall fail at the setting
forth of the procession of Corpus
Christi day, on pain of forfeiting
one pound of wax, and each brother
shall pay six pennies to the pro-
cession, and pay yearly.

This relates to the frater-
nity or guild in the Chapel
of St. Nicholas, which was
founded by a patent granted
in 20 Henry VIII. to Adam
Moleyns, Dean of Sarum,
and certain parishioners of
Wyke Regis, and known as
" The Fraternity or Guild
of St. George in Wey-
mouth."

Before the building of a
bridge across the harbour
the means of direct communication between the two towns
was, so Leland says in 1530, by means of a boat, drawn
over by a rope affixed to two posts, erected on either
side of the harbour, a contrivance which was in use at
Portland Ferry as late as 1839. In 1594 this primitive
method of crossing gave way on the erection of the
wooden bridge before referred to, erected at the expense

Old Cliair v/ Wejmovfh.

1 On the site of this chapel Mr. Ellis dug up some beautiful pieces
of fourteenth-century Gothic work.

Weymouth 173

of several wealthy merchants of London, who appear to
have had trading interests here. This, in its turn, was so
seriously injured during the Civil Wars, that it fell to
pieces, and was rebuilt in 12 Anne by Thomas Hardy,
Knt, William Harvey, James Littleton, and Reginald
Marriott, the towns' Paliamentary representatives, and
it continued in use until 1741, when a bridge sixty
yards long, with a draw-bridge in the centre, took
its place. The celebrated Bubb Dodington, the first
and only Lord Melcombe, contributed largely to its cost.
In 1770 another bridge was erected some seventy
yards westward, thus increasing the length of the
harbour ; but as the inhabitants were forced to make a
considerable detour to reach it, they petitioned against
the proposed alteration, but to no purpose. In 1820
it was determined to erect the first bridge of stone,1
which is still in use, and only calls for mention here from
the fact that on pulling down some adjacent houses an
urn filled with silver coins of Elizabeth, James I, and
Charles I. was found ; and it is said that some of the
inhabitants had a fine haul of " treasure trove " on this
occasion. More interesting, perhaps, was the discovery
of a gilt brass crucifix, four inches long ; and on the wall
of one of the demolished houses was painted the following
verse : —

God saue our Queene Elizabethe,

God send hir happie dayes ;

God graunt her grace to

Persevir in his most holie wayes.

A. Dom. 1577.

The old priory, or, as it was more commonly called,
the " Friary," stood in Maiden Street. It was a house of
the Dominican Friars, dedicated in the name of St.
Winifred, although Speed gives Dominic as the dedicatory
saint. Leland writes of it as " a fayre house of Freres in
the est part of the town." The ancient chair now in the

1 This bridge was finished in 1824, at a cost of £20,000.

i;4 Memorials of Old Dorset

Guildhall came from this priory, and it was said to possess
miraculous powers of healing the sick, and otherwise
blessing the devout who were privileged to sit upon it.
The priory shared the fate of the other monastic founda-
tions at the Dissolution.

Of churches which can be rightly considered as
memorials, Weymouth has no example, as the oldest is.
that of St. Mary, the parish church. The foundation-
stone was laid on October 4th, 181 5 ; this church was
erected partly on the site of a former church. It is a
large, simple, and unpretentious building, of which some
hard things have been said and written, but it is at least
well built and free from sham, although of its architecture
the less said the better. It is, however, somewhat
redeemed by an excellently designed cupola containing
one bell. Inside, an altar-piece by Sir James Thornhill,
a native of the towny whose daughter married his pupil
Hogarth, claims attention ; as also does the following
curious inscription, in which the artist, by contracting
the word "worthiest," has conveyed the very opposite
estimate of the deceased's character to that intended : —

UNDERth LIES Ye BODY OF

CHRISe. BROOKS ESQ. OF JAMAICA

WHO DEPARd. THIS LIFE 4 SEPr. 1769

AGED 38 YEARS, ONE OF Ye WORst. OF MEN

FRIEND TO Ye DISTRESd.

TRULY AFFECTd. & KIND HUSBAND

TENDER PART. & A SINCe. FRIEND.

An old chalice belonging to the former church which
stood on this site was in the possession of Mr. Ellis. It
was made of pewter, weighed (without the lid, which was
missing) \\ lbs., and held four pints. On the front was
engraved :

HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD,

ZACH. XIV., VER. 20.

JOHN STARR,

CHURCHWARDEN,

l633-

Weymouth 175

About the middle of the eighteenth century a
gentleman of Bath, Ralph Allen (the original of
Fielding's " Squire Airworthy "), having been recom-
mended sea-bathing for his health, found the shore of
Melcombe so suitable for his purpose that he spoke of
it to the Duke of Gloucester. His Royal Highness came,
sampled the saltwater, and built Gloucester Lodge, to which
house he shortly afterwards invited the King, George III.,
who spent eleven weeks here, with his Queen and family,
in the summer of 1789. The result of this and subse-
quent visits was that His Majesty purchased the house
and converted it into a royal residence. A great stimulus
was thus given to the town, which entered upon a period
of prosperity; for here George III. held court, and heard
the news of some of Nelson's and Wellington's victories.
Very gay, indeed, was the life of those days, with music,
feasting, and dancing, which took place in what is now
called " the Old Rooms " (formerly an inn), across the
harbour. It was at Gloucester Lodge that His Majesty
received his ministers, and from whence he and
Queen Charlotte used to walk to the little theatre
in Augusta Place to witness the performances of Mrs.
Siddons and her contemporaries. Queen Charlotte's
second keeper of robes was Fanny Burney (Madame
D'Arblay), the chronicler of George III., and the
author of Evelina and Camilla, for which last she
received 3,000 guineas, with which sum she built
Camilla Cottage, at Mickleham, near Dorking.

At Weymouth, in 1785, was born Thomas Love
Peacock, the author of The Monks of St. Mark, and
other works. He was Lender-Secretary to Sir Home
Popham, and afterwards Chief Examiner and Clerk to
the East India Company, from which post he retired in
1856 with a pension of £1,333 Per annum. He was a
friend of Shelley, whom he had met on a walking tour in
Wales in 18 12. He died in 1866, aged eighty years.

In the long list of eminent men who have represented

176

Memorials of Old Dorset

the towns in Parliament we find the names of Francis
Bacon (Lord Verulam), Sir Christopher Wren, and the
celebrated political adventurer, Bubb Dodington.

One of the most interesting studies for the topographer
lies in tracing the origin of the names of the streets of
a town ; and the names of the principal streets of
Weymouth are distinctly traceable to their origin.
St. Nicholas' Street derives its name from the patron-
saint of maritime towns ; Francis Street comes probably
from Franchise ; Boot Lane (formerly Buckler's), from an
inn called " The Boot " ; Helen Lane, from Queen Eleanor,
who held the manor of Melcombe ; Maiden Street, from
Queen Elizabeth, who united the boroughs ; and
St. Edmund's Street, St. Thomas' Street, and St. Mary's
Street, possibly from chapels dedicated in honour of these
saints.

The Old JtocKs Weymouth.

THE ISLE OF PORTLAND

By Mrs. King Warry

lO the stranger of antiquarian or geological
tastes Portland must ever be of interest ; but
the casual visitor — seeing it for the first time
in the glare of the noonday sun, amidst
eddying clouds of stone-dust tossed hither and thither by
blustering winds, or when the over-charged atmosphere
settles like a misty cap on the Verne Heights — is apty if
he have formed expectations, to be woefully disappointed.
The fact is that nowhere, perhaps, is the Spirit of Place
more coy and difficult of access than in modern Portland,
having retreated before barracks, fortifications, and
prison, before traction-engines and signs of commercial
prosperity. But, properly wooed, it can still be won, and
once found, how well it repays the trouble of seeking !
A mere cycle run or drive through the island is emphati-
cally not the way to see Portland Isle, especially the
Portland of the past. The visitor needs to walk, saunter,
and lounge idly for at least a few days, and then, if he
have a well-stored mind and fail to experience the subtle,
indefinable sensation called " charm," he must be strangely
lacking in that spiritual perception which alone makes
man feel at one with the universe and with God.

The convict establishment and Government quarries
have displaced much which lent an interest to the island ;
the barracks and harbour works have displaced still more —
but fortunately we retain a few records which, scanty
though they be, reveal a something of the past. Gone
N 177

178 Memorials of Old Dorset

is the barrow of that king whose very name is lost; and
this supposed last resting-place of a mighty chieftain,
swept through long centuries by pure sea-laden breezes,
is now desecrated by quarrying operations : the barrow
of Celtic Bran is but an empty name, though Mound Owl
still remains in part, a silent witness of Saxon prowess
and possibly of the fierceness of the contest maintained
so long in Royal Dorset.

Gone, also, is the sometime well-preserved earthwork
on the Verne Hill, formerly attributed to Roman or Dane,
and now believed to have been older than either. Only
a slight vestige of the double fosse-way remains ;
though an old man, but lately passed away, has told us
that in the days of his youth he could stand on that part
of the West Cliff known as Priory and distinctly trace it
throughout its length as it tended downwards towards
the harbour, once the scene alike of peaceful commercial
intercourse or sanguinary combats. Looking across
Portland Mere from the hill-top, one can imagine it all —
from the probable peaceful Phoenician trader and Roman
trireme to the Viking rovers and much-dreaded " long
ships," even as can be pictured in some degree the
character of the opposite coast before the altered tidal
action inside Portland breakwater had caused beautiful
Smallmouth Sands to vanish and Sandsfoot Castle to
stand perilously near the crumbling cliff-edge in ruinous
state ; whilst the opposite Portland Castle still remains,
casting much of its original reflection in the Mere waters,
a standing witness to the uneasy conscience of Henry VIII.
respecting French designs.

Page upon page of unwritten history lay open to the
observant eye as recently as some sixty years or so ago,
all traces of which are rapidly vanishing before modern
requirements. Barrows, earthworks, and so-called
Druidical circles were then so strongly in evidence
(especially one well-preserved circle near where the prison
Governor's house now stands) as to make one think

The Isle of Portland 179

that religious observances of one kind or another must
have been strongly marked during those early days.
Indeed, the Bill itself — cleaving the clear waters within
sight of the foam-tossed Race and equally dangerous
Shambles, its point accentuated by the curious out-
standing Pulpit Rock — is often termed " Beel " by the
old islanders, and is by some supposed to derive its
name from Baal.

The former bold outline of the West Cliff is in part
lost, owing to land-slides during the past century ; and lost,
likewise (owing to tidal action), is the old pathway round
the Weirs underneath, towards the lighthouses, which
formed a pleasant ramble seventy odd years ago. But the
view from the cliff -tops, both east and west, must be much
the same as in immediately-preceding centuries, and it is
only those who have watched the nickering lights and
shadows and roseate glow over-spreading the white coast-
line in early day right away to St. Ealdhelm's, or faced
the sunset on the West Cliff, who can appreciate one of
the chief charms of Portland, viz., the varying character
of the coast-line, both far and near — that coast which
surely no Englishman can survey without emotion, abound-
ing as it does in memories of the deeds which helped to
make our England.

The Bay itself is glorious to look down upon, with its
pebbly ridge dividing it from that other water more like
lake than sea ; whilst straight away, cloud-cleaving in the
haze, is Blackdown, capped by Hardy's Monument, over
which hover greyish-purple shadows, changing into those
tones and half-tones which are so charming in Dorset
" distances."

The East Weirs, again, were an ideal place for a day's
ramble, with their wild undergrowth, dog-roses and
honeysuckle sending their fragrance along the sea-laden
breezes. Set off on one hand by the grey, grim cliffs
above, and the restless waters on the other, they
merge into a chaotic jumble of rocks and grass,

180 Memorials of Old Dorset

terminating abruptly in a ledge overlooking one of the
gems of the isle — the beautiful little cove of Church Hope.
This cove is guarded above by weather-beaten Bow and
Arrow Castle, the old ruined church, and Pennsylvania
Castle, the latter lying at the head of a romantic grassy
slope studded with trees, and the whole forming a
delightful rest for tired eyes in treeless, stony Portland
Isle.

Bow and Arrow, or Rufus Castle, is worth more
than a mere passing allusion, but space forbids. Its
alternative name may show the period of its erection ;
it was probably built about the same time as the ancient
church which preceded the adjacent ruined building. Its
original strength is apparent at a glance, and its position
on the summit of a crag overlooking the channel is
distinctly striking. Old Portlanders believed the above-
mentioned crag to have once been near the centre of the
island, and the Shambles to have been the site of butchers'
shops. When we recall the great historic land-slides on
the north-east in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
and remember how the old people are stated to have
spoken of them with bated breath, in reference to the
terror they had caused the then living inhabitants, who
had believed the whole island to be slipping away, the
tradition does not seem so wildly impossible.

Recorded history is so silent respecting the early years
of Portland, that one fancies it must have inherited its
full share of that barbarism into which Britain relapsed
after the departure of the Romans, its very name having
been lost ; for that it was the " Vindilis," or " Vindilia,"
■of Roman times, is open to grave doubts, the latest edition
-of the Antonine Itinerary stating that place to have been
Belle Isle. It is much more generally accepted that Port-
land was referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the
;landing-place of the men " who came in three long ships
ifram Haeretha Land (Denmark), A.D. 787." Terrible, indeed,
lnust have been the depredations of these wild northmen

The Isle of Portland 181

during this and subsequent periods, for floating traditions
to linger on till past the middle of the nineteenth century.
It is well within the writer's memory that rebellious
children were sometimes threatened with being carried
off by " the cruel wild men, who come over the beach in
the middle of the night and carry away naughty children "
— a threat which was varied by references to " Old
Arripay " or " Boney." The " wild men " seemed too
remote, and " Arripay " too nebulous to a child's mind
to cause much fear ; but " Boney " was a real terror to
the little conscience-stricken individual, so familiar with
frequent allusions to the threatened French invasion under
Buonaparte as to consider him still living, and to regard
him with a mighty dread.

There is a legend still extant that after the defeat
of the Danes at Charmouth they landed at Portland and
carried off some maidens, whom they imprisoned in the
bottom of their ship. Owing to a fearful storm, the
Danes perished, whilst the ship containing the bound
girls was driven backwards during the night and cast
ashore. When the light of morning broke, to their great
joy, they found themselves at the very place from which
they had been stolen.

Duke ^Ethelhelm defeated the Danes here in 837 ;
and in 1052 Earl Godwin landed and plundered the
island.

Edward the Confessor granted the manor to the church
at Winchester, which grant must have been revoked by
the Conqueror, as Domesday Book states : " The King
holds the island which is called Porland." Later on we
find the Prior and Convent of Winchester held Portland,
which may account for certain lands there still being
called Priory. It must not be forgotten that the manor in
ancient times included the dependencies of Wyke, Wey-
mouth, and Helwell. Interesting references to grants of the
Manor may be seen at the British Museum. Amongst the
more noteworthy names in this connection may be cited

1 82 Memorials of Old Dorset

those of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hert-
ford, Lionel Duke of Clarence, and Cecilia Duchess of
York. Later still we find Henry VIII. granting the Manor
and Isle to Catherine Howard, and then to Catherine
Parr, Portland having formed part of Jane Seymour's
possessions. In a closet over the gun-room at Portland
Castle is the following inscription: —

God, save, Kinge, Henri, the viii, of, that, name, and, Prins, Edvard,
begottin, of, Quene, Jane, my, Ladi, Mari, that, goodli, Virgin, and,
the, Ladi, Elizabeth, so, towardli, with, the, Kinge's, honorable,
counselers.

Amongst the Lansdowne MSS. in the British Museum
is one entitled " Remembrance for Lord Burghly as to
certain fixtures of Sir W. Raleigh relating to Portland
Castle, 1587 " ; and in 1625 the name of Gilbert Rawleigh
is cited as Governor of the Castle.

We can fancy those stirring times in 1558, when Coker
tells us that off Portland, in full view of those on shore,
was witnessed a great fight with the Invincible Armada,
two of whose treasure-ships were brought into Portland
Roads. For long years after, during a ground-swell,
dollars and " ducky-stones " were picked up on Portland
Beach, and were supposed to be a portion of that
treasure which was to have been used in subjugating
England. En passant, it may be said that the ducky-
stone (a piece of solid silver about the size and somewhat
the shape of a small saucer) did not derive its name from
the ducat, but from the Portland game of " ducky,"
which consisted in trying to dislodge a stone poised
lightly on the top of a larger stone — a matter
eliciting some of that skill in stone-slinging for which
the Portlanders (often termed the British Baleares) were
once noted.

Again, in 1653, the celebrated running fight between
Van Tromp and Blake took place off Portland, memories
of which, together with the landing of the Duke of
Monmouth " down Lyme way " some thirty odd years later,

The Isle of Portland 183

lingered in the talk of the old people down to our own
times. Their memories were also very keen respecting
the days of " good " Queen Anne (when certain Port-
landers were " touched " for " the Evil "), of " forty-five,"
and of the chief battles of Marlborough, Wellington, and
Nelson — the victory of the Nile, with its attendant
rejoicings, assuming a greater importance than any other,
as perhaps was befitting in a coast people who could
recognise the value of this French defeat ; but most of
all were their hearts stirred by tales of the long list of
brave ships which had met their doom on the rocks, of
hair-breadth escapes and thrilling rescues, and great was
the indignation expressed if any allusion were made to the
old mainland belief, that the island inhabitants had ever
been wreckers.

The Portlanders, ever loyal at heart, probably sided
wholly with the King during the contests between Charles
and his Parliament ; but the place changed hands several
times during the struggle. Cromwell must have felt
assured of this loyalty, as he appears to have been in
vengeful mood towards the old Parsonage House, the
" Island Ancient Records " containing the following
entry : —

One Personage House in the Villidge of Wakem Demolished and
burnt down by the Usurper Oliver Cromwell and hant been rebuilded
every since.

The method of quarrying stone is too well known
to need comment ; but one curious custom which
prevailed among the quarrymen until quite recent times
may here be cited, known as " jumping the broom-
stick." On the marriage of one of their number,
the quarrymen all adjourned to the George Inn, where
the bachelors were ranged on one side and the married
men on the other, a broomstick lying between. Clianting
a doggerel couplet, the married men had a tug-of-war with
the single men, and, pulling the newly-made bridegroom
across the broomstick, he was made to stand " drinks all
round."

1 84 Memorials of Old Dorset

The more closely the descent of the Portland people
is investigated, the more probable appears the persistent
island tradition that three families successively settled in
the island amongst the original inhabitants, viz. : the
Combens (valley men?), the Pearces from Ireland, and
the Whites, " who came from the sea, Dover way." This
corresponds in the main with the Belgic inroads, the Irish
incursions in the west during the third and subsequent
centuries, and with the Jutish, or mixed Jutish and Frisian
settlement at Portland, of which there is considerable
proof. Anyway, one strong Frisian characteristic tallied
well with the intense independence of the old Portlander,
coupled with the occasional phrase, " as free as the air,"
and the proudly-repeated assertion, " None over us but
the Sovereign ; she " (in the case of the late Queen) " is
Lady of the Manor."

The inbred distrust of strangers, called kimberlins
(pointing, perhaps, to a comparatively pure-blooded
community), coupled with his insularity, gave a certain
reserve to the old Portlander ; but, once his confidence
won, none more communicative or hospitable than he.
True alike to his preferences and aversions, full of
prejudices, but loyal, brave and manly, proud of his
word of honour, he was by no means to be despised either
as friend or foe. Quarrelsome he certainly was if his
sense of right were in any way disturbed ; otherwise
he was peaceful and law-abiding, except as regards
smuggling ; and it was, perhaps, this probable old Frisian
love of freedom which made him consider that what came
by the sea was free to all, and to resent tax or toll thereon.
Not long since an underground passage was unearthed
between two old houses, one of which had secret recesses
behind two sideboards. This may have been a fair sample
of many such houses in the old smuggling days.

The Portlander was also proud of his old Saxon
customs, of his Court Leet and his Reeve (Anglo-Saxon,
gerefa), of his " share and share alike " system {gavel-kind)

The Isle of Portland

185

regarding division of property, and of his pre-feudal
method of conveyance of land, viz. : by church-gift, a
method still frequently adhered to.

In a MS. account of Portland Isle (1696) Stowe has
left an amusing account of the way in which land was
set apart for daughters during the parents' lifetime.
The father, with some of the principal inhabitants, would
stand in the church porch after Evening Service, and
declare aloud his intention, naming his daughters in full,
and specifying the exact boundaries of each piece of land,

after which all the congregation would rise up and bless
the daughters by name.

An old-time Portland wedding was an amusing cere-
mony. The bride and bridegroom always walked to
church, followed by their friends in couples. After the
wedding-feast the whole party perambulated the island,
calling at their friends' houses en route. The well-to-do
kept up festivities perhaps for two or three days. It was
the proud boast of an old lady of the last century that she
had had more couples follow her at her wedding in 1809
than had ever been known in the island, and that her

1 86 Memorials of Old Dorset

wedding had been kept up longer than any other. She
had been followed by nearly seventy couples, and the
wedding festivities had been celebrated for a week
afterwards.

An island funeral was a peculiarly mournful sight, the
coffin being carried by relays of bearers, followed by a
long procession of mourners, walking slowly two by two,
clad in garments of the deepest woe. If, however, the
deceased were an infant or very young child, the bearers
would consist of young girls dressed completely in white.

The fourteenth of May, when the cows were turned
into the Common, was kept as a gala day. Girls dressed
in white, and club-walking, and general rejoicing took
place. There was also a very old custom of keeping
the household fires going from November to May, and
not permitting them to be lit again (except for necessary
cooking) from May till November. An old Portlander
who died about 1830 was the last to adhere rigidly to
this rule.

Superstition of all kinds was rife, and so akin were
some of the old beliefs to those of Devon and Cornwall
as to betray a common origin. Numerous and varied
were the healing remedies employed by the old people ;
whilst, coupled with many cooking recipes, which would
be regarded to-day with feelings akin to disgust, are some
which can still be appreciated, such as Royal Pudding,
roast Portland lamb, and the most approved method of
cooking wheat-ears — all dishes beloved by King
George III., and prepared for him at the old " Portland
Arms," when His Most Gracious Majesty visited the
Island.

THE ISLE OF PURBECK
By A. D. Moullin

ORTH of the irregular coast-line of Dorset, from
Lulworth on the west to Handfast Point and
Old Harry Rocks on the east (a distance of
twelve miles), and extending inland for some
five to eight miles, lies a district of about a hundred square
miles in area, known as the Isle of Purbeck. It is an
island only in the same sense as Thanet. It is bounded
on the north by Poole Harbour and the river Frome ; on
the west, partly by Luckford Lake, a tributary of the
Frome ; and an imaginary line running southward to the
rugged coast-line forms its southern and eastern boundary.

It is strange to tell that this more or less undefined
limitation has had a marked effect on the character and
customs of the people who inhabit the Isle of Purbeck, as
compared with the dwellers in the other portions of the
county. They, like the people of Portland, claim for
themselves a distinct individuality, due, possibly, in some
measure to the hereditary rights of quarrying which have
done much to keep families together, and minimised the
introduction of a foreign element into their midst. These
quarrying rights have always been jealously guarded, and
the unwritten laws regulating this industry stringently
enforced.

The centre of the island is dominated by Corfe Castle ;
and such importance was centred in this old-world town

187

1 88 Memorials of Old Dorset

and fortress that the lord of the manor of Corfe was also
Lord-Lieutenant of Purbeck.

Originally the whole of this interesting district was
a royal deer-warren, and much of it was covered with
forest. Here Norman and Plantagenet kings enjoyed the
chase ; and summary justice was meted out to those who
infringed the Forest laws.

In early times, one of the most important towns in
the county was Wareham ; and although it is on the
north bank of the river Frome, one of the boundaries of
Purbeck, still it is usually considered to belong to the
island. Of its great antiquity there is, fortunately, ample
record. King Alfred set up a mint in the town ; and it
was here that, in 876, he attacked the Danes who had
sailed up the Frome to Wareham, where they soon took
possession of the Castle and entrenched themselves in a
strong position behind the walls and earthworks, and
found it a convenient centre for ravaging the neighbour-
hood at their leisure. Alfred had meanwhile defeated
these Scandinavian pirates in a sea-fight, which possibly
was the first naval victory gained by the English.
Probably disheartened by this defeat, the Danes agreed
to terms of peace, promising to sail away quietly to their
own country ; instead of which some of them rode off
towards Exeter, hoping to be joined by the rest of their
men in the ships which lay off Wareham. Their treachery
was not destined to succeed, for a mighty storm arose, and
wrecked about a hundred of the Danish ships off Old
Harry Rocks, near Swanage. This loss temporarily broke
the power of the northern foe.

The Church of Lady St. Mary in Wareham was in 978
the temporary resting-place of the body of Edward the
Martyr, although the pre-Conquest Church which
occupied the same site has passed away. It is interesting
to think that for more than a thousand years religious
services have been conducted on this spot. Of the
several ecclesiastical buildings once possessed by this

The Isle of Purbeck 189

town there remain only three : St. Mary's, just
mentioned, and two others now no longer regularly
used for service.

The Purbeck Hills, which nearly bisect the Isle from
east to west, divide the heathland with its china clay and
marshes on the north from the stone measures known as
the Purbeck beds on the south. The chalk hills of the
range attain in places to a height of nearly 700 feet, and
form an imposing barrier when viewed either from land
or sea. The Romans were not slow to discover the
properties of the china clay, from which they made
pottery on an extensive scale, and tiles and tesserae
with which to adorn their houses.

Of the many old manor-houses with which this district
abounds, space will only admit the mention of a few.
Some three miles to the south of Wareham is Creech,
a very ancient manor, with the house re-built in the seven-
teenth century. According to Hutchins, the manor is
mentioned as early as Edward the Confessor's time, and
in the Domesday Book it is said to belong to the Earl
of Morton ; afterwards, until the dissolution of the monas-
teries, it was held by Bindon Abbey, after which it was
given to Sir John Horsey, and towards the end of the
seventeenth century it was purchased by an ancestor of
the Bond family, its present holders. Crossing the
densely wooded slope of the Purbeck Hills, and descend-
ing on the other side towards the sea, we find another
ancient manor-house, that of Great Tyneham, built about
1570. It is one of the largest of the many old manor-
houses of that period.

East and West Lulworth, although, strictly speaking,
outside the confines of the Island, are so closely associated
with it that a passing comment may not be out of place.
At West Lulworth is a Cove almost encircled by the
distorted and upheaved strata of the Purbeck beds. These
form a natural harbour, which, when once seen, is not
easily forgotten. There is a tradition, which forms the

190 Memorials of Old Dorset

basis of one of Mr. Hardy's stories in Life's Little Ironies,
that the great Napoleon was seen here in 1804 seeking
a suitable landing-place for the flat-bottomed barges m
which he hoped to bring his legions across the channel
to invade England. If this story is true, how he must
have gazed with interest at the beacon-fires on each
promontory and hill-top ready to be lit to give warning
of the impending peril.

About half a mile to the east of the Cove, well above
the action of the sea, are extensive remains of a " Fossil
Forest," with many of the tree-trunks in position.

The village of East Lulworth, where once stood a
monastery, is about a mile inland from the sea. Near
this is Lulworth Castle, the seat of the Weld family, a
conspicuous object looking like a fortress, with its four
massive corner towers, which give the grey stone structure
a grim appearance from the sea. It was built between
1588 and 1609, largely of stone brought from the ruins
of Bindon Abbey; and there is still to be seen at the
Castle an exquisitely carved oak door which is said to
have belonged to the Abbey. The Castle has had many
royal visitors — James I., Charles II., the Duke of
Monmouth, George III., and Queen Charlotte among the
number. The unhappy Mrs. FitzHerbert, morganatic wife
of George IV., was first married to Mr. Weld, and lived
here ; her portrait and diamond and pearl necklace are still
kept at the Castle.

From Tyneham towards St. Ealdhelm's Head extend
the shallows of the dangerous Kimmeridge Ledge, with
its interesting formation of bituminous shale underlying
the Portland Beds, a kind of coal which may be easily
burnt, and is, indeed, used for fuel by many of the
cottagers of the district, notwithstanding the unpleasant
smell it emits when burning, and the dense shower of soot
that falls from the smoke. In the early part of last
century a fire broke out and smouldered for many months,
at Holworth, on a continuation of this outcrop further to

The Isle of Purbeck igi

the west, and was known as the Burning Cliff. At times
volumes of smoke arose, the pungent smell of which was
distinctly perceptible as far off as Weymouth when the
wind was blowing from the east.

From the days of Sir William Clavel, in the reign of
Charles I., the minerals of Kimmeridge have from time
to time been worked, and many and various have been
the schemes for exploiting this bituminous deposit, and
even at the present day samples are occasionally sent
for with the view to extracting mineral oil. But one must
go back to a much more remote period for the first
evidence of early workings. The Romans, during their
occupation of this part of the coast, were not slow to
discover the value of this supply of fuel, which may
possibly have been worked long before their arrival.

The expert Roman craftsmen found also that the
shale was capable of being turned and fashioned into
various kinds of ornamental articles resembling those made
of jet ; so they set up lathes on the spot to turn out these
articles, which, no doubt, met with a ready sale among the
fashionable dwellers in Durnovaria (Dorchester). That
the existence of these lathes was an actual fact is proved
by the hundreds of discs or cores which remain to this
day, and are found in and with the Roman pottery
fashioned from the Wealdon clay of the district. These
discs are usually from i^ to 2\ inches in diameter, with
central holes to attach them to the lathe mandril, and were
the discarded centres of rings and other ornaments made
from the shale. By local tradition these discs have always
been known as " Kimmeridge coal money," and although
present-day antiquaries laugh at the idea of their ever
having been used as money, the writer ventures to suggest
the possibility of the correctness of such a theory. They
are found in considerable numbers securely hidden away
a short distance below the surface of the ground, usually
between stones placed on edge and covered over by
another flat stone. The care with which they were

192 Memorials of Old Dorset

secreted indicates that they were considered of some value
to the owner. May not the Celts have collected and used
them as tallies or tokens ? These discs, bearing the tool
marks of the turner, would have been impossible to
counterfeit by the uncivilised races of that day, to whom
the use of the lathe was unknown. The value of local
traditionary names is considerable, and the foregoing
appears to be a feasible suggestion as to the authenticity
of the name, " Kimmeridge coal money."

This part of the coast has a desolate and forbidding
appearance, due to its black, shaley formation.

Looking eastward, St. Ealdhelm's Head stands out in
majestic grandeur, rising out of the sea more than 350
feet in height, and crowned at its seaward end by the
Norman chapel dedicated to St. Ealdhelm, first Bishop of
Sherborne.

About a mile and a half inland we come upon the
little church of Worth Matravers, in the centre of the
village of that name ; it is probably the most ancient
building in Purbeck of which anything now remains. Here
we find traces of Saxon work, with that of Norman
added ; the chancel arch is a good example of the latter.
It is now generally considered possible that here was one
of the two sacred edifices built by St. Ealdhelm in
Purbeck and mentioned in ancient records. The divided
buttress on the north wall, and the grave-stone of
Benjamin Jesty are objects of interest. On the latter
is the following inscription: —

Sacred to the memory of Benjamin Jesty of Downshay, who departed
this life April 16th, 1816, aged 70. He was born at Yetminster in this
county, and was an upright honest man, particularly noted for having
been the first person (known) that introduced the cowpox by inoculation,
and who from his strength of mind made the experiment from the cow
on his wife and two sons in the year 1774.

From Worth Church to Swanage there is a track or
path known still as Priestway, originally used by the
priests of Worth passing backwards and forwards between

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The Isle of Purbeck 193

Swanage and Worth churches, the latter of which is said
to have been the mother-church. Sir Charles Robinson*
says that Worth is the Saxon word for village, and that,
the second half of the name was added because it was'
owned by Sir John Matravers, who had charge o£
Edward II. during his imprisonment at Corfe Castle.

From the elevated road along the cliffs may be seen
a series of terraces, known locally as Lynchets, cut out
on the slopes of the hills facing the sea ; as to the use
and origin of these escarpments there have been many
theories and much discussion. That they are artificial
and not natural there can be little doubt, and the labour
expended in their formation must have been enormous.
From their position, facing south-east, south, and south-
west, one may fairly assume that their object was for
agricultural purposes. They are to be found in several
other parts of Dorset, as well as in other counties.

Dr. Colley March1 says the word lynchet is derived
from the Anglo-Saxon hlinc, meaning a ridge of land.
He tells us that in the reign of Henry VIII. an Act was
passed compelling all farmers with sixty acres of pasture
or arable land to cultivate one rood, where the soil was
suitable, for growing flax or hemp for cordage for the
needs of the navy, and concludes as follows : —

In fine the law that compelled farmers to cultivate flax, the permission"
to do so in any place they were able to secure, the importance of
suitable soil, and the necessity of prompt and efficient drainage, that
could but be obtained on a sloping surface will account for a good many
of the numerous lynchets of Dorset.

Fully to appreciate the rugged features of the cliffs
between St. Ealdhelm's and Durlston Head, they should
be viewed from the sea, for the indentations and caverns
of this iron-bound coast are indeed wonderful. All along
the sea-board quarrying was carried on for centuries, and

1 " The Problem of Lynchets," Dorset Nat. Hist, and Antiquarian
Field Club's Proceedings, vol. xxiv.
O

194 Memorials of Old Dorset

some of the caves are due to the hand of man. Many
of these caverns fulfilled a double duty, providing blocks
of stone by day and sheltering cargoes of smuggled goods
by night. This part of the coast enjoyed quite a notoriety
for its contraband trading during the early part of the
last century, and the stories told of the daring Purbeck
smugglers would fill a volume.

Mr. William Hardy, of Swanage, has published an
interesting little book called Smuggling Days in Purbeck,
in which he tells of many curious hiding-places for the
illicit goods ; one he mentions, which long remained
undiscovered, was under the roof of Langton Church, a
most unlikely place to attract suspicion. It became
necessary at one time to double the number of revenue
men, or coastguards ; and it must have been a strange
sight to see these men setting out for the night's vigil
carrying a one-legged stool, so that in the event of their
falling asleep they might topple over and wake up.
Smuggling became such a profitable business that most
of the inhabitants of the district were more or less
engaged in it.

Although less exciting, and perhaps less profitable,
the quarrying industry was extensively carried on — as,
indeed, it had been from very early times. A walk over
the hills from Swanage to Worth discloses vast numbers
of disused quarry shafts, and a few others still being
worked. These hills are literally honey-combed with old
workings, which occasionally fall in, leaving curious
depressions on the surface. The stone lies in thin beds
of varying quality, some of the upper ones -being full of
fossil remains. The higher stratum of Purbeck marble
has been extensively quarried, and in bygone ages
provided the elegant shafts which adorn the columns of
many of our great monastic churches. The outcrop of
marble may be seen in the reef of rocks which extends
Ibeyond Durlston Bay and forms Peveril Point.

Whilst on the subject of quarries, it is most interesting

The Isle of Purbeck 195

to note the conditions said to have been granted to
Purbeck by an ancient charter. No man is allowed to
open or work at a quarry who is not the son of parents
who were themselves both children of marblers, as they
were called, and this rule was rigidly enforced. Once a
year, on Shrove Tuesday, all the marblers of the district
repaired to Corfe Castle to register their names in the
books of the Company of Marblers, and to pay an annual
tribute of a pound of pepper and a football to the lord
of the manor of Ower, as acknowledgment of a certain
ancient right-of-way to that place for the purpose of
shipping stone, this being necessary before there were
any facilities at Swanage for so doing. A good descrip-
tion of this ancient custom is given in Sir Charles
Robinson's Picturesque Rambles in the Isle of Purbeck.

Looking down from the lofty hills upon the little
town, a man who had been absent for twenty or thirty
years would hardly recognise in the Swanage of to-day
the village that he had left. Swanage, with its up-to-date
pier, its esplanade and sea-wall, its red-brick villas, and
the various requirements of the modern residents,
resembles the isolated little town of fifty years ago as
little as the garden of a London square resembles a
primeval forest. The quaint old stone houses, with
porches supported by pillars, projecting over the foot-way,
and roofed with massive slabs of split stone, the narrow
and winding streets, have nearly all disappeared, but
fortunately there are still some few left to delight the
eye of the artist.

The twelfth century tower of the parish church, built
originally as a refuge, and as a means of defence from
sea pirates, was standing long before the rest of the
church was built. The Town Hall, although erected in
recent times, is of some historic interest, the front having
been partly built of stones taken from the old Mercers' Hall
in London, pulled down for street alterations ; and this
edifice itself is said to have been mainly composed of

196 Memorials of Old Dorset

material taken from one of Wren's early churches,
destroyed in the great fire of London in 1666. So, after
many vicissitudes, these weather-worn stones have found
a resting-place very near to the source from whence
they were originally taken.

Immediately at the rear of the Town Hall is a curious
little structure of solid masonry, with an iron-studded oak
door, resembling a powder magazine. This formerly stood
close to the south door of the parish church within the
graveyard, and was used as a lock-up. Over the door is
the following inscription : — " Erected for the prevention
of vice and immorality, by the friends of religion and good
order. A.D. 1803." A small hole may be observed in
the oak door, and it is said that through this aperture
the boon companions of the incarcerated man were in
the habit of inserting the stem of a long clay pipe,
which they used as a means of supplying him with
strong drink,! and the bowl of which they also at times
filled with tobacco, in order that he might find some
solace for his weary hours in smoking.

About a mile and a half from Swanage, in the direc-
tion of Corfe Castle, is the manor of Godlingstone, with
its interesting old house. This estate is said to have been
part of the hide of land given by William I. to Durandus
the Carpenter, in exchange for certain repairs to be
executed at Corfe Castle. The round tower at the western
extremity of the house is believed to be of Saxon origin,
and was probably built as a place of refuge from the
ruthless Danes, who so frequently harried this part of the
coast. Sir Charles Robinson mentions Godlingstone as
having belonged successively to the families of Talbot,
Rempston, Chaunterell, Carent, Pole, Wells, and Frampton.

The manor-house at Whitecliff on the slope of Ballard
Down is another fine old building, and is sometimes
credited with having been one of King John's hunting
lodges ; but no trace of so early a building now remains,
unless it be the massive garden walls, with the protecting
tower.

The Isle of Purbeck 197

Forming one of the horns of Swanage Bay is Peveril
Point, with its coastguard signalling station, from which
extends, in a south-easterly direction for a considerable
distance, a ledge of rocks composed of Purbeck marble.
These rocks follow the general dip of the formation
observable for some distance along the coast — viz., from
the south, sloping down towards the north ; but at the
extremity of Peveril Point one observes that the strata
to the north of the ledge slope in exactly the opposite
direction.

The beautiful and deeply indented bay of Swanage
forms a harbour with good anchorage, sheltered from all
but easterly gales. The northern arm of the bay, known
as Ballard Head, is formed of lofty chalk cliffs, rising
nearly sheer from the sea. The convulsions of nature
have played some curious pranks in this locality, for side
by side with the natural horizontal stratification one may
see the layers of chalk and flints standing vertically. This
has enabled geologists to estimate the probable thickness
of these chalk beds, which, according to some authorities,
was nearly a thousand feet. The human mind is staggered
by the contemplation of the ages necessary to accumulate
this stupendous deposit of microscopic foraminifera, of
which the chalk is composed, before it was upheaved from
the bed of the sea. The upper green-sand, which is
exposed at the western boundary of the chalk, contains
many interesting fossils. The cliffs of Ballard Head
terminate at Handfast Point with several chalk pinnacles
and curiously formed caverns. Of the former, " Old Harry
and his Wife " are well known, but, unfortunately, the
upper half of " Old Harry's Wife " was washed away
some years ago, leaving little more than the base
remaining.

The old-world village of Studland, at the foot of the
northern slope of Ballard Down, still retains much of its
primitive and picturesque beauty, and the old manor-house
and the little Norman church dedicated to St. Nicholas

198 Memorials of Old Dorset

are of great interest. This church, like many others, no
doubt took the place of an earlier building, for there
are still traces of Saxon work to be seen in the north
wall.

A mile or so to the north-west of Studland, across
the swampy heathland, we come to a conical hill some
eighty or ninety feet high, surmounted by an irregularly
shaped mass of sandstone, formed from the neighbouring
Bagshot beds, which, having been cemented together by
some ferruginous substance, has withstood the disintegrating
action of the elements better than its surroundings. It
is known as the Agglestone Rock. Sir Charles Robinson,
in his Rambles in the Isle of Purbeck, estimates the
weight of this rock at four hundred tons, and gives the
probable derivation of the name from the Anglo-Saxon
" hagge " (witch or hag), or " heilig," meaning holy, and
" stan" (stone).

This barren heathland, spreading over the Bagshot
sands, extends for many a mile, and stretches out to the
deeply indented coast-line of Poole Harbour, forming the
northern limit of the Isle of Purbeck. The wild beauty
of this low-lying district can only be enjoyed by those
who are prepared to explore it on foot, for carriage-roads
there are none, and the cart-tracks are not always
passable.

The important deposit of china-clay found in this
neighbourhood, which is exported in considerable quanti-
ties to many parts of the kingdom, and even to foreign
countries, is chiefly shipped from the little quay at Ower,
which is on an arm of Poole Harbour. Hutchins says
that Ower was once the chief port in the Isle of
Purbeck for the export of stone and marble, and for the
importation of timber from the New Forest; but in 1710
Swanage seems to have superseded it.

The little village of Arne, near to which is Russell
Quay, where clay and peat are shipped by small trading
vessels, is merely a cluster of a few cottages and a

The Isle of Purbeck 199

plain-looking thirteenth century church, which, however,
contains an object of interest in its stone altar with the
five consecration crosses.

In the woods near Arne is one of the few heronries
to be met with on the south coast ; and in the solitude
of this remote spot the birds have bred undisturbed
probably for centuries.

From Arne to Wareham, a distance of some four miles,
there is a rough road, by following which we complete
our circuit of this interesting district — the Isle of
Purbeck.

CORFE CASTLE

By Albert Bankes

iHERE is reason to believe that a castle existed
at Corfe in the reign of King Alfred, but in
his time this structure, which afterwards
became so large as to vie with the noblest
royal habitations in the kingdom, consisted probably of
only a single strong tower on the summit of the hill
constituting one of the defences of Wareham, which in
Saxon times was a very important town and port.

In 875 Wareham Castle, then the strongest place in all
Wessex, was surprised and taken by a Danish general,
and it was not until 877, two years later, that King Alfred
succeeded in driving his Danish foes out of Wareham.
To prevent the return of the enemy was the object of
building a fortress at Corfe (" Corfes-geat," as it was then
called), a break or pass in the lofty range of the Purbeck
hills. To quote from Hutchins' History of Dorset:

■Whatever may have been the size or construction of the castle in
the days of King Alfred, it was greatly extended and embellished in the
century next following under the direction of the magnificent King Edgar.

With Elfrida, the infamous Queen of King Edgar,
commences what is important in the history of this castle.
King Edgar, who died in the thirty-third year of his age,
bequeathed this Castle of Corfe to her as a dowry mansion,
and in this princely residence, which her royal husband
had with so much cost and care prepared for her, she
plotted and accomplished the murder of his son. On the

200

Corfe Castle.

Corfe Castle 201

death of Edgar (975) there was a contest between two
parties in the state, the one supporting the claim to the
throne of Edward, son of the late King by his first wife,
the other seeking to place the crown on the head of
Ethelred, the son of Elfrida. Edward's cause, which was
supported by Dunstan, succeeded ; but he only reigned,
as we shall presently see, four years.

King Edgar was twice married. By his first wife he
had issue, Edward, who at a very early age became his
successor, and who is known in history as King Edward the
Martyr.

The second wife of Edgar was Elfrida, daughter of
Ordgar, Earl of Devonshire. It is related that the fame
of her transcendent beauty having reached the King's
ears, he sent one of his earls, named Athelwold, to visit
her father and ascertain privately whether her charms
were as great as they had been represented. Athelwold
saw her, and, immediately becoming enamoured, made a
false report to his sovereign, and won her for himself.
Rumours, however, that he had been deceived, soon
reached the King, and he determined to ascertain the
truth with his own eyes. Alarmed at the impending
danger, Athelwold entreated his wife to adopt some means
of disguising her charms ; but Elfrida had now an oppor-
tunity of gratifying her ambition. She exerted all her
powers to increase her natural beauty, and succeeded in
attracting the attention of the King. To get rid of
Athelwold was in those days the simplest of transactions,
and King Edgar, having caused Athelwold to be assassi-
nated in a wood, Elfrida became his Queen. So great
was the King's love for Elfrida that he is said to have
granted the whole county of Dorset for her dowry. But
Elfrida had not yet reached the height of her ambition.
It was not sufficient for her to have become a queen
through assassination, for she scrupled not, after her
husband's death, also by means of assassination, to make
a king of her own son. In the month of March (978)

202 Memorials of Old Dorset

Edward the Martyr, as he is now called, was hunting in
a large wood near Wareham. Towards evening he
resolved to pay a visit to his brother, who resided at the
Castle with their royal mother. The attendants of the
King had been dispersed in the chase ; he was alone, and
Elfrida, having notice of this favourable opportunity,
came forth in a most affable and friendly manner, inviting
him to alight from his horse. This he declined to do,
and remained at the gate, expressing his desire to see
his brother. The Queen then called for wine, which he
had scarce put to his lips when one of her attendants,
who had given the King the kiss of peace, stabbed him
in the back. Some of the ancient chroniclers affirm that
Elfrida herself gave him both the kiss and the mortal
wound whilst he was drinking. In any case, finding
himself wounded, the King rode away; but, fainting from
loss of blood, he fell from his horse, and, his foot being
entangled in the stirrup, he was dragged a considerable
distance, until the horse stopped of its own accord at
a bridge which crosses the small river that flows at the
foot of the hill on which the Castle stands. A servant,
sent by Elfrida to ascertain the result of her treachery,
found the murdered Prince dead, and terribly defaced
by the flints over which he had been dragged. The
Queen, to conceal the fact, ordered his body to be lodged
in a house near where it was, and covered with such mean
clothes as were at hand.

Of course, there are plenty of miraculous stories
attached to this true history, of which we in this twen-
tieth century may believe as much or as little as we like.
It is said, for instance, that in the house where King
Edward's body lay lived a woman who was born blind,
but at midnight she found her sight restored, and, to her
great terror, her house was full of light. In the morning,
the Queen, being informed of these circumstances, and
fearing a discovery, ordered the body to be thrown
into a well. She then retired to a mansion called Bere,

Corfe Castle 203

ten miles distant. Her own son, Ethelred, on expressing
his grief at his mother's inhuman act, received a severe
beating from her with some large wax tapers, they being
the first weapons which the royal mother could lay her
hands on wherewith to chastise her son.

In the year following, a second miracle is said to have
taken place — a pillar of fire descended from above and
illuminated the place where the body was hidden.
Some devout people of Wareham brought it to the
church of St. Mary in that town, and buried it in a plain
manner.

As for the once beautiful but now guilty Elfrida, it
is related that she became extremely penitent, and,
abdicating her regal state, retired to the Abbey of
Wherwell, in Hampshire, which she had founded, and
there, having clothed her body in hair-cloth, for many
years slept at night on the ground without a pillow, and
mortified her flesh with every kind of penance.

We meet with few incidents of an important
character connected with Corfe Castle during the first
six reigns after the Norman Conquest.

During the eventful reign of the tyrannical John (1 199-
12 16) Corfe Castle became again a royal residence. The
King deposited within its walls his treasure and regalia,
using the Castle also for the confinement of State
prisoners, the objects of his jealousy and revenge. In the
year 1202 King John took prisoners at the Castle of
Mirabel in Poitou, in France, the youthful Prince Arthur,
Duke of Brittany, his nephew, together with his sister,
the Princess Eleanor. It must be remembered that this
Prince Arthur, being the only son of John's elder brother,
Geoffrey, was the real heir to the throne after the death
of Richard Cceur de Lion. Prince Arthur is supposed to
have been murdered at Rouen by order of King John ;
but the Princess (sometimes called the " Damsel of
Bretagne," and sometimes from her personal attractions,
the " Beauty of Brittany "), having inherited her brother's

204 Memorials of Old Dorset

legal right to the throne, was brought to England and
kept a close prisoner for the rest of her life. For some
time she was a prisoner in Corfe Castle, where she
remained at the decease of her uncle, King John. Two
other princesses shared the captivity of the beautiful and
high-spirited Eleanor during her residence at Corfe, and
were her companions there. These were Margery and
Isabel, the two daughters of William, King of Scotland.
Some curious and interesting details have come down to
us respecting articles supplied for the use of the royal
ladies whilst they remained at Corfe Castle, which show
that they enjoyed many indulgences. For instance, on
June 29th, 12 13, the Mayor and Reeves of Winchester
were commanded to supply to the Queen, the King's
niece, and the two daughters of the King of Scotland
who were at Corfe Castle, such robes and caps and all
other things necessary for the vestment as should be
demanded (the cost to be repaid out of the King's
Exchequer). There is another interesting entry on July
6th, 12 13 : The Mayor of Winchester was commanded to
send in haste to the King, for the use of his niece, Eleanor,
and the two daughters of the King of Scotland, robes
of dark green, namely, tunics and super-tunics, with capes
of cambric and fur of Minever and twenty-three yards of
good linen cloth ; also, for the King's niece, one good
cap of dark brown, furred with Minever, and one hood
for rainy weather, for the use of the same ; besides robes
of bright green, for the use of their three waiting-maids ;
also tunics and super-tunics and cloaks with capes of
Minever or rabbit-skins and furs of lamb-skins, and thin
shoes, for the use of the daughters of the King of
Scotland, the King's niece, and her three waiting-maids ;
also, for the use of the King's niece, one saddle, with
gilded reins ; and the Mayor is to come himself with all
the above articles to Corfe, there to receive the money
for the cost of the same. A little later on, another cap
for rainy weather, a riding saddle, shoes, and sixty

£

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Corfe Castle 205

yards of linen cloth, are ordered to be supplied from
Winchester.

The prices paid give us an insight into the value of
money at that period: —

A silken couch

2 coverlets of fine linen ...

6h yards of scarlet for coverlets ..

I fur of lamb-skin

Ten shillings a day were allowed to the Sheriff for the
Princesses' maintenance.

To return to Prince Arthur and his wicked uncle.
King John captured at the same time as Prince Arthur
many barons and more than two hundred knights of
Poitou and Guienne, who were in arms with Prince
Arthur. These were all loaded with irons and sent to
different prisons in Normandy and England. Many of
these poor prisoners perished in their prisons, and no
fewer than twenty-two of the noblest and bravest of them
were starved to death in Corfe Castle.

From the reign of King John to that of Queen
Elizabeth allusion is frequently made in history to Corfe
Castle.

It was in 1587, in the days of Queen Elizabeth, that
Corfe Castle ceased to be a royal residence, she having
sold it to Sir Christopher Hatton for £4,761 18s. y\d.
Sir Christopher repaired and decorated the Castle at vast
expense.

During the " Invincible Armada " scare, Corfe Castle
once more became a fortress. Cannons were for the
first time mounted on its walls, and Queen Elizabeth for
encouragement gave a charter to the inhabitants of the
Castle and borough, which conferred upon them all the
same rights and privileges as those enjoyed by the in-
habitants of the Cinque Ports,, including the right of
returning two members to Parliament. The Spanish fleet

206 Memorials of Old Dorset

did, in fact, pass within a short distance of the Dorset
coast ; but, as the so-called Invincible Armada came
utterly to grief, it gave no further trouble.

As Sir Christopher Hatton died a bachelor, Corfe
Castle passed to his nephew Sir William Hatton, who,
dying without children, left the Castle to his widow, the
Lady Elizabeth Hatton, who married Lord Chief Justice
Coke.

On the death of Sir Edward Coke, his widow and
daughter found themselves at liberty to dispose of a
mansion whose gloomy grandeur and position, remote from
the busier scenes of life, did not well accord with their
tastes and habits ; so that on Sir John Bankes making
an offer for the purchase of the Castle, the ladies were
doubtless only too glad to conclude the bargain.

Sir John Bankes was descended from a good Cumber-
land family living in Keswick, where he was born in 1589.
At the age of fifteen he went to Oxford University, and
in due course Became a barrister in Gray's Inn. His
extraordinary diligence in his profession recommended him
early to his sovereign, Charles I., and in 1640 he was
made Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. His wife, the
brave Lady Bankes, was a daughter of the very ancient
family of the Hawtreys, of Rislip, in Middlesex.

To enter the Castle an ancient stone bridge, con-
sisting of four semi-circular arches, must be traversed.
There is probably no bridge of greater antiquity in the
West of England.

The first ward forms an irregular triangle, containing
eight towers, at unequal distances, of amazing strength
and durability. The gateway leading to the second ward
has provision for a portcullis of vast size similar to that
which is found in the grand staircase. Just within the
gateway, on the right hand, was a flight of steps which
led up to the Great or King's Tower on the exterior
summit of a very high hill. Tradition says, and
apparently with truth, that just at the entrance of this

Corfe Castle 20;

second ward, under the archway, Edward the Martyr
received his death-blow from the hand of the assassin.
The dungeon, an octagonal tower, is said to have been the
place of imprisonment for criminals and captives of
inferior rank. Near this tower a stone is visible, project-
ing from the wall, with a deep notch cut into it, which is
said to have been the place of execution. The third
and principal ward is situate on the highest part of the
hill, and on the west part, on the very top of the hill,
stood the Great, or King's Tower, 72 ft. by 60 ft., and
about 80 ft. high, with a wall 12 ft. thick. This seems
to have been the State prison, as the windows that remain
are such a height above the floors that they must have
been thus arranged in order to prevent the prisoners
escaping. The fourth ward is the least of all the wards ;
in it was a small garden at the east end, near which was
the Sally Port, where the enemy entered when the Castle
was surprised ; and near it is a well, now stopped up, into
which (tradition says) Lady Bankes threw a considerable
quantity of money and plate.

King Charles I. was a victim to circumstances. The
Civil War was the result of the reaction of the popular
mind in favour of liberty from its slavish submission to
the tyranny of the Tudor Kings. It was hastened by King
Charles' folly in enforcing subsidies to pay off his father's
debts and to carry on his Continental wars, without the
consent of the people ; also by his resolution to rule the
kingdom without a parliament.

King Charles came to the throne in 1625, but it was
not until 1642 that the unhappy differences between the
King and the two Houses of Parliament grew so great
that nothing but the sword could decide the controversy.
Poor Sir John Bankes found himself in a very unfortunate
position. He was upon the summer circuit, and when
presiding at the assizes at Salisbury he had, in his charge
to the Grand Jury, denounced the Earl of Essex, Lord
Manchester, and others, as guilty of high treason for

2o8 Memorials of Old Dorset

continuing in arms against the King. Another serious
subject of offence consisted in the fact of his having
subscribed liberally to the necessities of the King — an
acknowledgment of which, in King Charles' own hand-
writing, is still preserved at Kingston Lacy. These and
various other causes were quite sufficient to induce a
furious assault upon Corfe Castle.

Prior to this, Lady Bankes, who is described as being
a prudent lady, resolved with her children and family to
retire to Corfe Castle, to shelter themselves from the storm
which she saw was coming. She remained undisturbed
all the winter and a great part of the spring, until May,
1643, when the rebels, under the command of Sir Walter
Erie and Sir Thomas Trenchard, of Wolfeton House, and
others, had gained possession of Dorchester, Lyme Regis,
Melcombe, Weymouth, Wareham, and Poole. Portland
Castle being treacherously delivered to the rebels, only
Corfe Castle remained in obedience to the King. But
the rebels, wanting to add this castle to their other
garrisons, and preferring to try and gain it by treachery,
resolved to lay hold of an opportunity that they knew
was just about to offer. To quote the language of the
old chronicler :

It seems that by an ancient usage the Mayor and the Barons (as his
Town Councillors were called) of Corfe Castle, accompanied by the
gentry of the Island of Purbeck, had permission from the Lord of the
Castle on May Day to course a stag, which every year was performed with
much solemnity and great concourse of people.

On May Day, 1642, some troops of horse from
Dorchester and other places came into the island under
pretence of hunting the stag ; but really their intention
was suddenly to surprise the gentlemen whilst hunting
and to take Corfe Castle. But the news of their coming
reached the Castle before them. The hunters dispersed,
and Lady Bankes ordered the great gates of the Castle
to be closed against all comers. The troopers accordingly
found themselves cheated of their prey, whereupon the

Corfe Castle 209

common soldiers used threatening language ; but the
officers, who knew better how to conceal their resolution,
utterly disavowed any such thought, denying that they
had any orders to attack the Castle. Lady Bankes was
not deceived by the officers' civil speeches ; and, to quote
once more from the old chronicler :

She very wisely, and like herself, hence took occasion to call in a
guard to assist her, not knowing how soon she might have occasion to
make use of them, it being now more than probable that the rebels had a
design upon the Castle.

No one, of course, knows to what straits the poor lady
and her few faithful attendants were put ; but provisions
must have been at a low ebb or Lady Bankes would never
have delivered up the four small cannons, the biggest
carrying not above a 3 -lb. shot. The result of this com-
promise was that, having delivered up the four cannons,
the rebels agreed to permit her to enjoy the Castle in
peace and quietness. Having gained the four cannons,
the rebels retired, and, growing weary of watching the
Castle gates, they grew negligent as to what was brought
in, nor did they take care, as before, to intercept supplies
which might enable the Castle people to hold out against
a siege. Lady Bankes, making use of this carelessness,
furnished the Castle with provisions of every description.
A supply, too, of ammunition was brought in ; and,
hearing that the King's forces, under Prince Maurice and
the Marquis of Hertford, were advancing towards Bland-
ford, Lady Bankes sent a private messenger begging that
some officers might be sent to take charge of the Castle :
whereupon Captain Laurence, son of Sir Edward
Laurence, a gentleman of the Isle of Purbeck, was sent.
There was likewise in the Castle one Captain Bond, an
old soldier, " whom," says the chronicler, " I should deprive
of his due honour not to mention him as having shared
in the honour of this resistance.'1

On June 23rd, 1643, commenced a six weeks' strict
siege of Corfe Castle, between 200 and 300 horse and foot,

P

210 Memorials of Old Dorset

with two cannons ; the rebels faced the Castle, and
from the hills surrounding played on the fortress. At the
same time they set on fire four houses in the town of
Corfe, and then summoned the Castle to surrender; but,
receiving a refusal, for that time they left it — but only
for a time, as Sir Walter Erie, accompanied by Captain
Sydenham, Captain Henry Jervis, and Captain Skuts, of
Poole, with a body of between five and six hundred men,
came and took possession of the town of Corfe, taking
advantage of a misty morning, so as to find no resistance
from the Castle. With a small cannon, a culverin, and
their muskets, they played on the fortress. To bind the
soldiers by tie of conscience, they administered an oath
to them, mutually binding themselves to most unchristian
resolutions — that if they found the defendants obstinate,
they would not yield ; that they would maintain the siege
to victory and deny quarter unto all, killing without
mercy men, women, and children. And to bring on their
own soldiers they deceived them with falsehoods, saying
that the Castle stood on a level, with good advantages of
approach ; also, that there were only forty men within
the fortress, of whom twenty were ready to turn traitors.
They also did their best to corrupt the defenders of the
Castle to betray it into their hands ; but when all these
arts took no effect, the rebel commanders fell to stratagems
and engines. One of these machines they called a " sow,"
and the other a " boar " ; they were made with boards
lined with wool "to deaden the shot. The " sow " was a
class of engine used as a protection for soldiers attacking a
fortress ; it was constructed of strong timber, bound
together by hoop-iron, and roofed with hides and sheep-
skins to render it proof against such musket-shot or
-other missiles as were then in use. In front there were
doors and windows, which were kept closed till the
walls were reached ; but behind it was open for the
admission or retreat of the besiegers. Mounted on
"wheels, it was moved forward by the occupants by
means of levers.

Corfe Castle 211

The rebels used Corfe Church as their principal
battery and headquarters, and they seem to have dese-
crated the interior of the sacred building in every possible
way. Of the surplices they made shirts for the soldiers ;
the organ pipes were torn down to serve as cases for their
powder and shot ; and, not being furnished with musket
bullets, they cut off the lead of the church, and, rolling
it up, they shot it without ever casting it in a mould.

Sir Walter Erie and the other rebel commanders were
earnest to press forward the soldiers ; but as prodigal as
they were of the blood of their men, they were sparing
enough of their own. It was a general observation, says
the chronicler, sarcastically, that valiant Sir Walter never
willingly exposed himself to any hazard ; and to the
eternal honour of this knight's valour, be it recorded that,
for fear of musket-shot, he was seen to creep on all-fours
on the side of Corfe Castle hill to keep himself from
danger.

This base cowardice of the assailants added courage
and resolution to the defenders ; therefore, not compelled
by want, but rather to brave the rebels, they sallied out
of the Castle, and brought eight cows and a bull into the
fortress without a single man being even wounded.

The rebels, having spent much time and ammunition,
and some men, were now as far from taking the Castle
as on the first day they began. At last the Earl of
Warwick sent them 150 sailors, with several cart-loads of
ammunition and scaling ladders, to take the Castle by
assault. Rewards were offered to those who first should
scale the walls : twenty pounds to the first, and smaller
sums to those who should follow; but all this could not
avail with these poor wretches, who were brought hither
like sheep to the slaughter. Some of the rebel party had
actually exchanged certain death by the rope for that of
a chance death by bullets, as some of them were actually
condemned criminals let out of prison.

On finding that money rewards and persuasion could

212 Memorials of Old Dorset

not prevail with such abject, low-spirited men, the rebel
commanders resolved to give their men strong drink,
knowing that drunkenness makes some men fight like
lions, who when sober are as cowardly as hares. The only
man who was not the worse for drink, says the chronicler,
with biting sarcasm, was the commander of the party,
Sir Walter Erie, who kept himself sober lest he should
become valiant against his will.

Being now possessed with a borrowed courage, the
rebels divided their forces into two parties, whereof one
assaulted the middle ward, defended by valiant Captain
Laurence and the greater part of the soldiers ; while the
other assaulted the upper ward, which Lady Bankes —
" to her eternal honour be it spoken," says the chronicler —
with her daughter, women-servants, and five soldiers,
undertook to defend against the rebels. And what she
undertook she bravely performed, for by heaving over
stones and hot embers, they repelled the rebels and kept
them from climbing the ladders. Thus repulsed, and
having lost one hundred men, Sir Walter Erie, on hearing
that the King's forces were advancing, ran away, leaving
Sydenham as commander-in-chief, who, afraid to appear,
kept sanctuary in Corfe Church till nightfall, meaning to
sup and run away by starlight ; but, supper being ready
and set on the table, an alarm was given that the King's
forces were coming. This news took away Sydenham's
appetite ; so, leaving artillery, ammunition, and last, but
not least, his good supper, the rebels all ran away to take
boat for Poole, leaving on the shore about one hundred
horses, which proved a valuable prize next day to the
soldiers of the Castle.

Thus, after six weeks' strict siegev, Corfe Castle, the
desire of the enemy, by the loyalty and brave resolution
of Lady Bankes, the valour of Captain Laurence and some
eighty soldiers, was delivered from the bloody intentions
of these merciless rebels on August 4th, 1643.

Corfe Castle 213

Few portions of the kingdom were now undisturbed,
and civil war shook the domestic happiness of both the
highest and the lowest of the land.

Poor Sir John Bankes, on his return home from circuit,
found his wife ready to welcome him within the battered
walls of his castle. His wife had become a heroine during
his long absence from home, and his children had endless
stories to relate of their invincible prowess in the days
of danger. He found his castle safe and his property
preserved ; but Corfe Church had been desecrated and
unroofed, the shops in the little town had been plundered,
and all that would burn of the stone-built cottages around
had been destroyed by conflagration.

There was much, however, at the moment to render
this a joyful meeting at Corfe Castle, for it seemed as if
the sun of the King's fortune was about to ascend again.
But in 1644 the tide of royal success, which had flowed
so steadily through the western counties in the preceding
year, was now ebbing fast in the county of Dorset. On
June 1 6th, 1644, Weymouth surrendered to the Earl of
Essex, and three days afterwards Dorchester followed
suit. On August 10th, 1644, Colonel Sydenham and Sir
Anthony Ashley Cooper arrived with their troops before
the town of Wareham, and began to storm the outworks,
whereupon the town agreed to surrender.

Corfe Castle was now almost the only place of strength
between Exeter and London which still held out for the
royal cause, and the constant valour of Lady Bankes, who
defended it, is to be estimated not so much by her
active enterprise and resistance in the hours of excite-
ment and attack as by her long endurance through tedious
weeks and months of anxiety, encompassed as she was
by threats and dangers on every side. She had now a
second winter to look forward to. All the neighbouring
towns had become hostile, and the only encouragement
and aid she could expect (her husband being absent, and
her sons quite young) was that of a garrison to consist of

214 Memorials of Old Dorset

soldiers brought from a distance, under the command of
officers who were little, if at all, known to her.

Early in the winter the misfortune which she had
least reason to anticipate befell her, for on December. 28th,
1644, her husband, the Chief Justice, died at Oxford.
On October 28th, 1645, more effective operations were
taken against Corfe Castle. Colonel Bingham, Governor
of Poole, had two regiments placed at his disposal for
this purpose, and on December 16th further reinforce-
ments were sent by General Fairfax.

During the whole course of the Civil War no expedi-
tion more gallant had occurred than that of January 29th
by a young officer named Cromwell : whether this young
Cromwell was related to the Protector is uncertain.
Hearing of the distressed condition of a widowed lady
shut up with her daughters in a closely-besieged castle,
Cromwell was resolved to make an effort for their relief.
Accompanied by a troop numbering 120 men, who shared
the gallantry of their commander, he set out, probably
from Oxford, and, marching with a degree of rapidity
which anticipated all intelligence of his design, he passed
through the quarters of Colonel Cooke undiscovered, and
came to Wareham.

Colonel Butler, the Governor of Wareham, aware that
no troops were expected, took the alarm, barricaded his
lodgings, firing from thence upon his assailant ; but the
royalist troop had no time to bestow on this attack. They
therefore set fire to a house in the vicinity which stood
near the powder magazine, and the Governor, thoroughly
frightened, consented to yield himself a prisoner. He
was carried, together with others, mounted behind
some of the triumphant troopers, to the foot of Corfe
Castle.

Here a large rebel force was drawn up to oppose their
further progress ; but the brave bearing of this little
troop, together with the shouts of welcome from the
besieged on the walls, induced the besiegers to give way.

Corfe Castle 215

The gallant band, having accomplished their purpose,
tendered their services to the lady, and presented also
for her acceptance the prisoners they had so bravely
captured.

The object of this chivalrous action was probably an
offer of escape to the ladies from the Castle, which, how-
ever, was not accepted. And on their return Colonel
Cromwell, with some of his troopers, were taken prisoners.

The course of events now shifted rapidly, and though
Lady Bankes was still as intrepid as at first, it was not
so with all who were around her ; for the captive
Governor of Wareham, Colonel Butler, prevailed on
Colonel Laurence (hitherto so trustworthy) not only to
connive at, but to accompany him in his flight. And there
was within the walls another traitor, Lieutenant-Colonel
Pitman, whose conduct was still more base, his treachery
far more fatal in its consequences. This officer in the
Castle garrison, being weary of the King's service, let the
enemy know that if he might have a protection he would
deliver Corfe Castle to the Parliament. This treacherous
offer was accepted, and a protection order was sent to him
from London. On this, Pitman proposed to Colonel
Anketil, the Governor of the Castle, to fetch one
hundred men out of Somerset to add to the Corfe Castle
garrison. This proposal being approved, he formed a
design with the rebel, Colonel Bingham, who commanded
the siege, that under this pretence he should convey more
than one hundred men into the Castle, and as soon as
they were entered the besiegers should make an attack.
On this a hundred men were drawn out of Weymouth
garrison and marched to Lulworth Castle, where they were
joined by some thirty or forty more soldiers. Pitman led
them in the night to the port agreed upon for their
entrance, where Colonel Anketil was ready to receive
them. Some of these men already knew every part of
the interior of the Castle ; but when fifty of these new
soldiers had entered, Colonel Anketil, seeing more in the

216 Memorials of Old Dorset

rear, ordered the Sally Port to be closed, saying that there
were as many as he could dispose of. The crafty Pitman
expostulated on his causing him to bring these men so
far and then to expose them to the cold and to the enemy.
Those of the fresh soldiers who entered took posses-
sion of the King's and Queen's towers and the two plat-
forms, awaiting the time when the besiegers would make
an assault, it being then two hours after midnight. The
besieged, as soon as the fraud was discovered, fired and
threw down great stones upon these intruders, who, how-
ever, maintained their posts. There were, in fact, only
six men of the garrison in the upper part of the Castle,
for that was considered impregnable. The remainder of
the defending force was placed in the lower ward, which
had hitherto been the post of danger. The besieging
forces, as soon as they saw their friends on the towers
and platforms, began to advance ; and it was then clear
to the inmates of the Castle that they had been most
villainously betrayed. A parley was demanded, and an
agreement made that all lives should be spared, and
those who belonged to the town of Corfe should return
quietly to their houses ; and the circumstance of a
Parliamentary officer being there with others of that
party, prisoners in the Castle, induced the besiegers to
offer conditions, which were accepted. But the truce was
broken almost at once, for two of the besiegers, anxious
for spoil, came over the wall by means of a ladder, where-
upon some of the Castle garrison fired on them, and the
risk of a free fight and general slaughter throughout the
Castle now began.

Colonel Bingham was a descendant of a family long
known and highly respected in the county of Dorset, and
naturally could not but admire the courage of the lady
who was his foe, and he at once set about preserving
the lives of the 140 persons then within the Castle.

This last siege is said, in Sprigg's Table of Battles and
Sieges, to have lasted forty-eight days, during which eleven

Corfe Castle 217

men were slain and five cannons taken. The exact date
of the fall of Corfe Castle is uncertain, but it was
probably in the last week of the month of February, 1646.
Thus, after a resistance of nearly three years' duration,
brave Lady Bankes was dispossessed of the fortress, which
she continued to defend so long as a chance remained
for the preservation of the Crown.

On March 5th, 1646, a vote passed the House of
Commons to demolish Corfe Castle. The decree was
ruthlessly carried into effect, and far more was, unfor-
tunately, done than was sufficient to render the Castle
utterly untenable for the future. Most of the towers were
undermined, whilst others had the soil removed from the
foundation preparatory to a similar process. Some were
blown up with gunpowder, whilst others, perhaps, sank
down by their own weight into the mines without the
aid of gunpowder.

The work of plunder throughout the Castle was soon
accomplished ; and there are not a few of the fair mansions
in Dorset which have been constructed in large measure
of the stone and timber carried away from Corfe Castle.
The rebels not only plundered the Castle, dividing
amongst them its sumptuous furniture (some of which
was traced by Sir Ralph Bankes, after the Restoration,
to the houses of county gentlemen, and some to dealers
in London), but even timber and stone were found to
have been appropriated by some gentlemen of the county
who supported the cause of Parliament. Most of the
lead was sold to a plumber of Poole.

The halls, galleries, and other chambers throughout
the building were nobly decorated with rich tapestry
and carpeting and furniture, most of which had probably
remained since the splendid days of Sir Christopher
Hatton. And as to furniture and tapestry which existed
in the Castle, it is not a mere matter of conjecture, as
several of the things taken away are still extant. A

218 Memorials of Old Dorset

Perticular (sic) of the goods viewed at Colonel Bingham's
house gives a long list of beautiful tapestry, silk quilts,
and carpets, e.g. —

One piece of fine Tapestry to hang behind my Lady's bed.
A rich ebony Cabinet with gilded Fixtures &c.

It is but fair to add that though Colonel Bingham
carried off this furniture from Corfe Castle to his own
private residence, he was by Act of Parliament of 1644
not only ordered to confiscate property, but was threatened
with confiscation of his own if he failed or refused to act
as sequestrator.

Lady Bankes' death, as recorded on a monument of
white marble at Rislip, took place on April nth, 166 1. So
little was her death expected, that her eldest son was
married on the morning of the day on which she died.

The following letters, in their quaint spelling, as to
the missing furniture from Corfe Castle, are characteristic :

For my noble friend Sir Ralph Bankes at Chettle.
From John Bingham Esqr. Bingham's Melcombe.
Nobel sir,

My being in phisicke made me not to send an answer to your
servant's letter last Sunday. I beseech you let it plead my excuse.

Sir, I have a large bed, a single velvet red chair and a suite of fine
damask ; had not the horse plague swept away my horses I would have
sent these to you. I beg that you'll please to command one of your
servants to come to Blandford next Friday morning by 10 o'clock there
these things shall be ready for him at the Crowne Hotel.

That yet a continual gale of happinefs may ever blow on you here
below the stars and that you may yet enjoy heaven hereafter is the real
wish of

Sir
Your very hearty servant

John Byngham.
Sir I humbly entreat the tender of my humbel service to my Ladey
Bankes.

One other letter, having the same address, appears to
have been written within a few days of the date of the
former letter : —

Corfe Castle 219

Nobel Sir,

I have sent to Blandford to be delivered your servant one large
bed, 2 blankets; the bed for 12 years since was opened by a wench
at mv then house at Byngham's Melcombe when I was in the Isle of
Guernsey and feathers stolne out and divers other such tricks done by
her in my being out of the land.

I take the boldness to hint this trick to you likewise I have sent
to Blandford a full sute (that is as many as ever I had) of old
fine damask table cupboard cloths and napkins in particular two long
table cloths a large cupboard cloth, 2 towels long, a red velvet chaire.

Sir, had I more as I promised yourself I would have sent it.

Sir, the Linnen was but once used by me, but whited once in 2 years.

Your humble servant

John Byngham.

One large bed, minus the feathers, and one red velvet
chair, appear to constitute the amount of furniture
recovered by Sir Ralph Bankes from the hands of the
sequestrators ; and Sir Ralph ought to have considered
himself very fortunate inasmuch as these sequestrators
had not made away with the estates themselves.

Sir Ralph Bankes did not live to witness another
revolution, or to see the final expulsion of the royal race
in whose cause his family had suffered so severely : he
completed the mansion at Kingston Lacy, and died when
his son was under age.

The original MS. of the old Corfe Castle legend of
the Christmas Pie is still said to be in existence in the
Muniment Room at Kingston Lacy amongst the other
Corfe Castle documents.

Lady Bankes' grandmother, Mrs. Hawtrey, was happy
in the birth of many daughters, who were well instructed
in all the maidenly duties of that good and pious time.
Of the use of the needle, and the Greek and Latin
tongues, none could surpass them ; and as to playing on
the virginals and clavycorde, it was wonderful to listen

220 Memorials of Old Dorset

to them. But Mistress Hawtrey did most insist on every
young maiden knowing the cookcraft (for so did she style
it) of the kitchen.

Beauty fadeth like a flower.

Music can little delight the husband

When he becometh hard of hearing,

she would say ; and then solemnly add :

The best cook doth always secure the best husband.

Now, to preserve the early lessons so taught to her
daughters, from the day when they could first rest their
little chins upon the dresser, she did have them fully
instructed in this art of cooking. And then did she
require of them all a promise, strictly to be observed, that
on every Christmas Day in every year these her daughters
should themselves prepare and set forth upon her table
a number of mince-pies equalling exactly in the sum of
them the number of years since the day of her so happy
marriage ; and so it was that when she had been married
fifty-nine years complete there did appear upon her table
fifty-nine mince-pies But in the following year her
daughters conspired how, for the yet greater satisfaction
and surprised pleasure of this their beloved parent, they
did, with great labour and curiosity of art, continue one
great and noble pie a born baby might rest therein ;
and this they filled with those many and rare refections
suitable to the great work they had in hand : to complete
the whole did they upraise on the crown of the crust the
letters L X — two letters large and noble — clearly denoting
thereby the three-score returns of that fertile marriage-
day from whence themselves were so happily sprung. The
knowledge of this rare structure is withheld from the
good old dame until the hall is decked with Christmas
garnishings. The pie is placed upon the table, and the
old lady entereth and is seated, but the beholding of this
pie hath an effect on this good old lady far differing from
that which then her beloved offspring intended. Alas!

Corfe Castle 221

she cannot touch a morsel. A novelty so strange she
cannot realise, nor can she digest the ancient promise
broken. Mayhap she did apprehend whether an ape
should leap forth, or a dwarf, or a Denmark owl, for such
conceits had been known at the banquets of persons of
high condition. Be this as it may, the old lady is carried
to her chamber in a swoon ; her daughters like demented
beings hurry to and fro — nothing is left unendeavoured
on their parts. The medicine chest is unclosed. Scores
of healthful medicaments are brought forth. They give
to her of them all : yet did the good old lady die, and
was laid straight and quiet in her coffin, before the mince-
pie had sufficient time to cool.

POOLE

By W. K. Gill

|OME, even of those who know a little of Poole,
may wonder at the idea that a town so modern
to all appearance should have anything of
antiquity about it. To the motorist, bound
westward from Bournemouth, Poole is a place with an
irritating railway crossing at one end, and an equally
provoking bridge at the other. And even to a visitor it
will appear but as a commonplace business town — a town of
tramcars and electric lights, with a big gas-works on the
most approved principles, with wharves piled with timber
and quays black with coal, where the colliers come
in and out through a fleet of red-sailed barges and big
white timber-ships ; a town whose very Church and Guild-
hall are modern, and to whose past only a neglected and
mutilated stone building on the Quay bears the slightest
witness. But could we open the jealously-guarded
charter-chest, and unroll one ancient document after
another ; could we summon the shadowy file of noble and
royal benefactors, from the famous Crusader, the Gordon
of his age, who granted the first charter, to that Queen of
famous memory, who gave us the last — then, indeed, we
should have a pageant fit to compare with that of any
town in Dorset. But Poole's true pageant would be on
the water, where, too, the harbour would give her an
antiquity not her own. Roman bireme and Saxon keel,
Danish longship and Norman galley, quaint craft of
Plantagenet and Tudor, strong-stemmed Newfoundlander,

222

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Poole 223

and raking privateer of the great French War — the
shipping that has sailed in that harbour would bring us
down from the Roman period to the long black destroyers
of our own day which sometimes lie in main channel
from Stakes to Saltern's Pier. The memories of Poole
are not in her ruins, but in her records ; for the swift
keel leaves no mark, and there is no more trace of the
destroyers that lay there last year than of Knut's long
ships that lay there nine hundred years ago.

But let us stroll slowly through the town from the
railway station, not by the High Street, but by way of the
Guildhall and the Church of St. James the Apostle, down
to the Quay, noting, as we go, the signs and vestiges of
past days. A few paces from the station is the old town
boundary, denoted by a boundstone let into the wall, and
this is all that remains to mark the position of the
embattled gate erected by charter from Henry VI, and
destroyed by order of Charles II. — the embattled gate
recorded by Leland that turned back Prince Maurice in
the great Civil War. It is amusing to note how Clarendon
" veils his wrath in scornful word " as he tells how " in
Dorsetshire the enemy had only two little fisher towns,
Poole and Lyme." Here was the main entrance from the
north through the fortified gate that gave the name of
Towngate Street. (The southern entrance was by ferry,
and this way came Leland, the great Tudor antiquary.)
There was a sharp fight at this point during the Civil War,
mementos of which in the shape of three small cannon-
balls were dug up last year, and are now in the local
Museum. The story may be summarised thus : Poole as
a seaport was of great importance, and the King's party
were most anxious to get hold of it. Attempts were made
to corrupt a dashing young partisan leader, Captain
Francis Sydenham, of Wynford Eagle (brother of the
famous doctor, also a soldier then), who was constantly
out on raiding expeditions. Sydenham pretended to yield,
but arranged with the Governor, Captain John Bingham,

224 Memorials of Old Dorset

of Bingham's Melcombe, to have a little surprise for the
cavaliers. Accordingly, when Lord Crawford with horse
and foot came by night to the outworks that guarded the
causeway over the fosse, he was admitted within the half-
moon, but found the gates fast, while the cannon and
musketry opened on him from the wall. The darkness
favoured him, however, and he escaped, but with some
loss of men, and more of horses. The small cannon-balls
above mentioned were in all probability some of those
fired at the Royalists from the wall. This wall, as has
been said, was razed by order of Charles II., a retaliation,
possibly, for the part Poole had played in the destruction
of Corfe Castle. The fosse long remained, and, having
been deepened in fear of Prince Charlie as late as 1745,
some portion was traceable within the memory of living
persons.

A few years after, the King had an opportunity of
seeing how his order had been carried out — for, the Court
being at Salisbury, to avoid the Plague in 1665, he and
some of the courtiers went touring about East Dorset,
and one day was spent at Poole. So on September 15th
a brilliant company rode into the town by the old
causeway. There was the King himself, harsh-featured
indeed, but easy and gracious in bearing ; Lauderdale,
with his coarse features and lolling tongue ; Ashley, with
his hollow cheeks and keen eyes ; Arlington, another of
the afterwards infamous Cabal ; and, among the rest, but
the centre of all attraction, the handsome, boyish face of
Monmouth. Ashley was well known in Poole, and many
a grim Puritan soldier must have muttered Scriptural
curses on his old commander, who had turned courtier for
the nonce, but who could not foresee the day when the
flags in the port should be half-mast for him, and when
his body should be brought from his place of exile in
Holland, and the hearse should pass along the very road
he had just ridden so gallantly to the old church of
Wimborne St. Giles. Still less could young Monmouth

Poole 225

foresee the day when, twenty years later, turning and
doubling like a hunted hare, he should cross that road in
his desperate and vain effort to reach the shelter of the
great Forest. And little did his father think that Antony
Etncke, " learned in the laws of England," whom he
appointed Recorder of Poole, should be the man before
whom his favourite son would be brought for identifica-
tion. Down the street rode the gay cavalcade — plumed
hats, curled wigs, velvets and laces, gallant horses and all
— over the open ground that extended halfway down
the town, till they came to the house of Peter Hiley,
which then stood about opposite where now is the
National and Provincial Bank. The house has long since
gone, but there they were entertained by Peter Hall, the
Mayor ; and afterwards the King went on the water to
Brownsea, " and took an exact view of the said island,
castle, bay, and this harbour, to his great contentment."
For many a day this visit was remembered, and the cause
of the hapless Monmouth was popular in Poole, so that
before his final attempt to reach the Forest he had enter-
tained the idea of escaping to Poole, and there taking
ship for Holland. A ghastly little note from the Deputy-
Mayor of Poole, instructing the tything-men of Higher
Lytchett to take delivery of certain heads and quarters
of rebels executed in Poole, and to set them up at the
cross-roads, is still in existence, and testifies to the
executions of the Bloody Assize.

Further down the street comes a cluster of houses that
belong to a widely different period, both in the history
of the town and of the country. The almshouses, dated
1812, with Nile and Trafalgar Rows on one side, and
Wellington Row, 18 14, a little way below on the other,
recall the great French War, when the open ground at
this end of Poole, still called The Parade, though now
built over, was the place of exercise for the troops
constantly quartered here. In 1796, the 33 rd, then
Colonel Wellesley's, regiment was here, and the Colonel's
Q

226 Memorials of Old Dorset

quarters were over the water at the old manor-house at
Hamworthy. But the almshouses, built by a famous
Newfoundland merchant, George Garland, bring back
quite a different set of memories. Curiously enough, the
well-known trade with Newfoundland was at its zenith
during the later years of the great war. The English
fleet had swept the foreign flag off the seas, and the
trade had fallen to the Union Jack. But the trade
dated from the time of Queen Elizabeth, and lasted till
the middle of the Victorian age. At first the little ships
went out year by year, in the season, and returned with
their cargoes of oil and fish and skins, without making
any stay on the island— little ships of forty to fifty tons,
but manned by daring seamen, who faced the Atlantic
storms and the Turkish pirates, as well as French or
Spanish enemies, year in, year out, with no record save
now and then an incidental mention, as when the Mayor
of Poole complains to the Privy Council in 1625 of the
danger that the fishing fleets ran from the Turkish pirates,
Sallee rovers, and the like. In after years settlements
were made, and the Poole merchants had their estab-
lishments on the island, from which they supplied the
fishermen ; but the truck system was the only one in
vogue, and the oils and fish and seal-pelts were paid for
in goods only, the value of which was fixed by the
merchant, who thus got his cargoes at his own price,
and, buying his supplies wholesale in England, made,
naturally, very large profits.

For many years Poole and Newfoundland were inti-
mately connected, but the trade gradually fell off as other
countries entered into competition, and the carelessness,
bred by monopoly, made the Poole merchants far too
independent and unenterprising.

Not far down the street lived a merchant of another
sort. Sir Peter Thompson, born in Poole, but for the
greater part of his life residing in London, where he
carried on a large trade with Hamburg, built for his

Poole 227

retirement the fine old Georgian house long used as a
hospital. The carved doorway, with its crest and motto,
" Nil conscire sibi " (not, by-the-bye, the one usually
assigned to Sir Peter, which is " Nulla retrorsum ") ; the
arms and crest displayed above the doorway, and the
height and proportion of the street front, give an air of
dignity to the building strangely in contrast with the
neat little villas recently put up opposite. The house dates
from the time of Prince Charlie, who, indirectly, was
the cause of Sir Peter's knighthood. As High Sheriff of
Surrey, the fine old Whig presented a loyal address to
George II. when the throne was in danger after Preston-
pans, and received the honour of knighthood as a mark of
the King's appreciation. It was in the next year, the year
of Culloden, that Sir Peter began the house in which
he meant to spend the close of an honourable life in the
company of early friends, and in the collection of rare
manuscripts and objects of interest, scientific and anti-
quarian, for he was both an F.R.S. and an F.A.S. ; he
also aided Hutchins in his monumental History of
Dorset. Respected for his talents and loved for his kind-
ness, he lived there for some years in dignified ease, and
died in T770.

As yet it will be observed that we have had com-
paratively modern memories of Poole ; but as we go
nearer to the Quay, which is the most important element
in Poole past and present, we come to older and older
buildings, or rather parts of buildings, for it is a feature
in the town that the constant, active life of the place has
renewed, and so covered up, the old buildings, unlike places
whose vigour has long ebbed away and left them with
their antiquities unaltered to sleep away the remainder of
their allotted time,

And keep the flame from wasting by repose.

And so we pass the modern Guildhall — the old Guild-
hall was very suitably placed in Fish Street, on the other

228 Memorials of Old Dorset

side of the town, with the gaol, in which John Wesley's
grandfather was imprisoned, under it — and down the
market till we pause before the oldest almshouses, where
the authorities have put up an inscription which tells all
that is certainly known of the buildings, viz., that they
were first erected about the time of Henry IV., were the
property of one of the mediaeval religious guilds, the
Guild of St. George, and were seized by the Crown in the
time of Edward VI., and afterwards sold to the Corpora-
tion. The lower portion and the old wall at the back —
in fact, the stonework — may be as old as the days of
Joan of Arc, but there has, of course, been a great deal
of alteration and rebuilding. Speaking of Joan of Arc,
it may be mentioned that John, Duke of Bedford, Regent
of France, under whose rule she was burned, was Lord
of Canford and of Poole, and a few years ago his seal
was dug up in cleaning out a ditch on the Hamworthy-
Lytchett road. St. James' Church is, of course, new,
though built on the site of the old church, a print of
which, with its " handsome tower, covered with a cupola
of tin, quite round, in the fashion of a cup," is given in
Sydenham's History of Poole, a work of special merit,
written by a competent antiquary, and full of information.
Some of the old monumental inscriptions are preserved in
the church, notably one to Captain Peter Joliffe. This
worthy representative of the old Poole seamen distin-
guished himself in a sea-fight off Purbeck as follows: —
Cruising with only two men in a small vessel, the " Sea
Adventurer," he saw a French privateer make prey of a
Weymouth fishing-boat. Though the Frenchman was
■vastly superior in strength, he boldly attacked him, drove
riim off, recovered the prize, and then, following up his
<first success, manoeuvred so skilfully as to drive him
ashore near Lulworth, where the vessel was broken to
pieces and the crew made prisoners. King William III.,
Siearing of this brave deed, sent Captain Peter a gold
medal and chain, with a special inscription. This was not

Poole 229

his only exploit, and in later years George I. made him
military commander of the town. His great-grandson,
the Rev. Peter Joliffe, of Sterte, is still remembered as
the pattern of a good rector.

Old Poole, as we have noted, clustered round St. James'
Church and the old Guildhall, and, as the remains testify,
was mainly of stone, with the stone-flag roofs, that remind
one of their Purbeck home. Very near to the church, in
the yard of the St. Clement's Inn, is a small battlemented
gateway, supposed to have been a water-gate, a view
which has been lately confirmed by the traces of seaweed
revealed in digging. This is very probably the piece of
wall of which Leland speaks as having been built by
Richard III., who " promised large things to the town of
Poole." Hence, when " Richmond was on the seas," and
his storm-driven ship appeared off Sandbanks, an attempt
was made to inveigle him on shore ; but a warier man
than Henry Tudor did not breathe, and, to the disappoint-
ment of the authorities, " he weighed up his anchor,
halsed up his sails, and having a prosperous and streeinable
wind, and a fresh gale sent even by God to deliver him
from that peril, arrived safe in Normandy."

Older than the piece of wall, older than the alms-
houses, and older, indeed, than anything else in Poole, is
that much-battered, much-altered building now known
as the Town Cellars. The Great Cellar, or King's Hall,
or Woolhouse, to give it the various names it was once
known by, was in all probability, as the names import,
a place in which goods were stored. It was always manor
property, rented by the Corporation in later years, but
more likely originally a place used by the lords of the
manor of Canford to store the dues levied in kind, to
which they were entitled by the charter of Longespee. On
the inner side stood a small prison called the Salisbury,
also belonging to the manor, and by this were the stocks,
still remembered by old people. Modern conjecture,
catching at the ecclesiastical appearance of the pointed

230 Memorials of Old Dorset

doorways and cusped windows, and ignoring the fact
that such features were common to sacred and
secular buildings alike, has imagined a monastery
here, but the utter absence of evidence, the absolute
silence of all records, the fact, too, that Leland, who visited
Poole, and mentions all of importance from the antiquary's
point of view, has nothing to say of any such institution,
and, finally, the authority of Abbot Gasquet, whose note
on the subject may be given in full — " Poole, ' A Friary,'
No friary : the grant 3 Edward VI. seems to have been of
gild property "- — seem to be conclusive against the theory.
The place has been cut right through by the street from
St. James' Church to the Quay, and is so shown on the
revised Ordnance Map, while the original block is entire
in a plan of Poole dated 1768. It must have been very
narrow in proportion to its width, and parts of the work
are very roughly executed. Possibly this is the " fair
town house of stone on the Kay " of which Leland speaks,
unmutilated in his day. Old and battered as it is, no
inhabitant of the town should view it without reverence,
for it is part of the long past. Built about the end of
Edward the Third's reign, it must have played its part in
stirring times. Poole, during the Hundred Years' War,
was a place of much importance, and shared in the ups
and downs of that long war — now helping to take Calais,
and again destroyed in the great raid of John de Vienne,
who paid with fire and sword in the declining years of
Edward the score run up at Cressy and Calais and Poitiers.
The old building was the centre of a fierce struggle about
five hundred years ago. At that time the port of Poole
was a thorn in the side of Frenchman and Spaniard, and
its leader, Henry Paye, was the dread of the Channel
and of the shores of the Bay of Biscay. The Drake of
his age, half admiral and half pirate, he was commander
of the King's ships one year and raiding the Spanish
coast the next. It is a Spanish chronicle that lifts
the veil for a moment and shows us the Poole of the

Poole 231

Plantagenets clustering round the Church of St. James and
along the Quay, its inhabitants ready at a moment's notice
for war ; archers and men-at-arms mustering to the war-
cry ; the very doors so constructed that they could be
used as " pavaisses," or large shields, against the murderous
cross-bow bolts — everything betokening a population
living in a state of war, and revealing a lively picture of
the coast towns when there was no regular fleet, and self-
help was the order of the day. We owe this glimpse to
the Spanish Cronica del Conde D. Pero Nino, the
substance of which, as far as it affects Poole, is given by
Southey in his N aval History of England. The attack
on Poole was a revenge raid in consequence of Henry
Paye's doings on the Spanish coast. Early in the morn-
ing the joint Spanish and French fleet entered the
harbour, and the Spaniards landed. Taken by surprise,
with their leader away, the men of Poole proved their
mettle. A large building (which we, without hesitation,
identify with the Town Cellars), full of arms and sea-
stores, was fiercely defended, and when this had been
carried by assault and set on fire, the fighting was continued
in the streets. So terrible was the hail of shafts that
the Spaniards recoiled, and only the landing of fresh men
enabled them at last to drive back the English. Henry
Paye's brother led the townsmen with great gallantry, but
was killed on the spot, and then, apparently, his men drew
off. The Spaniards and their French allies, who at first
held aloof, but came bravely to help when the first repulse
took place, then returned to their ships with a few
prisoners ; and the curtain again falls.

And so we leave the old town while yet the smoke
broods sullenly over the Town Cellars, and the war-cry
of Spain yet echoes among the narrow stone streets of
the East Quay.

BRIDPORT

By the Rev. R. Grosvenor Bartelot, M.A.

jN the days when vikings, pirates, and roving sea-dogs
ruled the waves it was a decided advantage for the
shipping merchant to reside in a port which lay a
mile or so up a river-mouth rather than on the
coast itself. Fourteenth century Weymouth folk knew
this to their cost. Dwellers they were in a growing
hamlet on the sea-coast, with no church of their own, so
they had to walk over the hill to Mass at Wyke Regis.
Whilst thus employed in pious worship, down swooped the
French ships on their defenceless abodes, and when they
returned to their Sunday dinner their homesteads were a
smouldering ash-heap. After that, they decided to build
a chapel of their own on high ground, whence the eye of
the watchman could sweep the horizon in search of
strange craft.

Such a sudden surprise as this could never have
occurred at Bridport. Following Wareham's good
example, the builders of this ancient town had an eye
to communication by land and sea. They hugged the
Roman Road, and at the same time they lay snug up a
river -mouth. The Brit, which rises in the upland slopes of
Axnoller Hill, amidst some of the finest Wessex scenery,
after a short course through Beaminster Town, past the
beautiful Tudor mansion of Parnham and the villages of
Netherbury and Melplash, unites with the Symene and
the Asker streams at Bridport Town, and thence flows
into West Bay, a mile further on, at Bridport Harbour.

232

Bridport 233

Whether in Roman times this place had any import-
ance cannot now be definitely determined. If, however,
the name of the station, Londinis, on the Icen Way from
Dorchester to Exeter, be but a Latinised form of
Lyndaen — i.e., " Broad Pool " — then there is reason to
believe that Bridport High Street, which runs along the
edge of Bradpole parish, is on the old Roman Road. That
Bradpole was only a hamlet of Bridport is shown by the
fact that not until the year 1527 had the former parish
any right to bury its parishioners anywhere except in the
churchyard of the latter place. The evidence of the
name of the town certainly favours Roman occupation ;
" port " in this case is not derived from a personal source ;
this is the " door, or gate, of the Brit."

We have more clear evidence of its growing import-
ance in the Saxon period. The name of its western
suburb, " Allington," is always in mediaeval days written
" Athelington," " the town of the nobles." Hence the
fashion in modern London of the aristocracy flocking to
the " West End," is, after all, only an imitation of an
example set by Bridport long years ago. In Edward the
Confessor's reign one hundred and twenty houses stood
in this Dorset town, which, in comparison with the other
towns of the county, came next to Dorchester and Ware-
ham. Bridport, too, had a mint of its own, and its mint-
master paid well for the privilege of coining.

The Norman Conquest does not appear to have been
an unmixed blessing in these parts. In Domesday Survey
the town is shown to have gone back considerably.
Twenty houses are stated to be desolate, and the people
impoverished. All these bad times, however, had passed
away before the reign of King John, when Bridport was
already famous for its manufacture of rope, sailcloth, and
nets, and these have been its staple industries down to
modern days. As early as the year 121 1 the Sheriff of
Dorset paid the goodly sum of £48 gs. yd. for 1,000 yards
"of cloth by the warp to make sails of ships, and for 3,000

234 Memorials of Old Dorset

weights of hempen thread according to Bridport weight
for making ships' cables, and 39 shillings for the expenses
of Robert the Fisher whilst he stayed at Bridport to
procure his nets." Let us hope " Bridport weight " was,
as it is now, specially good for the price.

Residents in the town in these days are almost tired
of the threadbare witticism about the " Bridport dagger,"
but, for the sake of the uninitiated, it must be repeated
here. When anyone wished to speak tenderly of some
person who died at the hangman's hand, he described him
as being " stabbed with a Bridport dagger." John Leland,
the itinerant chronicler of the days of Henry VIII., came
here and heard the joke, but it never penetrated his
prosaic skull, so he gravely recorded in his note-book :
" At Bridporth be made good daggers." Suffice it to
say that Newgate was duly supplied in those days
(as the old Morality play, Hycke Scomer, tells us) with :

Ones a yere some taw halters of Burporte.

Whilst an Act of Parliament of 1528 says that "time out
of mind they had used to make within the town for the
most part all the great cables, ropes, hawsers, and all
other tackling for the Royal Navy." This industry has
left its mark upon the architecture of the place. The
streets are broad, to allow every house its " rope walk."
Some fine examples of mediaeval domestic architecture are
extant, notably the one now used as the Conservative Club
on the east side of South Street, evidently a merchant's
house of Tudor days.

Few country towns were so rich in ecclesiastical
foundations as was Bridport in the Middle Ages. It
possessed the present Parish Church of St. Mary, which
then had seven altars and numerous chantries; after much
restoration (during which the tomb of a great-grandson
of Edward I. perished), it is even now a noble example
of the piety of prosperous merchants. There were,
besides, the churches of St Andrew, where now the Town

Bridport 235

Hall stands, and St. Swithun, in Allington. Other
religious foundations included the Priory, now the rope
factory ; the double chantry chapel of St. Michael, where
now is extant only the lane of that name ; the Hospital
of St. John, at the East Bridge; the Mawdelyn Leper
House, in Allington ; and the Chapel of St. James, in
Wyke's Court Lane. One can well imagine that clerical
interests might sometimes clash amidst such a galaxy of
places for worship. In fact, in the reign of Henry VIII.
Sir John Strangwayes, Steward of the Borough, lodged a
complaint with the Chancellor of the Diocese " against the
disorder of certain chantry priests residing at Bridport."
This was evidently a harbinger of the coming dissolution
of monastic foundations, which confined the worship of
the town to two churches under one rector.

By far the greatest interest of old Bridport is centred
in its immensely valuable Borough Records. These
include a vast collection of old deeds of Plantagenet times
more or less connected with the history of the whole
county, whilst the copies of sixty-five mediaeval wills,
ranging from 1268 to 1460, are of unique interest and
importance, dating, as so many of them do, before 1383,
when the Records of the Prerogative Wills of Canterbury
commence. In addition to these, a very complete series
of borough charters is preserved amongst these records.
Bridport was a self-governing town, with the privileges
of a Royal Borough, long before 1252, when its first
charter was granted by King Henry III. This was
probably soon lost, for the same King, on May 5th,
1270, affixed his seal to another, which recites its pre-
decessor thus :

The King, having inspected the rolls of his Chancery, finds that
at the time when Peter de Chacepoler was keeper of his wardrobe,
the men of Bridport paid thirty marks, and in return received a
charter, etc.

From that time onward each Sovereign seems to have
extorted a nice little donation for renewing the charter,

236 Memorials of Old Dorset

each document growing in size and verbosity compared
with the one which it supplanted, right down to the reign
of James II.

Amongst the books possessed by the Corporation, the
most ancient carries us back to old Bridport from a legal
point of vision. It is the law-book of Richard Laurence,
M.P., who lived from about 1300 to 136 1. In it he has
recorded copies of all the Acts of Parliament which would
be likely to come in useful to him in his legal profession.
Beginning from Magna Charta itself, he could turn to
this volume, and at a glance see what punishments were
enacted against coin-clippers, false measures, brewers of
too mild ale, or even against bigamists. Many are the
entries referring to nautical affairs, showing how often he
must have been consulted by busy Dorset mariners.
How many a six and eightpence this worthy lawyer of
six centuries ago made out of this book ! On one page
he records a matter less prosaic — his daughter's birthday.
There were no parish registers then, so he writes :

Laurentia, the second daughter of Richard and Petronel Laurencz,
was born on the vigil of Saint Petronilla, being Whitsun Eve, in the
12th year of King Edward III. (1338).

He who so often made other people's wills at last made his
own on July 26th, 1361, which is duly preserved amongst
the muniments.

Another volume — the old dome-book of the borough —
contains amidst solemn minutes of meetings of the
Corporation back in the days of the Edwards, many quaint
little quibbles. The writer evidently dotted down on a
fly-leaf the following as being a very good witticism
which, in the relaxation following a heavy session, some
worthy Bridport alderman of old told to beguile away the
weariness of his fellow civic fathers : " I will cause you to
make a cross, and, without any interference, you will be
unable to leave the house without breaking that cross."
This is how it was to be done : " Clasp a post fixed in the
house, and make a cross with your extended arms, and then

Bridport 237

how can you go out without breaking that cross." Here is
another, after the " blind beggar's brother " pattern : " A
pear tree bore all the fruit that a pear tree ought to bear,
and yet it did not bear pears. What is the answer ? "
" Well, it only bore one pear." Somewhat childish,
certainly, but such little " catches " as these delighted the
mediaeval conversationalist ; and do they not show that
human nature has ever been the same ? An interesting side-
light is thrown upon the clock trade of those days by a
document dated 1425, whereby Sir John Stalbrygge, priest,
was paid three shillings and fourpence for " keeping the
clock on St. Andrew's Church." Matters horological in
the Middle Ages were almost entirely in the hands of the
church. The clergy and monks were the clock-makers
and menders ; witness the Glastonbury Clock in Wells
Cathedral, the Wimborne Clock, and others. Was not
Pope Sylvester himself, when a priest, the inventor
of an improved timepiece ? Hence it appears that for
nearly six centuries the townsmen have turned their eyes
towards that same spot where still the town clock chimes
out the fleeting hours.

A word about the Bridport Harbour and its vicissi-
tudes. In early days there were numerous contentions
between the citizens and the monks of Caen, who owned
the manor of Burton; at other times they were disputing
with the Abbot of Cerne or the Prior of Frampton, who
apparently wished to debar them from salving their own
ships when wrecked outside the harbour. Vessels were
small enough to be beached in those days ; when ships
were increased in size, the Haven was built, in the year
1385, but it proved not such a success as was anticipated.
Apparently during most of the next century every county
in the south of England was canvassed for subscriptions
towards Bridport Harbour ; all sorts of expedients were
devised to raise money. In 1446 was drawn up a
portentous document, still extant, known as an indulgence,
granting pardons to all those who should contribute to this

238 Memorials of Old Dorset

object. It was signed by one archbishop, two cardinals,
and twelve bishops. Armed with this deed, John Greve,
Proctor for the town, started round collecting. He writes
a pitiful letter on May Day, 1448, from Dartford, in Kent,
detailing how his sub-collector, John Banbury, " sumtime
bellman of Lodres," had decamped with six weeks'
collections, besides stealing his " new chimere of grey
black russet, and a crucifix with a beryl stone set therein."
Nor could he find the rogue, for he says, " He took his
leave on St. George's Day, and so bid me farewell, and
I have ridden and gone far to seek him — more than forty
miles about — and I cannot hear of him."

A few interesting survivals of old Bridport have come
down to modern times in the shape of place-names.
" Bucky Doo " passage, between the Town Hall and the
" Greyhound," is suggestive of the rustic rabbit or the
rural roebuck ; but it is simply the old name, " Bocardo,"
originally a syllogism in logic, which was here, as at
Oxford, applied to the prison because, just as a Bocardo
syllogism always ended in a final negative, so did a com-
pulsory visit to the Bocardo lock-up generally mean a
closer acquaintance with the disciplinary use of " the
Bridport dagger," and a final negative to the drama of
life. Stake Lane has been altered to Barrack Street in
modern times. Gyrtoppe's House, in Allington, carries us
back to the year 1360, when Sir Nicholas Gyrtoppe was
Chantry Priest of St. Michael's, Bridport. It may be
mentioned that a pretty but utterly groundless story of
the origin of this name has been told, viz., that King
Charles II., when a fugitive from Worcester fight, had
to " girth up " Miss Juliana Coningsby's saddle trappings
at this spot in 1652: hence the term "girth up."

Much could be written of the Civil War days
concerning this place. How the Roundheads voted ,£10
(November 29th, 1642) to fortify (!) the town. How the
Corporation met, and voted as follows: —

Bridport 239

1642, 14th December.— It is agreed that the inhabitants that have
muskets shall watch at night in turn ; that a watch house shall be
erected at each bridge ; that eight of the Commoners shall watch at
night and eight by day, two at each of the three bridges, one in Stake
Lane, and one in Weak's Lane.

On June 10th, 1643, Lieutenant Lee garrisoned the
place for the Parliament; on March 16th following,
Captain Pyne, with a party from Lyme, captured the town
and took 140 horse. Waller was here six months later
(September 24th) raising the posse with 2,000 horse and
1,500 dragoons. Suffice it to say that Bridport preferred
to keep as clear as possible from civil turmoil.

As for the romantic story of the escape of Charles II.
after the battle of Worcester, and how he was nearly
captured here, the reader is referred to Chapter I. for
the full account.

The Duke of Monmouth's rebellion brings us to the
end of our interest in Old Bridport. It was on Sunday
morning, June 13th, 1685, that the whole place was thrown
into a ferment by a surprise attack on the town delivered
by three hundred of Monmouth's rebels from Lyme Regis.
Lord Grey commanded them, and after a night march and
on arrival at dawn having at the first volley routed the
Dorset militia of 1,200 foot with 100 horse, they started
making prisoners of the officers who were lodging at the
" Bull " hotel. In this latter work, two Dorset men of
good family fell victims — Edward Coker and Wadbam
Strangwayes — being slain by the rebels, who, after the
first flush of victory, disregarded ordinary precautions, and
when the King's troops rallied they had to beat an
ignominious retreat to Lyme. Judge Jeffreys finished
the work by ordering twelve of the condemned rebels to
be executed at Bridport. To any student of that period
of history the unique collection of autographs, broadsides,
songs, and portraits, including the pre-Sedgemoor letter
from Lord Dumblane to his father, the Duke of Leeds —
all which are contained in the library of Mr. Broadley, of
Bridport — are absolutely indispensable.

SHAFTESBURY
By the Rev. Thomas Perkins, M.A.

Shaston, the ancient British Palladour, was, and is, in itself the city
of a dream. Vague imaginings of its castle, its three mints, its magni-
ficent apsidal abbey, the chief glory of South Wessex, its twelve churches,
its shrines, chantries, hospitals, its gabled free-stone mansions — all now
ruthlessly swept away — throw the visitor, even against his will, into a
pensive melancholy, which the stimulating atmosphere and limitless
landscape around him can scarcely dispel. The spot was the burial-
place of a king and a queen, of abbots and abbesses, saints and bishops,
knights and squires. The bones of King Edward " the Martyr," carefully
removed thither for holy preservation, brought Shaston a renown which
made it the resort of pilgrims from every part of Europe, and enabled
it to maintain a reputation extending far beyond English shores. To
this fair creation of the great Middle-Ages the Dissolution was, as
historians tell us, the death-knell. With the destruction of the enormous
abbey the whole place collapsed in a general ruin; the martyr's bones
met with the fate of the sacred pile that held them, and not a stone is
now left to tell where they lie.

O does Thomas Hardy describe the ancient
town of Shaftesbury.1 Truly, it is a town
that appears to have seen its best days.
Its market-place is almost deserted, save on
market-days, and when some travelling wild beast show
visits the town. On fair days the round-abouts with
galloping horses do a lively business, and their steam-
driven organs emit energetic music that may be heard
far and wide ; and when a good circus pitches its tent

l Jude the Obscure, p. 24Q.
240

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Shaftesbury 241

on Castle Hill, vehicles of every description stream in by
hundreds from all the surrounding villages, for there is
nothing that the country folk love better than a circus.
But at other times Shaftesbury would be considered by
a stranger passing through it, fresh from city life, as a
quiet if not sleepy town. It has little to boast of save its
splendid site, its pure health-giving breezes, and the
magnificent views of the surrounding hills and downs and
valleys that may be obtained from several points of
vantage. Of its four remaining churches one only is of
mediaeval date ; the three others are all quite modern,
entirely destitute of architectural interest, and with little
beauty to recommend them. All the others which once
stood here have disappeared, leaving nothing to remind
us of their former existence save, in some few cases, the
name of a street or lane. Of the glorious Abbey, probably
the wealthiest nunnery that ever existed in the kingdom,
nothing but the walls that once enclosed the precincts on
the south-east, and the foundations of the church, long
entirely hidden from sight by surface soil, now happily
opened out by recent excavations, remain.

Left high and dry upon its hill-top it can watch the
trailing steam of the locomotives in the deep valley to
the north as they hurry by, taking no heed of the once
royal burgh, the chief mint of Dorset in the days of the
West Saxon Kings, the burial-place of murdered Eadward,
and of Eadmund's wife, Ealdgyth or Elgefu, the site of
the nunnery founded by Alfred, and ruled at first by his
" midmost daughter " ^Ethelgede or yEthelgeofu. And
yet this town has a real history that can be traced back
for more than 1,000 years, and a legendary one that
carries us back well-nigh to the days of King Solomon,
for we read in a British Brut or chronicle : " After Lleon
came Rhun of the Stout Spear, his son, and he built
the Castle of Mount Paladr, which is now called Caer
Sefton, and there while he was building this stronghold
there was an Eryr that gave some prophecies about
R

242 Memorials of Old Dorset

this island." In Powell's History of Cambria it is
said :

. . . Concerning the word of Eryr at the building of Caer Septon on
Mt. Paladour in the year after the creation of the world 3048 some think that
an eagle did then speak and prophesie ; others are of opinion that it was
a Brytaine named Aquila (Eryr in British) that prophesied of these things
and of the recoverie of the whole ile again by the Brytaines.l

The Brut quoted was evidently written after Dorset
was occupied by the Saxons, because it says that the town
was called Septon (a form of Shafton), and implies that
it was not so called when Rhun built it. It is pretty
certain that Caer Paladr was the Celtic name, and that
the Saxon name Sceaftesbyrig is a translation of it, the
modern form of which is Shaftesbury. If it was called
after the name of the King who built it, it was after part
of his surname Baladr or Paladr (spear), Bras (stout).
Others think the spear or shaft was suggested by the
long straight hill on the point of which the town was
built. At a later date the name was contracted into
Shaston, but this has become nearly obsolete, save in
municipal and other formal documents, where the various
parishes are called Shaston St. Peter's, Shaston St. James',
etc. The name also appears on the milestones, and the
inhabitants of the town are called Shastonians. No doubt
the Romans captured this Celtic hill-stronghold, and as
proof of this, the finding of some Roman coins has been
alleged ; but no written record of this period has come
down to us. The real history begins in Saxon times.
yElfred came to the West Saxon throne in 871, and in
888 he founded a Benedictine Nunnery at Shaftesbury,
setting over it his " medemesta-dehter " as first Abbess.
This we learn from Asser, Alfred's friend, who tells us
that he built the Abbey near the eastern gate of the town.
This shows that by this time Shaftesbury was a walled

1 This prophecy is thought to have been fulfilled when the son of
Edmund Tudor, a Welshman, ascended the throne as Henry VII.

Shaftesbury 243

town. An inscription on a stone in the Abbey Chapter-
house, so William of Malmesbury tells us, recorded the
fact that the town was built by Alfred in 880, by which
he probably means re-built after its partial or complete
destruction by the Danes.

Shaftesbury was counted as one of the four royal
boroughs of Dorset (Wareham, Dorchester, and Bridport
being the other three), and at the time of the Norman
Conquest it was the largest of the four, ^thelstan granted
the town the right of coining, and several scores of
pennies struck here in his reign were found in excavating
a mediaeval house near the Forum in 1884-5. ^n the reign
of Eadward the Confessor three coiners lived in the town,
each paying 13 s. 4d. annually to the Crown, and a fine of
£1 on the introduction of a new coinage. The names,
Gold Hill and Coppice (that is, Copper) Street Lane,
still speak of the old mints of Shaftesbury.

On March 18th, 978, as everyone knows, King
Eadward was treacherously slain at the house of, and by
the order of, his stepmother. The body of the murdered
King was dragged some distance by his horse, and when
found was buried without any kingly honour at Wareham.
On February 20th, 980, ^Elfere, Eadward's ealdorman,
removed the body with all due state from Wareham
to Shaftesbury, and here it was buried, somewhere in
the Abbey Church. Doubtless the reason why Shaftes^
bury was chosen as the place of his burial was because
he was of Alfred's kin, and this religious house had been
founded by Alfred.

Miracles soon began to be worked at his tomb. He
appeared, so it was said, to a lame woman who lived at
some distant spot, and bade her go to his grave at Shaftes-
bury, promising that if she went she should be healed
of her infirmity. She obeyed his injunction, and received
the due reward for her faith. The grave in which the
King was laid did not, however, please him as a permanent
resting-place. First he indicated his dissatisfaction by

244 Memorials of Old Dorset

raising the tomb bodily, and then when this did not lead
to an immediate translation of his relics, he appeared in
visions and intimated his desire to have a fresh grave. This
was about twenty-one years after his burial in the Abbey.
The grave was opened, and, as was usual in such cases,
a sweet fragrance from it pervaded the church. His
body was then laid in the new tomb in a chapel specially
dedicated to him. Possibly this chapel stood over the
crypt on the north side of the north choir aisle. The
day of his death, March 18th, and the days of the two
translations of his relics, February 20th and June 20th,
were kept in honour of the King, who, for what reason
we cannot tell, was regarded as a saint and martyr. His
fame spread far and wide, and brought many pilgrims
and no small gain to the Abbey. At one time the town
was in danger of losing its old name, Shaftesbury, and
being called Eadwardstowe, but in course of time the new
name died out and the old name was revived. Pilgrims
were numerous, and possibly sometimes passed the whole
night in the church. In order to make a thorough
cleansing of the floor after their visits more easy, a slight
slope towards the west was given to the choir pavement,
so that it might be well swilled. A similar arrangement
may be seen in other churches.

At Shaftesbury, too, was Eadmund Ironside's wife
buried; and on November 12th, 1035, Knut the Dane
died at Shaftesbury, but was not buried in the Abbey, his
body being carried to the royal city of Winchester and
laid to rest within the Cathedral Church there. Up to the
time of the Conquest the Abbesses bore English names ;
after that time the names of their successors show that
Shaftesbury Abbey formed no exception to the rule
that all the most valuable church preferments were
bestowed on those of Norman and French birth. Through
every change of dynasty the Abbey of Shaftesbury
continued to flourish, growing continually richer, and
adding field to field, until it was said that if the Abbot of

Shaftesbury 245

Somerset Glaston could marry the Abbess of Dorset
Shaston they would together own more land than the
King himself. The Abbess held a barony, and ranked
with the mitred Abbots, who had the privilege of sitting
in Parliament, and it was said that her rank rendered
her subject to be summoned by the King, but that she.
was excused from serving on account of her sex. At last
the time came for the Abbey to be dissolved. More
prudent than Whiting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury —
who refused to surrender and was hanged on St. Michael's
Hill, overlooking his wide domains — Elizabeth Zouche,
the last Abbess of Shaftesbury, gave up to Henry VIII., on
March 23rd, 1539, the Abbey with all its property, valued
at £1,329 per annum, and received in lieu thereof the
handsome pension of £133 a year for her own use. At
this time there were fifty-four nuns within its walls, each
of whom received a pension varying from £7 down to
£3 6s. 8d. ; the total amount given in pensions was

;£43i-

From the day of the Dissolution the glory of Shaftes-
bury began to pass away. In an incredibly short space of
time the Abbey was demolished, and when Leland visited
the place a few years later the church had entirely dis-
appeared. There was much litigation between the town
and those to whom the Abbey lands had been granted
— the Earl of Southampton and Sir Thomas Arundel—
and this dispute continued for fifty years, greatly
impoverishing the town.

Shaftesbury received its first municipal charter in the
second year of James I. ; a second charter was granted in
1666 by Charles II. From that time Shaftesbury led an
uneventful life, broken at times by the excitement of
contested elections, which were fought with great bitter-
ness, and the consumption of much beer and the giving
of much gold. The town was originally represented by
two members; the two first of these sat in the Parliament
of the twenty-fifth year of Edward I. At the time of

246 Memorials of Old Dorset

the Reform Bill of 1832 it lost one member, and in 1885
it ceased to be a Parliamentary Borough, and was merged
in the Northern Division of Dorset. At the election of
1880 a singular incident took place, which will show how
high party feeling ran in the ancient borough. The
candidate who had represented the constituency in the
previous Parliament was defeated, and after the declara-
tion of the poll, about nine o'clock in the evening, his
disappointed partizans indulged in such violent and
riotous conduct that the successful candidate and his
friends could not leave the room in the Town Hall where
the votes had been counted. Stones were thrown at the
windows, some of the police were injured, but the besieged
barricaded the doors of the building, closed the shutters,
and waited with patience, while the angry mob outside,
for the space of four or five hours, yelled like wild beasts
disappointed of their prey. At las!, finding that they
could not effect an entrance and make a fresh vacancy
in the constituency by killing the new member, the crowd
began to drop off one by one, and by two o'clock in the
morning the siege was practically raised, and the
imprisoned member and his friends were able to get out
and reach their hotel unmolested. Some of the rioters
were tried, but evidence sufficiently clear to identify the
men who had wounded the police was not to be obtained,
and the accused were acquitted. This was the last time
Shaftesbury was called on to elect a member ; and as the
town stands quite on the borders of the new district of
North Dorset, the poll is not now declared from the Town
Hall window at Shaftesbury, but at Sturminster Newton,
a town more centrally situated.

At one time there were twelve churches or chapels in
Shaftesbury — St. Peter's, St. Martin's, St. Andrew's, Holy
Trinity, St. Lawrence's, St. Michael's, St. James', All
Saints', St. John the Baptist's, St. Mary's, St. Edward's,
and last, but not least, the Abbey Church of St. Mary and
St. Edward. Beyond the borough boundary was the

Shaftesbury 24;

Church of St. Rumbold,1 now generally spoken of as Cann
Church. Why Shaftesbury, which was never a large town,
should have needed so many churches has always been
a mystery. The late William Barnes suggested a theory
which may partially account for it. He says that some
of these churches may have been old British ones, and
that the Saxon Christians could not, or would not, enter
into communion with the British Christians, but built
churches of their own. This is probably true, although
it still fails to account for the number of churches which,
on this supposition, the Saxons must have built. It must
be remembered, as explained in the Introduction, that
Dorset remained much longer free from the dominion of
the West Saxon Kings than Hampshire, and that when
it was finally conquered by the West Saxons, these men
had already become Christians, so that the conquest was
not one of expulsion or extermination. The Celtic
inhabitants were allowed to remain in the old homes,
though in an inferior position. The laws of Ine, 688,
clearly show this. In Exeter there is a church dedicated
to St. Petroc, who was a Cornish, and therefore Celtic,
saint. Mr. Barnes thinks that the Shaftesbury churches
dedicated to St. Michael, St. Martin, St. Lawrence, and
the smaller one dedicated to St. Mary, may have been
Celtic. St. Martin was a Gaulish saint, St. Lawrence may
have been a dedication due to the early missionaries,
while the two hills in Cornwall and Brittany dedicated to
St. Michael show that he was a saint held in honour by
the Celts. The British Church differed in certain points
of observance from the Church founded by the mission-
aries from Rome under St. Augustine, notably as to the
date of keeping Easter. Baeda says that when he was
Abbot of Malmesbury he wrote, by order of the Synod

1 This dedication is curious. St. Rumbold was the son of a
Northumbrian King, and of a daughter of Penda, King of Mercia, born
at Sutton, in Northamptonshire ; he died when three days old, but not
before he had repeated the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed in
Latin. This fact gained canonization for him.

248 Memorials of Old Dorset

of his own Church, a book against the errors of the
British Church, and that by it he persuaded many of
the Celts, who were subjects of the West Saxon King,
to adopt the Roman date for the celebration of the
Resurrection. But even if we assume that there were four
Celtic churches, why should no less than eight fresh ones
have been built by the West Saxons? No explanation
has been offered. Possibly, however, some of the
churches may have been only small chapels or chantries.
Soon after the dissolution of the Abbey, as has been
said previously, all the walls above the surface were pulled
down, except the one that skirts the steep lane known
as Gold Hill. This wall stands, strongly buttressed by
gigantic masses of masonry on the outside (some of them
contemporaneous with the walls, others added afterwards),
for it has to bear up the earth of what was formerly
the Abbey garden. The foundations of the Abbey
Church, either purposely or naturally, in the course of
time were covered with soil, and so remained until 1861,
when some excavations took place and sundry relics were
found, among them a stone coffin containing a skeleton
and an abbot's staff and ring. The foundations were then
once more covered in, but recently the Corporation
obtained a twenty-one years' lease of the ground for the
purpose of more thorough investigation. All the founda-
tions that remain will be uncovered, the ground laid out
as an ornamental garden and thrown open to the public.
Considerable progress has been made with this work ; all
except the extreme west end of the nave has been
excavated to the level of the floor, and some very
interesting discoveries have been made. Many fragments
of delicately-carved stonework, some of them bearing the
original colour with which they were decorated, were
unearthed, and are preserved in the Town Hall. The
excavation began at the eastern end of the church, and
proceeded westward. It was found that the east end
Qf the choir was apsidal, the form usual in Norman times,

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Shaftesbury 249

but abandoned by English builders in the thirteenth
century, when many of the larger churches were extended
further to the east, though in France the apsidal termina-
tion is almost universal. The form shows that the Abbey
Church was re-built during the Norman period of archi-
tecture, and that the choir was not afterwards extended
eastward, for in earlier days, as well as in the thirteenth
century and later, the rectangular east end was common.
The north choir aisle was apsidal internally and square-
ended externally ; the south aisle was much wider than
the north, and was evidently extended in the fifteenth
century. The foundations of the high altar are complete,
and on the north side of it is a grave formed of faced
stone, which probably contained the body of the founder
of the Norman Church. The crypt lies outside of the
north aisle, and this has been completely cleared out ;
its floor is sixteen feet below the level of the ground.
On this floor was found a twisted Bvzantine column, which
probably supported a similar column in the chapel above
the crypt. This is the chapel which is believed to have
been the shrine of King Eadward the Martyr. A most
curious discovery was made in the crypt — namely, a
number of dolicho-cephalous skulls. The question arises :
How did they get there ? For the shape of these skulls
indicates that their owners were men of the Neolithic
Age ! In various graves sundry ornaments and articles
of dress have been found — a gold ring in which
a stone had once been set, a leaden bulla bearing the
name of Pope Martin V. (141 7-1 431), and a number of
bronze pins, probably used to fasten the garment in which
the body was buried. The clay used for puddling the
bottom of the graves acted much in the manner of quick-
lime and destroyed the bodies. Several pieces of the
pavement, formed of heraldic and other tiles, remain in
situ. It is supposed by some that the Abbey Church
once possessed a central tower and a tall spire, though
it is doubtful if the spire ever existed; if it did, the

250 Memorials of Old Dorset

church standing on its lofty isolated hill about 700 feet
above the sea-level must have been a conspicuous object
from all the wide Vale of Blackmore and its surrounding
hills, as well as from the Vale of Wardours to the north,
along which the railway now runs.

St. Peter's Church is the oldest building in the town,
but it is late Perpendicular in style. It is noteworthy
that it has not, and apparently never had, a chancel
properly called so ; no doubt a ritual chancel may have
been formed by a wooden screen. A holy-water stoup is to
be seen on the left hand as one goes into the entrance
porch at the west side of the tower. The richly-carved
pierced parapet of the north aisle bears the Tudor rose
and the portcullis, and so shows that this part of the
church was built early in the sixteenth century.

Many of the houses in the town are old, but not of
great antiquity. Thatched cottages abound in the side
lanes, and even the long main street, which runs from east
to west, has a picturesque irregularity on the sky-line.
The most interesting house is one in Bimport, marked in
a map dated 161 5 as Mr. Groves' house. It stands near
the gasworks and the chief entrance to Castle Hill. It is
a good example of a town house of the early sixteenth
century, and contains some well-carved mantelpieces of
somewhat later date. This house has served various
purposes — at one time it was an inn, and some years ago
narrowly escaped destruction. It, however, did escape
with only the removal of its old stone-slabbed roof, in
place of which one of red tiling has been substituted.
An additional interest has been given to this old
building by its introduction into Jude the Obscure
as the dwelling-place of the schoolmaster Phillotson,
from a window of which his wife Sue once jumped
into the street. Beyond this house is one known
as St. John's, standing as it does on St. John's Hill, more
of which hereafter. It was, in great measure, built of
material bought at the sale of Beckford's strange and

Shaftesbury 251

whimsical erection known as Fonthill Abbey, of which
the story is told in the Memorials of Old Wiltshire. In
the garden of St. John's Cottage is a curious cross, in
which are two carved alabaster panels, covered with glass
to preserve them from frost and rain.

Shaftesbury owes what distinction it possesses to its
position, and this is due to its geological formation. A
long promontory1 of Upper Greensand runs from the east,
and ends in a sharp point where the steep escarpments
facing the north-west and south meet. On the triangle
formed by these two the town is built. Looking out from
the end of this high ground we may see a conical, wooded
hill known as Duncliffe ; this is an outlier of the same
greensand formation ; all the rest of the greensand, which
once occupied the space between, has been gradually
washed away, and the surface of the lower ground
consists of various members of the Jurassic series. Under
the greensand lies a bed of Gault, a blue-coloured clay
impervious to water ; and, as the greensand rock is porous,
the gault holds up the water that percolates through the
greensand, with the result that a thickness of about
twenty-five feet of the lowest bed of the greensand is full
of water, while the upper layers are dry. Hence, to get
water to supply the town, wells would have to be sunk to
the depth of 150 feet. Some such wells were, indeed,
sunk in mediaeval times, but were not satisfactory. It is
only in recent times that regular waterworks, with
pumping-engines, reservoir, and mains, have been con-
structed, and Shaftesbury had to depend for water until
that time on a supply obtained from springs at Enmore
Green, a village situated under the hill and to the north
of the town. This gave rise to a quaint and curious
custom. On the Sunday next after the Festival

1 This has given the colloquial name of " the Rock " to Shaftesbury.
Those who live in the town are spoken of as coming from the Rock ;
those who dwell in the villages below it are spoken of as " Side off" the
Rock.

252 Memorials of Old Dorset

of the Invention of the Cross, May 3rd (the day-
was changed in 1663 to the Monday before Ascension
Day), the Mayor and burgesses of Shaftesbury went
down to the springs at Enmore Green with mirth
and minstrelsy, and, chief of all, with a staff or
bezant adorned with feathers, pieces of gold, rings and
jewels, and sundry dues — to wit, a pair of gloves, a
calf's head, a gallon of ale, and two penny loaves of fine
wheaten bread : these were presented to the bailiff of the
manor of Gillingham, in which the village of Enmore Green
was situated. Moreover, the Mayor and burgesses, for
one whole hour by the clock, had to dance round the
village green hand in hand. Should the dues not be
presented, or the dance fail, the penalty was that the water
should no longer be supplied to inhabitants of the borough
of Shaftesbury. The decoration of the bezant was a costly
matter; the original one, of gilded wood in the form of a
palm-tree, was in the possession of Lady Theodora Guest,
and has been presented by her ladyship to the Corporation
of Shaftesbury. The water was brought up in carts
drawn by horses, and strong ones they must have been,
for the hill they had to climb is one of the steepest in
the neighbourhood. The fixed price for a bucketful of
water was a farthing. From the scanty supply of drinking-
water it came to pass that a saying got abroad that
Shaftesbury was a town where " there was more beer
than water " ; to which was added two lines describing
other noteworthy characteristics of the place — namely, that
" here there was a churchyard above the steeple," and that
the town contained " more rogues than honest people."
Once during the writer's fifteen years' sojourn in the
town some accident happened to the pumping apparatus
at the water-works, and for several weeks the inhabitants
were thrown back upon the old source of water supply.
Day after day water-carts might be seen slowly passing
along the streets, while servants or housewives came out
from every doorway with empty pails or buckets, though

Shaftesbury 253

they were not called upon to pay their farthings for the
filling- of them, as the expense was borne by the owners
of the water-works.

In the old coaching days Shaftesbury was a livelier
place than now, since the London and Exeter coaches,
with their splendid teams and cheerful horns, passed
through it daily, changing their horses at the chief
hostelry. When the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway (after-
wards absorbed by the London and South-Western) was
planned it was intended to bring the line, not indeed
through the town, but within a half-mile or so of it, with
a station under the hill ; but the bill was here, as in
many another place, opposed by the landowners, with the
result that the line was not allowed to come within about
three miles of Shaftesbury, and was carried through
the neighbouring town of Gillmgham, which from
that time began to increase, while Shaftesbury decreased.
Periodically there has been an agitation for a branch
line or a loop or a light railway running from Tisbury
and passing near Shaftesbury, and joining, somewhere in
the neighbourhood of Wareham, the line to Weymouth.
But all the agitation has ended in nothing practical.

The beauty of its scenery and the clearness of its air
have raised a hope in the minds of some of its inhabitants
that Shaftesbury may become a summer health resort ;
but as long as the town is so difficult of access these
hopes do not seem likely to be fulfilled to any great
extent.

There are scarcely any historical events connected
with Shaftesbury besides those already mentioned ;
but it is worthy of notice that once for a short time two
royal ladies were held prisoners at the. Abbey. Robert
the Bruce, when on one occasion things were not going
well with him, entrusted his second wife, Elizabeth, and
her step-daughter, Marjory (the only child of his first wife,
Isabella of Mar), to the care of his younger brother, Nigel
Bruce, who was holding the strong Castle of Kildrummie,

254 Memorials of Old Dorset

near the source of the Don, in Aberdeenshire. The
castle was besieged by the English, under the Earls of
Lancaster and Hereford, but when the magazine was
treacherously burnt the garrison had to surrender. Nigel
Bruce was taken to Berwick, tried, condemned, and
executed. Elizabeth and Marjory were carried off across
the border, and, with a view of placing them far beyond
all chance of rescue, were ultimately handed over to the
Abbess of Shaftesbury in 1313. King Edward IL
allowed them twenty shillings a week for their main-
tenance, a sum of much greater value in those days than
now. After the battle of Bannockburn (June, 13 14), the
Earl of Hereford, who had been taken prisoner by Bruce,
was given up in exchange for the Queen, who during all
her married life, with the exception of two years, had been
in the hands of the English, for she had been married 111
1304, and had been taken prisoner in 1306.

It is needful, before finishing this chapter, to explain
the old saying about the churchyard being higher than
the steeple. There was once a church dedicated to
St. John the Baptist that stood at the south-west point
of the hill on which Shaftesbury is built ; this has long
ago passed away, but its graveyard still remains. Its
parish was amalgamated with that of St. James, whose
church stands below the hill, and for some time the old
churchyard of St. John's served as the burial-ground for
the united parishes. Hence arose the saying quoted.
Speaking of St. James leads us to notice the interesting
fact that part of this parish lies outside the municipal
boundaries, and is situated in the Liberty of Alcester,1 so
called because this land belonged to a monastery at
the town of Alcester, in Warwickshire, and was free from

1 The Abbey of Alcester was founded in 1140 by Ralf Boteler, and
a document exists by which one William le Boteler, of Wem, grants to
the Abbey 100 shillings per annum, derived from land in the parish of
St. James, Shaftesbury, to pay for masses for his own soul and that of
the King (7th vear of Henrv IV.). This is onlv a confirmation of a previous
gift.

Shaftesbury 255

the payment of local tithes. Some have supposed that
the word Alcester was the name of a Roman town, on the
ruins of which Shaftesbury was built ; but this is not the
case.

In the early part of the eighteenth century a free
school was founded by one William Lush, merchant, of
Shaftesbury, for the education of a small number of boys
and girls. A new scheme was drawn up about thirty
years ago by the Charity Commissioners : new buildings
were erected to the east of the town close to Cann
Church, but within the boundaries of the parish of Shaston
St. Peter, and in 1879 Shaftesbury Grammar School, as
it is always called, was opened, the writer of this chapter
holding the office then, and for fifteen years afterwards,
of head-master of the re-organised school, which, though
never likely to be a large oney has already done, and is still
doing, useful work in its own quiet and unobtrusive way.

Despite the fact that strangers may call Shaftesbury
a sleepy place, and far behind the times in enterprise ;
despite the fact that it has fallen from its former import-
ance, and may by some be looked on as a mere derelict —
yet those who have known it and dwelt upon " The Rock "
cannot but keep a tender spot in their memories for this
quaint Dorset town.

Beautiful it is under many atmospheric conditions.
One who has risen, and stood in the neighbour-
hood of the Grammar School, before the dawn
of a summer day, and has looked eastward at the
long ridge of the downs silhouetted against the sunlit sky,
and then a little later has turned to the south-west to
look at the line of the houses that run along the crest of the
Rock, ending in the two towers of St. Peter's and Holy
Trinity, flushed with the rose of morning, while the soft
blue shade holds the valleys below, has seen a sight of
surpassing loveliness. Sometimes the hollows are brimmed
with thick, white mist, from which the tops of the
surrounding hills rise like islets from the sea. Again, the

256 Memorials of Old Dorset

view is splendid when, at noon on a wild, gusty day,
heavy masses of clouds are blown across the sky, and their
shadows and glints of sunshine chase each other over
vale and down. But possibly the most lovely view of all
may be obtained by going to Castle Hill on a summer
evening when the sun is sinking behind the Somerset
hills to the north-west, for the sunsets are " mostly
beautiful here," as Mr. Hardy makes Phillotson say,
" owing to the rays crossing the mist of the vale."1 But
there are other aspects of nature that may sometimes be
observed in the hill town and around it — grand and wild
when the north-east blast roars over the hill-top, driving
before it frozen snow, sweeping up what has already
fallen on the fields, and filling the roads up to the level
of the hedge-tops, cutting the town off from all com-
munication with the outer world, until gangs of labourers
succeed in cutting a narrow passage through the drifts,
along which a man may walk or ride on horseback, with
the walls of snow rising far above his head on the right-
hand and on the left, and nothing to be seen save the
white gleam of the sunlight on the snow, the tender grey
of the shadows on it, and the bright blue of the sky
above — if, indeed, the snow has ceased to fall and the
winds to blow, and the marvellous calm of a winter frost
beneath a cloudless sky has fallen on the earth. Many
may think that such aspects of nature could never be
met with in the sunny southern county of Dorset ; but the
writer speaks of what he has seen on several occasions,
when snow has been piled up to the cottage eaves, when
the morning letters have not reached the town till after
sunset, when even a wagon and its team have been buried
for hours in a snow-drift, and the horses rescued with
difficulty.

1 Jude the Obscure, p. 313.

PIDDLETOWN AND ATHELHAMPTON

By Miss Wood Homer

HE parish of Piddletown, or Puddletown, is said
by Hutchins to take its name from the river
Piddle, which flows to the north of the village,
though it is supposed to have been formerly
called Pydeletown after the Pydele family, at one time
owners of much property in the neighbourhood.

It was once a large parish, and the capital of the
hundred ; but it now numbers only about nine hundred
inhabitants, having fallen from fourteen hundred during
the last forty years. About the year i860 the village
contained as many as twenty boot-makers, twelve black-
smiths, twenty carpenters and wheelwrights, five pairs of
sawyers, two coopers, and some cabinet-makers. Gloves
and gaiters were tanned and made there, as were many
of the articles in common use. Beer was brewed in the
public-houses ; and there were three malt-houses, about
one of which we read in Thomas Hardy's Far from
the Madding Crowd. Naturally, these trades employed
much labour, and a great decrease in the population
resulted when they were given up, after the introduction
of the railway at Dorchester, about the year 1848. Two
business fairs were formerly held in the village — one on
Easter Tuesday, the other on October 29th — when cattle,
materials, hats, etc., were sold. The October fair still
exists, but it has dwindled to a small pleasure fair only,
though pigs were sold as late as 1896.
S 257

258 Memorials of Old Dorset

Piddletown possesses a very fine church, dedicated to
St. Mary. It is a large and ancient building, consisting
of a nave and a north aisle of the same length, covered
with leaden roofs, and a small south aisle, called the
Athelhampton aisle, the burial-place of the Martyns of
Athelhampton. This aisle is under the control of the
vestry of Athelhampton Church. The chancel has a tiled
roof ; it was built in 1576. The embattled tower contains
six bells.

The chief features of this church are the monuments
in the south aisle, with some very fine brasses ; the Norman
font (some authorities on fonts consider it to be of Saxon
work) ; and the beautiful roof of carved chestnut wood.
This latter has been many times supported and restored,
and it will, indeed, be a loss to the antiquary when it is
found impossible any longer to keep it in repair.

The monuments are all much defaced. One of them,
of the fifteenth century, consists of a knight and lady
in alabaster on an altar-tomb, probably Sir Richard
Martyn and Joan his wife ; this has traces of much
gilding and painting, but no inscription. To the west
of this there is the figure of a knight, probably placed
there about 1400. West of this again, an unknown
" crusader " and lady lie on the floor under an altar-tomb,
with a canopy upon four pillars, which was erected to
the memory of Nicholas Martyn ; under the canopy there
is a fine brass, representing Nicholas Martyn, his wife,
three sons, and seven daughters, dated 1595, and bearing
an inscription. There is also a smaller brass, on which
is a monkey holding a mirror — the Martyn crest — while
above the whole are three sculptured martins or monkeys.
To the north of the aisle there is a figure of a knight
in alabaster, his feet resting on a chained monkey, the
whole supported on an altar-tomb of Purbeck marble.
On the west wall there is a large tablet to the memory
of the Brunes, who owned Athelhampton in the seven-
teenth century.

PlDDLETOWN CHURCH.

PlDDLETON AND ATHELHAMPTON 259

On the east of the aisle there is a brass to the
memory of Christopher Martyn, with the following in-
scription : —

Here lyethe the body of Xpofer Martyn Esquyer
Sone and heyre unto Syr Willym Martyn knyght
Pray for there Soules with harty desyre
That they bothe may be sure of Eternall lyght
Callyng to Remembraunce that every wyght
Most nedys dye, & therefor lett us pray
As other for us may do Another day.
Qui quidem Xpoferus obiit XXII° die mens' M'cii an" D'ni
millmo quingentesimo vicesimo quarto.

Above this there is the kneeling figure of a man in
armour, and a partial representation of the Trinity. The
figure is holding a scroll, on which the following inscrip-
tion is much abbreviated : " Averte faciem tuam a peccatis
meis et omnes iniquitates meas dele " ; while before and
behind the effigies are the Martyn arms. And on the
floor of the church, north of the pulpit, there is a brass
to the memory of Roger Cheverell.

A short staircase of thirteen steps opens out of the
south aisle ; this formerly led to a rood loft.

A musicians' gallery of the seventeenth century runs
across the west of the church, and there are porches on
the north and south. The south door has a ring attached
to the outside, which is popularly supposed to have been
a sanctuary ring, though probably this tradition has no
foundation.

It is an interesting fact that the church clock, which
was in the tower till about 1865, was made by a village
blacksmith, Lawrence Boyce by name, about 17 10. This
clock had a three-cornered wooden face on the north side
of the tower, stone weights and one (hour) hand. It
struck the hours and quarters and chimed at 8, 12, and 4,
except on Sundays, when the chimes were silenced, so
that they might not disturb the worshippers. A clock
made by the same man, for Bere Regis Church, is now
in the Dorchester Museum ; but, unfortunately, the

260 Memorials of Old Dorset

Piddletown clock was not preserved, though it was in good
going order when it was removed to make room for the
present one.

In 1820, and probably for long before, it was the
custom of the members of the choir to write their own
music ; some was actually composed by them, while some
was borrowed from other villages, although the rivalry
which often existed between village choirs not infrequently
prevented the exchange of tunes. In two vellum-covered
volumes, the property of Mr. W. Gover, of Piddletown,
dated 1823, the music and words of the Psalms are most
beautifully written. The books were given by a certain
Mrs. Price to the choir. The larger book belonged to
J. Holland, a clarionet player ; the smaller to W. Besant.
In the latter may be found music headed, " John Besant's
Magnificat," which was probably composed by one of his
ancestors. At this time the choir consisted of two
clarionets, two bass viols, a flute, and a bassoon ; while
before this a " serpent " was used, and the music is written
apparently for all these instruments. The violin was
prohibited by most clergymen as being " Devil's music,"
on account of its being played in public-houses and for
dancing. The instruments were given up about 1845 on
the introduction of a barrel-organ. At this time the
village also possessed a band, which had been in existence
for nearly two hundred years, and of which the inhabitants
were justly proud.

Piddletown is perhaps better known as the " Weather-
bury "' of Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding
Crowd. On the south-west of the church is the gargoyle
(the head of some beast, with the legs of a child projecting
from its mouth), which destroyed Sergeant Troy's work at
Fanny's grave. The old malthouse mentioned in the same
book stood in what are now the gardens of Ilsington
House, while Bathsheba's house stood on the site of
Ilsington Lodge, although it is sketched from the house
at Waterson. The latter is a fine old building about two

PlDDLETOWN AND ATHELHAMPTON 26 1

miles from Piddletown, and was the residence of the
Martyns before they went to Athelhampton, and remained
their property for long after. It was much damaged by
fire in 1863, but was carefully restored by the owner, Lord
Ilchester, to whose family it still belongs. It is interesting
to note that a certain Mr. Bainger, who lived at Ilsington
Lodge, was the moving spirit in causing the lowering of
Yellowham Hill, between Piddletown and Dorchester,
about 1830.

The Vicarage possesses a very fine staircase and an
oak-beamed study, while an old farmhouse, now used as
a cottage, in " Style Lane," formerly contained a fine
carved mantelpiece. In the churchyard is the headstone
of Peter Standley, King of the Gipsies, with the following
inscription : —

In memory of Peter Standley, who died 23rd November, 1802,
aged 70 years.

Farewell my dear & faithful wife

My sons & daughters too

Tho' never in this mortal life

Again you must me view

Close in our Saviour's footsteps tread

Of Love divine possessed

And when you're numbered with the dead

Your souls will be at rest.

He is said to have died of smallpox in Style Lane, and to
have been buried by night. Gipsies still visit the grave.

The old coaching road from London to Dorchester
runs to the west of the village, and " Judge's Bridge,"
near Ilsington Lodge, is said to have taken its name from
being the meeting-place of the judge and the " javelin
men " on the occasion of the Dorchester Assizes.

The Court Leet House, wherein was transacted all the
local business, and which was also used as a school,
formerly stood in the " Square " ; the stocks, the old
village pound, and pump were near. The house now
occupied by Mr. W. Gover was the residence of the
Boswells, who owned land in the parish, and introduced
the system of irrigating the meadows.

262 Memorials of Old Dorset

Athelhampton Hall is a fine old building east of
Piddletown. There is a tradition that it took its name
from some of the Saxon Kings, and was originally called
Athelhamstan ; but Hutchins thinks it more probable that
it derived its name from ^Ethelhelm, one of the Saxon
Earls in Dorset, who was killed in an engagement with
the Danes A.D. 837.

The first owners of Athelhampton of whom there is
any record were the de Loundres and Pideles. From them
it came by marriage to the Martyns, who held it till 1595.
At the death of Nicholas Martyn it was divided between
his four daughters, who married respectively Henry
Brune, Henry Tichborne, Thomas White, and Anthony
Floyer. Gradually the shares of the Whites and
Tichbornes came into the hands of the Brunes, and
were sold by them in 1665 to Sir Robert Long. It then
came by marriage to the Hon. William Wellesley Pole
(afterwards Earl of Mornington), whose son sold it in
1848 to Mr. George James Wood, from whom it came
to his nephew, Mr. G. Wood Homer. It is now the
property of Mr. A. C. de Lafontaine, who purchased it
in 1890. The Floyer share of the house remained in their
possession till an exchange was effected by Mr. Wood,
when the whole came into his hands.

The house itself consists of two sides of a quadrangle
facing south and west, and was in a very bad state when
bought by Mr. Wood, having, it is said, been used as a
farmhouse, and the fine old oak-roofed stone-floored hall
as a cattle-shed. Mr. Wood entirely renovated the oak
roof, taking great trouble to preserve the original style.
He re-floored the large drawing-room, and made various
other extensive repairs. He removed the gate-house,
which darkened the house, and partly re-erected it in
the form of a summer-house. This has, however, been
again removed by the present owner, who has made many
alterations. The house is built of Ham Hill stone. The
east wing is said to be the oldest part of the present

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PlDDLETOWN AND ATHELHAMPTON 263

building, and was probably erected by Sir William
Martyn, who died in 1 503 ; while the north wing is
thought to have been built by Nicholas Martyn later in
the sixteenth century.

A small chapel stood on the lawn when Mr. Wood
bought the property, but as this and Burlestone Church
were both out of repair, he pulled them down and built
the present church, to a great extent at his own cost. The
chancel of old Burlestone Church is still standing in its
overgrown churchyard, the tombs having all fallen into
decay. No churchyard belonged to the Athelhampton
Chapel, Piddletown having always been the burying-place
of the owners.

In a field about a quarter of a mile from Athelhampton,
on the land of Mr. G. Wood Homer, are the grass-grown
mounds — the remains of the hamlet of Bardolfeston, the
seat of Drogo de Bardolf, from whom it came hereditarily
to the Martyns. It consisted of a manor, hamlet, and
church ; the latter stood at a little distance from the
cottages and manor on what is now known as Church
Knap or Knoll. The field in which the hamlet stood is
now known as " Dunditch," and there is a local couplet
which runs :

Dunditch was a thriving town
When London was a vuzzy down.

It is probable that Bardolfeston extended irregularly
to Piddletown, as it is known that cottages and a mill
existed between the two, and Bardolfeston was part of
the Piddle Hundred, being sometimes called Piddle
Bardolf.

WOLFETON HOUSE

By Albert Bankes

HE present Wolfeton House, in the parish of
Charminster, in the county of Dorset, is known
to have been built by John, father of Sir
Thomas Trenchard, during the reign of
Henry VII. ; but as the property was acquired by the
Trenchard family (through marriage) from the Jurdains,
and previously the Jurdains had obtained the house and
land (also through marriage) from the Mohun family, it
is quite clear that a house of some description must have
existed on the same site as that of the present residence.

Some archaeologists consider that the gate-house is
decidedly of the Norman period ; so, should that be the
case, probably the house inhabited by the Jurdains, and
before them by the Mohuns, was built soon after the
Norman Conquest.

A date is still to be seen on the north side of the
north tower, but whether that refers to the actual building
of the towers, or only to some portion that had been
re-built or restored, is not known.

In a note attached to the pedigree of Trenchard it is
stated that the first Sir Thomas Trenchard re-built the
house at Wolfeton as it now stands, except some addition
made by Sir George Trenchard ; and there seems no
reason to doubt this statement, for a study of the existing
house shows very clearly two distinct dates of building.
There are evidences, also, that Sir Thomas Trenchard's

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Wolfeton House 265

re-building incorporated many portions of a still older
edifice.

Mr. Hamilton Rogers, in his Sepulchral Effigies of
Devon, says :

Their last heiress, Christian, daughter and heir of John de Mohun by
Joan his wife, daughter of John Jurdain, of Wolveton, Charminster, married
Henry Trenchard [obit 1477), of Hordull, Hants, and subsequently of
Wolveton.

His descendant, Sir Thomas Trenchard (ob. 1505),
re-built this fine old mansion, and carved on escutcheons
over the gateway ; and first among the noble series of
genealogical shields in the hall windows were the arms of
Trenchard. Traces of the great Devonshire family of
the Mohuns are not infrequently found in Dorset.

The elevation of the south front of Wolfeton House
remains very much as originally erected, and is of two
distinct styles of architecture — the portion of the building
to the east being in the Tudor-Gothic, probably of the
time of Henry VII., and the west portion in the Eliza-
bethan, or, more probably, Jacobean style. The latter
portion is a picturesque example of this pseudo-classical
style of architecture and nothing more. The older part
of the building, however, possesses features which are
worthy of notice, as the rich labels over the windows are
composed of hollow mouldings filled with rolls of sculp-
tured fruit and foliage, and terminating in quaint corbels
carved with great spirit.

Hutchins says :

The ancient seat of the Trenchards here is a noble building, and at the
time when it was built perhaps the best in the country ; it is a large fabric,
its principal fronts to the east and south. On the north it is sheltered
by a grove of trees.

One enters on the east into what formerly was a small court, and on
both sides of the gate is a round tower. In this front are many windows,
almost all of them different from each other, as if the architect had
studied irregularity. This seems to have been the humour of that age,
for Dugdale remarks that :

At Tixall, co. Stafford, the seat of the Lord Aston, there is a fine piece
of masonry, built in the reign of Henry VIII. : though the windows are

266 Memorials of Old Dorset

numerous, scarce two of them are alike, and there is the same variety of
fretwork of the chimneys ; so that the beauty of the structure in that age
did not, as in the present, consist in uniformity, but in the greatest variety
the artist could give.

On the north side of Wolfeton House there was a small cloister leading
to what was the chapel, in which some of the family were married (within
memory), but it has since been pulled down. To the west of the chapel
there was a little court.

From Powel' s Topographical Collections in Devon and
Dorset (A.D. 1820) we learn that a great deal of the back
of the house had been destroyed, and the whole of the fine
glass (with the exception of five or six shields) was taken
down, amounting to 100 lbs., and sent to Mr. Trenchard's
other house at Lytchett ; but it was so badly packed that
when the case was opened almost the whole of the glass
was pounded or broken to pieces, so that very little was
preserved.

The only remaining portion of the eastern front is
the old gateway, the most distinctive feature of the house.
The entrance gate is flanked by large circular towers
capped by conical stone roofs. That on the south side is
somewhat larger than its fellow, as well as standing a
little further eastwards. The arch of the entrance gate-
way has continuous mouldings east and west, with a
label over. The eastern label contains a shield bearing
the following arms: — Quarterly, 1 and 4, Trenchard;
2, Mohun ; 3, Jurdain ; and an inescutcheon, Quarterly
1 and 4, 3 lozenges; 2..., 3.... The western label ter-
minates in figures holding shields on which are two T's
combined with T. E. united by a tasselled cord. Above
the apex of the arch similar initials appear interlaced, and
over all T. T. combined.

Over the door within the gateway are three escutcheons
on stone : (1) An angel holding a XT, and at the points
T. E. (2) The arms of Trenchard. A little to the south
of the gateway is a building, on which is this inscription :
"Hoc opus constructum fuit Art Dni. — MCCCCCXXVIII."
The tower, together with the series of rooms connecting

Wolfeton House 267

the gatehouse westwards to the main house, are com-
paratively modern, as also is the entrance porch. These
buildings form the present north front of the house, and
over the porch are sculptured the arms of Weston.

The chapel mentioned by Hutchins as having formerly
stood on the north side of the house has long since
vanished, but traces of its foundations were discovered
during some excavations made about fifty years ago.

Turning to the inside of the house, we find much to
interest both the antiquary and the architect.

Before the hall was destroyed and replaced by the
present dining-room, over the large chimney-piece there
were carved representations of fourteen Kings of Eng-
land, which, says Hutchins, " are said to resemble the
figures in the first edition of Rastell's History of England,
ending with Charles I." Aubrey, in his Miscellanies,
states that on November 3rd, 1640 (the day on which
the Long Parliament began to sit), the sceptre fell from
the figure of Charles I. while the family and a large com-
pany were at dinner— an ill omen, the full import of which
could not have been realised at the time. Opposite to
these sculptured monarchs were the figures of an abbot,
a soldier, and some esquires. On the screen were the
arms and quarterings of the Trenchard family.

From the hall a large stone staircase led to the dining-
room, a noble apartment, adorned, says Hutchins, " with
a noble bay window, in which stood an octagon marble
table on four wooden lions."

The interior of the western portion of the house — i.e.,
of the part built by Sir George Trenchard, is composed
of two storeys, of which the lower seems originally to have
constituted a single apartment. Both storeys were very
richly decorated ; the flat ceiling of the first storey is
covered with an arabesque of plaster, embracing foliage
and various devices, finishing with large central pendants.

The upper floor had a lofty vaulted ceiling, corres-
ponding with the high pitch of the roof of a similar

268 Memorials of Old Dorset

character. Unfortunately, this ceiling has been utterly
destroyed — a dreadful piece of vandalism, as the tracery
of the pendants and ceiling must have equalled, or even
surpassed, that of the lower rooms. This upper apartment
now forms a series of bedrooms, in the centre of which
is the original sculptured stone chimney-piece, having
under the cornice a large panel, whereon is depicted a
figure reclining on a couch surrounded by dancers.

The magnificent carved oak doorway and chimney-
piece in the east drawing-room were sent to Sir Thomas
Trenchard by Philip and Joanna at the same time that
they presented him with their portraits and a china
bowl. The following description of the chimney-pieces
in the east and west drawing-rooms is given by the county
historian : —

Chimney-piece No. i, in the east drawing-room, the height of the
room, consists of an arrangement of entablatures one within the other,
the upper and outer cornice being supported by lofty Corinthian pillars
with rich capitals ; immediately beneath this are two large sunken panels,
respectively containing figures of Hope and Justice, separated by male
caryatides, which by their different costumes are intended perhaps to
typify a citizen, knight, and esquire.

Within the innermost cornice, and immediately surrounding the
fireplace, is a series of panels of great interest, displaying rural and
hunting scenes, trades, satyrs, heads, etc., quaintly but faithfully carved.

Chimney-piece No. 2, in the west drawing-room, is similar in its
general character ; the principal subject amongst its decorations represents
the contest of the goddesses in the garden of the Hesperides.

One of the most beautiful examples of carving is an
inner door-case in the east drawing-room, the arch over
which has a richly moulded soffit, and carved heads in the
spandrils ; over the door, rich Corinthian pillars, flanked
by sculptured figures of a king in armour and a queen,
support a cornice surmounting a large sunken panel.

In the front of the cornice is a shield bearing the
following arms: Quarterly — 1 and 4, Trenchard ; 2,
Mohun ; 3, Semee of cross-crosslets, a lion rampant,
Jurdain.

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Wolfeton House 269

There is, of course, much else to interest the antiquary
in the way of old furniture and objects of art, and any
visitor will be " charmed with the admirable manner in
which the art of the modern furniture has been adapted
to the character of the old house, lending its aid to
heighten rather than to detract from the beauty of the
antique carvings and of the interior."

A curious legend in connection with the dining-room
is that of the ghost of Lady Trenchard having made its
appearance immediately before her death. Anyone, of
course, can believe as much or as little as he likes about
the ghost part of the story, but of the fact of the lady's
suicide there is no doubt. During the ownership
of Sir Thomas Trenchard one of the Judges of
Assize came to Wolfeton House to dine ; but
no sooner had the company sat down than his lord-
ship, greatly to the surprise of everyone, ordered his
carriage and abruptly left the house. On their way back
to Dorchester he told his marshal that he had seen stand-
ing behind Lady Trenchard's chair a figure of her
ladyship with her throat cut and her head under her
arm. Before the carriage reached the town a messenger
overtook it on horseback with the news that Lady
Trenchard had just committed suicide.

As to the dining-room as it now stands, it may be
mentioned that Wolfeton, like many other old houses of
the same period, suffered greatly at the hands of those
who in the last century were wont to pull down one-half of
their houses to repair the other half. This appears to
have happened to Wolfeton House, as, judging from an
old engraving of the house, the dining-hall must have been
quite twice, or more than twice, the size of the present
room.

Of the historical anecdotes connected with Wolfeton
House, the visit of the King and Queen of Castile is,
perhaps, of the greatest interest.

In the early part of the sixteenth century, Philip,

2jo Memorials of Old Dorset

Archduke of Austria and King of Castile, set forth with a
great armada, with the intention of surprising the King
of Aragon, but he had scarcely left the coast of Flanders
when, encountering a violent storm, he was compelled
to put into Weymouth in distress. King Philip and his
Queen were invited to Wolfeton House by Sir Thomas
Trenchard, then High Sheriff, and were hospitably enter-
tained. And with this visit the origin of the Duke of
Bedford's family is curiously mixed up ; for on the arrival
of the King and Queen, Sir Thomas Trenchard, being un-
acquainted with the Spanish language, found a difficulty in
conversing with his guests. In his dilemma he had recourse
to his cousin, John Russell, of Kingston Russell, who, being
a good linguist, became a favourite with the King, and was
recommended by him to Henry VII., who appointed him
to an office in the royal household. In the succeeding
reign Russell was also popular, and the confiscation of
Church property during this period rendered it possible
for Henry VIII. to bestow upon him extensive lands.
And thus was founded the great Bedford family.

In acknowledgment of his hospitality Sir Thomas
Trenchard was presented by the King and Queen of
Castile with some very valuable china vases, together
with their portraits, all of which are now at Bloxworth
House, near Wareham. They also presented to him the
carved chimney-piece and doorway still standing in the
drawing-room at Wolfeton House, as before described.

Engraved copies of the oil-paintings of the King and
Queen of Castile hang on the left-hand side of the stair-
case, alongside of which is a Spanish engraving of the
poor Queen Joan, when sorrow at the death of her
husband had sent her mad. On their way to the Royal
Mausoleum the funeral cortege had to pass a night at a
nunnery. In the middle of the night the poor mad Queen
suddenly asked where they were. " In a nunnery," was the
reply. " I will not have my husband surrounded by all these
women," exclaimed the Queen ; so the cortege immediately

Wolfeton House 271

removed, and spent the remainder of the night, until
daylight, in the open country.

In the ancient gatehouse of Wolfeton the winding
staircase of forty-one oaken steps appears to be quite
unique : there are nine stone steps at the base, twenty-
four of oak to the first floor level, and seventeen leading
to the garret above. For years (some think one hundred)
this staircase must have been a complete ruin, as is easily
seen by the decayed state of those steps opposite to the
two windows, the wind and the rain having beaten in on
them for many years.

In addition to the King and Queen of Castile, other
royal visitors have from time to time honoured Wolfeton
House with their presence, and during the residence of
George III. at Weymouth the King and Queen paid it
frequent visits. On one occasion, when George III.
admired a marble table that used to stand in the drawing-
room, the Trenchard of that day immediately presented
it to His Majesty, and the table is now in the royal dairy
at Frogmore, Windsor.

No account of Wolfeton House would be complete
without some allusion to the story of the Roman Catholic
priest. In the time of Queen Elizabeth, when it was the
object of the then Government to stamp out in every
way the Papal influence in England, the Weld family had
a Roman Catholic priest concealed at their house at
Chideock, in Dorset. Sir Thomas Trenchard, who then
resided at Wolfeton House, and was a personal friend of
Mr. Weld, of Chideock, happened to be High Sheriff of
the county of Dorset for that year, and received orders
to go over and search for the priest therein concealed.
On account of his friendship with Mr. Weld, Sir Thomas,
on reaching Chideock, made a most cursory search, and
left with the intention of reporting to the authorities that
he could find no signs of the priest ; but, unfortunately, as
he was leaving, the villagers, whose sympathies were
Roman, not aware of his benign intentions,, began hooting

272 Memorials of Old Dorset

and calling the High Sheriff and his constables a pack
of blind owls for not being able to find the concealed
priest. " If that's what you want," exclaimed Sir Thomas,
losing his temper, " I'll soon show you I am not so blind
as you think ! " and, surrounding the mansion with his
constables, a real search was made, and the poor priest
was soon discovered and brought over to Wolfeton House
as a prisoner. The priest, a highly-educated French
gentleman, made himself so agreeable that Sir Thomas
Trenchard did all in his power, by writing to the authori-
ties, to save his life ; but the Government of that day
was so desirous of making an example, that all entreaties
were in vain — the poor priest was executed, and, it is
said, was also drawn and quartered in the High Street
of Dorchester.

THE LITERARY ASSOCIATIONS
OF DORSET

By Miss M. Jourdain

iORSET has continued Dorset alone from time
immemorial," and its special character has been
more carefully preserved and fixed than
that of any other English county in the
work of two Dorset poets, William Barnes and Thomas
Hardy, one of whom has succeeded, like Mistral in
France, in making its native language a literary medium
known beyond its spoken limits.

Dorset's earlier poets,1 however, have not been
" local " ; and it is characteristic of Matthew Prior that,
in the account drawn up by himself for Jacobs' Lives of

1 Of the poet "George Turberville, gentleman," not much is known.
He was born at Winterborne Whitchurch, probably before 1530, and
died after 1594. Besides a book on falconry and numerous translations,
he wrote a good many occasional poems, though none of great length.

Sir Walter Ralegh, a Devonshire man, was connected with Sher-
borne, for it was here that he and his wife, Elizabeth Throgmorton,
settled, and in January, 1591-2, had obtained a ninety-nine years' lease
of the castle and park. Here he busied himself with building and
" repairing the castle, erecting a magnificent mansion close at hand, and
laying out the grounds with the greatest refinement and taste." The
castle now occupied by the Digby family is in part the lodge built by
Sir Walter, and over the central doorway appear his arms, and the date,
1594. Before his conviction he settled his estate on his son, but by a
flaw in the deed James I. took it from him, and granted it to his
favourite, Carr, Earl of Somerset. It is said that Lady Ralegh asked
the King on her knees to spare her son's heritage, but that the King's
only answer was, " I maun hae the lond ; I maun hae it for Carr."
On Sir Walter's journey to the Tower, he passed in full view of Sherborne,
and said, motioning with his hands towards the woodlands and the
castle, " All this was once mine, but has passed away."
T 273

274 Memorials of Old Dorset

the Poets, he describes his father as a " citizen of London,"
and that though the first entry against his name on his
admission as pensioner at St. John's College, Cambridge,
is Dorcestr, it has been altered by a later hand into
Middlesexiensis. In spite of conflicting entries, it is now
generally admitted that Prior, ferennis et fragrans — the
motto upon the modern brass to his memory in Wimborne
Minster1 — was born at or near Wimborne, in East Dorset,
the son of George Prior, who is said to have been a
joiner.

" With regard to the family of Prior, the tradition of
Wimborne says that his father was a carpenter, and one
house he lived in is pointed out : it is close to the present
Post Office, and is called the house in which the poet was
born. The other was pulled down, but its site is known." 2

Local tradition makes Prior a pupil at the free
Grammar School ; and of the unusually large library of
chained books in the old church, one was said to be a
standing testimony to his carelessness — a chained folio
copy of Ralegh's History of the World, in which a hole
is said to have been burned by the boy when dozing over
the book by the light of a smuggled taper. Unfortunately
for the floating tradition, it has been stated that this
particular defacement is the work, not of a candle, but of
a red-hot poker. Still more unfortunately, it has been
proved that the History, with other books, was placed in
the library3 at a much later date than Prior's boyhood.4

1 About 1727 one Prior, of Godmanston, a labouring man, declared
to a company, in the presence of Mr. Hutchins, that he was Mr. Prior's
cousin, and remembered going to Wimborne to visit him, and afterwards
heard that he became a great man. — Hutchins' Dorset.

2 Longman's Magazine, October, 1884.

3 The collection of books to which the History of the World belongs
was given to the town in 1686, many years after Prior had left Wimborne.
See the Contemporary Review, May, 1890.

4 It is probable that Prior's parents were Nonconformists. We are
told that before a dissenting chapel was built in the town the people
met for worship in a barn in the neighbouring hamlet of Covvgrove.
To this Prior seems to allude in his epistle to Fleetwood Shepherd :

At pure Barn of loud Non-con
Where with my granam I have gone.

The Literary Associations of Dorset 275

Almost a century later a poetic " Court " was held at
Eastbury, in North Dorset, by George Bubb Dodington,
Lord Melcombe, who is not interesting as a poet1 him-
self, but as the cause of poetry in others, the last of the
patrons, a curious, gorgeous, tawdry figure, fit to be
seen through the coloured glass of Macaulay's ridicule.
He was the easy mark for dedications and compliments
from many of the best-known writers of the day — poets
utterly discrowned, and those on whose brows the laurel
grows very thin and brittle ; Edward Young, Thomson,
and Fielding mention him ; while his Great House at
Eastbury is celebrated by Thomson, Young, and
Christopher Pitt,2 who writes, somewhat oddly, of this
" new Eden in the Wild." The pleasures of this " Eden "
appear, from an epistle of Pitt, to have been smoking
and drinking, with conversational intervals. Dr. Young
(of the Night Thoughts) sits with " his Dodington,"

Charm'd with his flowing Burgundy and wit,

Bv turns relieving with the circling draught

Each pause of chat and interval of thought ;

Or, through the well-glazed tube, from business freed,

Draw the rich spirit of the Indian weed.

Thomson's " Eastbury " —

Seat serene and plain
Where simple Nature reigns,

is as bad, in its way, as Pitt's " Eden " — serenity, plain-
ness, and simple nature being the most unlikely
characteristics of Dodington,3 whose heavy figure was
arrayed in gorgeous brocades ; and whose equally magni-
ficent State bed was " garded and re-garded " with gold
and silver embroideries showing by the remains of

1 He wrote occasional verse, and when Young addressed his third
satire to Dodington, he received verses from Dodington in return.

2 Christopher Pitt (d. 1748) was rector of Pimperne, not far from
Eastbury. He translated the TEneid.

3 At Eastbury he slept on a bed encanopied with peacocks' feathers,
"in the style of Mrs. Montague." — Cumberland's Memoirs.

276 Memorials of Old Dorset

pocket-holes, button-holes and loops that they came
from old coats and breeches. This great house, after
Dodington's death, was taken down all but one wing
and sold piecemeal by Earl Temple, his heir.

Henry Fielding, one of the Eastbury circle — he
dedicated to Dodington an epistle on " True Greatness "
— was brought up as a boy in the manor-house at East
Stower,1 where he was taught by the Reverend Mr. Oliver,
curate of the neighbouring village of Motcombe, said to
have been the original of Trulliber, a portrait drawn " in
resentment of some punishment inflicted on him," accord-
ing to Hutchins.2 Fielding was fortunate in another
portrait, for it is generally admitted that the prototype
of Parson Abraham Adams was William Young, Incum-
bent of West Stower, who had many of Adams'
eccentricities. As an instance of Young's absence of
mind, it is said that when chaplain to a regiment in
Flanders he " wandered in a reverie into the enemy's
camp, and was only aroused from his error by his arrest.
The commanding officer, perceiving the good man's
simplicity, allowed him to return to his friends."

At East Stower, too, Fielding lived for a time with
his first wife.

William Crowe, though like Fielding only a short
time resident in Dorset, is admitted on the strength of
his topographical poem, Lewesdon Hill, of which Rogers
thought so much that when travelling in Italy he made
two authors his constant study for versification, Milton
and Crowe.3 Crowe's Lewesdon Hill is a perfect example

1 This was pulled down in 1835, and rebuilt.

2 Hutchins writes that " the house where Oliver lived seemed to
accord with Fielding's description," and an old woman who remembered
Oliver said "that he dearly loved a bit of good victuals and a drop of
drink." — History of Dorset.

3 William Crowe (1745-1829). In 1782, on the presentation of New
College, he was admitted to the rectory of Stoke Abbot, in Dorset, which
he exchanged for Alton Barnes, in Wiltshire, in 1787. Lewesdon Hill
lies near his Dorset benefice. The first edition of Lewesdon Hill was
published anonymously in 1788.

The Literary Associations of Dorset 277

of an eighteenth century didactic and descriptive poem,
with all the heaviness due to the requirements of an age
which, like Horace Walpole, called for " edification " in its
art. As in Goldsmith's Traveller the person who speaks
the verses sits pensively on an Alpine height, so Crowe
in his poem is supposed to be walking on the top of the
hill on a May morning — a hill, it has been suggested,
that Fuller1 may have climbed before him, and where the
wide prospect, " standing where Moses stood when the
Lord showed him all the land," may have prompted the
title of his book, A Pisgah Sight of Palestine, which he
wrote when at Broadwindsor. Upon this hill, where

The lonely thorn
Bends from the rude south-east with top cut sheer,

Crowe surveys the outspread map of the county — Shipton
Hill, Burton Cliff, Eggardon Hill, the rich Marshwood
Vale — in winter

Cold, vapourish, miry, wet,

to the " rampire " of Pillesdon, even the " nameless
rivulet " (the minutest trickle of a stream at the foot of
Lewesdon Hill), which, he rejoices,

Yet flows along
Untainted with the commerce of the world.

William Lisle Bowles, author of faint and forgotten
verses, is remembered by Coleridge's early admiration
for his sonnets. His father, the Rev. W. Bowles (rector
of Uphill), planted and improved Barton Hill House, in
Dorset, which the poet sold. On leaving it the poet
wrote verses full of regret for

-fa'

These woods, that whispering wave
My father rear'd and nurst.

1 Thomas Fuller was presented to the rectory of Broadwindsor by
his uncle, Bishop Davenant. He was ousted at the Rebellion ; but he
returned to it at the Restoration, and held the living until his death
in 1661.

2;8 Memorials of Old Dorset

An author unknown outside his county is John
Fitzgerald Pennie (buried July 17th, 1848). He was born
at East Lulworth, March 25th, 1782, and is known as a
dramatic writer. He published Scenes in Palestine, or
Dramatic Sketches from the Bible, 1825 ; Ethel-wolf, a
tragedy, 1821, etc. He followed in his early years the
profession of an actor, but after a chequered and
unsuccessful career, settled in his native village and
devoted himself to literary pursuits. He published his
autobiography in 1827, The Tale of a Modern Genius, or
the Miseries of Parnassus. In 18 10 he married Cordelia
Elizabeth, daughter of Jerome Whitfield, a London
attorney. He and his wife died within a few days of
each other, and were buried in the same grave.

Wordsworth's connection with Dorset is of short
duration, but is of interest as occurring at a critical period
in his career. On his receiving Raisley Calvert's legacy,
he was able to live with his sister Dorothy at a farm-house
at Racedown,1 which he was allowed to occupy rent
free on condition that the owner might spend a few
weeks there from time to time. It was in the autumn
of 1795 that he settled there. His house is set upon the
north-west slope of the Cf rampire " Pillesdon, in a hollow
among hills cultivated to their summits, or patched with
gorse and broom, which open here and there to allow
glimpses of the sea. The Dorset peasants in Wordsworth's
time were wretchedly poor, their shapeless cottages " not
at all beyond what might be expected in savage life," as
Dorothy Wordsworth wrote. Very little trace of the
peculiar quality of the place is to be found in Words-
worth's poems, but it was here he wrote the first of his
poems of country life, modelled with an experience so
personal as to keep every sentence vividly accurate.

1 At Racedown, Wordsworth finished Guilt and Sorrow, composed the
tragedy called The Borderers, and some personal satires which he never
published. Lastly, he wrote The Ruined Cottage, now incorporated in
the first book of The Excursion.

The Literary Associations of Dorset 279

It was here that he watched1 the " unquiet widowhood "
of Margaret, drawing- out the hemp which she had wound
round her waist like a belt, and spinning, as she walked
backwards before her cottage door. Here, no doubt, he
saw her ruined cottage — there are many crumbling shells
and ruined cottages in the district to-day — with the red
stains and tufts of wool in the corner-stone of the porch
where the sheep were permitted to come and " couch
unheeded." The garden, run wild, too, is to be met with
to-day :

Its matted weeds
Marked with the steps of those, whom, as they passed,
The gooseberry trees that shot in long, lank slips,
Or currants, hanging from their leafless stems
In scanty strings, had tempted to o'erleap
The broken wall. I looked around, and there,
Where two tall hedge-rows of thick alder-boughs
Joined in a cold damp nook, espied a well,
Shrouded with willow-flowers and plumy fern.

Here, too, was Goody Blake's cabin: —

On a hill's northern side
Where from sea-blasts the hawthorns lean
And hoary dews are slow to melt.

" The muffled clamour of the outside world only
reached the secluded farm-house at Racedown after long
delay " — in other words, letters were delivered there but
once a week ; and on one occasion at least Wordsworth
asks to have a book franked, otherwise he will " not be
able to release it from the post-office." A part of this
time was given to gardening, and,, no doubt from motives
of economy, almost all the meals consisted of vegetables.

1 In Wordsworth's own account, "Towards the close of the first book
stand the lines that were first written, beginning, ' Nine tedious years,'
and ending, ' Last human tenant of these ruined walls.' These were
composed in 1795 at Racedown; and for several passages describing the
employment and demeanour of Margaret during her affliction, I am
indebted to observations made in Dorsetshire, and afterwards at Alfoxden, in
Somersetshire."

280 Memorials of Old Dorset

" I have been lately living," he writes, " upon air and the
essence of carrots, cabbages, turnips, and other esculent
vegetables, not excluding parsley." 1 At another time he
sets forth to warm himself, like Goody Blake, by gathering
sticks strewn upon the road by the gale ; and his habit
was to take a two hours' stroll every morning, and now
and then a long expedition on foot. He and his sister,
as the Cumberland peasants said, were " a deal upo' the
road," and many times they must have walked more than
forty miles in the day. There is a story still current
in the neighbourhood that Wordsworth once borrowed
a horse to ride into Lyme Regis, and returned on foot,
having forgotten the horse ! With all its hardships and
frugalities, Dorothy Wordsworth loved Racedown. It
was " the place dearest to (her) recollections upon the
whole surface of the island," and she speaks warmly of
the scenery on Pillesdon, Lewesdon, and the view of the
sea from Lambert's Castle — which is said by some to be
the view of the county.

Landor's thought, that " when a language grows up all
into stalk, and its flowers begin to lose somewhat of their
character, we must go forth into the open fields,, through
the dingles, or among the mountains, for fresh seed,"
would have been endorsed by both Wordsworth and
Barnes alike, but with very different ideas as to what was
considered fresh seed. Barnes' innovation was an innova-
tion of the letter rather than the spirit, the literary use of
the local dialect which he heard in his boyhood, and
which, he said, was spoken in the greatest purity in
villages and hamlets of the secluded Vale of Blackmore,
a valley so secluded that its life was practically the life
of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries until the nine-
teenth was far advanced. He attributes his poems' free-
dom from " slang and vice " to this seclusion ; but it is as

1 From an unpublished letter to Wrangham, The Athenatim, 8th December,
1894, quoted in The Early Life of Wordsworth (17701798), by Emile
Legouis.

William Barnes.

The Literary Associations of Dorset 281

much due to his personal1 preference of light to darkness.
His rustics are, as a rule, happy people.

At Rushay, William Barnes spent his early days, and
he was educated at the day school at Sturminster Newton.
Somewhere along the road from Bagber to Sturminster
was a haunted house, about the exact locality of which he
gave no information beyond that a " dark, gloomy lane led
to it." He once pointed out the lane to grand-children as
the place their " great-grandfather was riding down, when
all at once he saw the ghost in the form of a fleece of
wool, which rolled along mysteriously by itself till it got
under the legs of his horse, and the horse went lame
from that hour, and for ever after." Barnes was of pure
Dorset2 stock. His long life was lived almost entirely in
Dorset ; and when at Mere, in Wiltshire, a stone's throw
from his own county, he " always yearned for Dorset and
Dorchester." Latterly he lived near Dorchester, where,
until 1882, "few figures were more familiar to the eye in
the county town of Dorset on a market day than an aged
clergyman, quaintly attired in caped cloak, knee-breeches
and buckled shoes, with a leather satchel slung over his
shoulders and a stout staff in his hand. He seemed
usually to prefer the middle of the street to the pavement,
and to be thinking of matters which had nothing to do
with the scene before him. He plodded along with a
broad, firm tread, notwithstanding the slight stoop occa-
sioned by years. Every Saturday morning he might have
been seen thus trudging up the narrow South Street, his
shoes coated with mud according to the state of the roads
between his rural home and Dorchester, and a little grey

1 It was noteworthy how he would eschew all the evil in newspapers ;
no theft or murder could ever be read to him. — Life of William Barnes,
Leader Scott.

2 William Barnes (1801-1886) was born at Rushay, in the hamlet of
Bagber. He was the grandson of John Barnes, yeoman farmer, of
Gillingham, and the son of John Barnes, tenant farmer, in the Vale of
Blackmore. (A direct ancestor, John Barnes, was head-borough of
Gillingham in 1604.) In 1835 he settled at Dorchester, and kept a
school. In 1847 he was ordained, and lived at Whitcombe, Dorset.
In 1862 he became Rector of Came, where he died.

282 Memorials of Old Dorset

dog at his heels, till he reached the four crossways in the
centre of the town. Halting there, opposite the public
clock, he would pull his old-fashioned watch from its
deep fob and set in with great precision to London
time."

An unusual union of scholar and poet, his little Dutch
pictures are free from the dull undertone of the conven-
tional manner that Burns occasionally fell into. Indeed,
he has more affinity with the Provencal poet and lexi-
cographer, Mistral, than with Burns or Beranger, with
whom he is usually compared. He is perhaps mistaken
in his belief that the Dorset dialect is " altogether as fit
a vehicle of rustic feeling and thought as the Doric as
found in the Idyllics'of Theocritus." But, after making
this exception about the " fitness " of his Doric, there
remains in his clear, untroubled poems of still life, in his
unaffected eclogues, no small affinity with Theocritus.
There is a charm in his limitations ; he belongs not to
England, but to Dorset ; not to Dorset, but to the Vale
of Blackmore, where the slow, green river, his ' cloty "
Stour, with its deep pools whence leaps the may-fly
undisturbed by anglers, is the stream dearest to his
memory.

Barnes was Mr. Hardy's near neighbour and personal
friend— Mr. Hardy's house is less than a mile from the
Rectory of Winterborne Came — and both have been
interpreters of the life — especially of the vanished life —
and character of their pastoral county. In every other
respect they are as different as is " Egdon " Heath from
Blackmore Vale.

It is difficult to say in what form of topography Mr.
Hardy is at his best within his " kingdom " — his patient
and precise creation of a town such as " Casterbridge "
(Dorchester), the architectural individuality of his great
houses, or his knowledge of " those sequestered spots
outside the gates of the world," and of woodlands and
wildernesses. He has the knowledge with which he

The Literary Associations of Dorset 283

credits Angel Clare of " the seasons in their moods,
morning and evening, night and noon, in their tempera-
ments ; winds in their several dispositions ; trees, waters,
and clouds, shades and silence, ignes fatui; constellations
and the voices of inanimate things." In most cases, the
birthplace of a novelist has no particular significance in
relation to his work. Very often a writer's county is like
Matthew Prior's, exchanged for Middlesex. But in the
case of Mr. Hardy it is different. The fact that he was
born in a " mere germ of a village " near Dorchester, and
within sound of a heath ; that his life has been spent, for
the most part, in Dorset ; that he now lives on the out-
skirts of Dorchester, and that he comes of a Dorset stock
— tracing his descent, however, from John le Hardy (son
of Clement, Governor of Jersey in 1488), who settled in
the West of England before the end of the fourteenth
century — are significant points in his biography.1 By the
circumstances of birth and lifelong residence the back-
ground of his novels, Wessex, has become mainly
limited to Dorset (South Wessex), and especially to the
neighbourhood of Dorchester.

The interest of Mr. Hardy's backgrounds is twofold.
There is their purely artistic interest as intensifying
action and character ; there is also their topographical
interest. Mr. Hardy's imaginary kingdom was so unlike
the photographer's " studio backgrounds " of other
novelists that long before sketch-maps of Wessex were
prepared and published in the uniform edition of his
works the identity of many of his scenes afforded no

1 Thomas Hardy was born at Higher Bockhampton, near Dorchester,
on June 2nd, 1840. In his seventeenth year he was articled to a Mr.
Hicks, an ecclesiastical architect of Dorchester, to whom the restoration
of many of the old South Dorset churches was entrusted. In 1862 he
went to London, and became an assistant to Sir Arthur Blomfield, R.A.
In 1874 he married Miss Emma Lavinia Gifford, niece of Dr. Gifford,
Archdeacon of London, and formerly headmaster of King Edward's
School, Birmingham. Before taking up their residence at Dorchester,
Mr. and Mrs. Hardy lived at Riverside, Sturminster Newton — the
" Stourcastle " of the novels — and then at Wimborne, and finally settled
at "Max Gate," Dorchester, in 1885.

284 Memorials of Old Dorset

manner of doubt to Dorset readers. The precision with
which he describes a building or a neighbourhood, notes
position, distance, proportion, has been a clue and a
perpetual interest to those who follow the intricacies of
Wessex geography, in spite of Mr. Hardy's half-
discouragement of those who sought to localise the
horizons and landscapes of his " merely realistic dream
country."

His " illuminative surnames " have been spoken of by
some writers. His place-names are no less illuminative,
and his quaint or sonorous substitutes might be trans-
ferred to the map of Dorset with little loss. In some
cases an older name is revived, such as Shaston, Middleton
Abbey, and Kingsbere. Sometimes he has made a slight
modification of the real name, or received a suggestion
from it, as in Sherton Abbas, Emminster, Port Bredy,
Chaseborough, Casterbridge. Other names are down-
right inventions, often a -precis of the natural features of
the town, such as Aldbrickham for Reading ; or made with
a fine ear for local probability.1

The county town of Dorset, with its core of old
houses, and too many that are new, is the centre of the
Hardy district, as it is the " pole, focusy or nerve-knot," of
the surrounding country. Its memories of Rome are pre-
served in Mr. Hardy's name for it, " Casterbridge " ; and
its outward appearance in the days when Dorchester had
no suburbs, and was " compact as a box of dominoes "
behind its stockade of limes and chestnuts. A description
of the old-fashioned place, in the mouth of one of Mr.
Hardy's characters, always quoted in the guide-books to
Dorchester, is that " it is huddled all together, and it is
shut in by a square wall of trees like a plot of garden-
ground by a box edging " ; and the unusual way the

1 It is noteworthy that sometimes the name of a village or town
appears in the name of some character living in it, as, for instance,
Jude Fawley lives in " Marygreen," which we may identify with the
village of Fawley, in Hants. ; and the name of the schoolmaster of
" Leddenton " (really the Dorset town of Gillingham) is Gillingham.

Mr. Thomas Hardy.

The Literary Associations of Dorset 285

country came up to the town and met in one line is best
described in his words : —

The farmer's boy could sit under his barley mow and pitch a stone
into the office window of the town clerk ; reapers at work among the
sheaves nodded to acquaintances standing on the pavement corner ; the
red-robed judge, when he condemned a sheep-stealer, pronounced sentence
to the tune of Baa, that floated in at the window from the remainder of
the flock browsing hard by ; and at executions the waiting crowd stood
in a meadow immediately before the drop, out of which the cows had been
temporarily driven to give the spectators room.

It has been said that the Dorchester in the Wessex
novels had no suburbs ; the North Street ended abruptly
in a mill by the river; the South Street came to an end
in a cornfield — but these bounds have been leaped over
in several places, and to-day the east, or Fordington side
of the town (Mr. Hardy's Durnover) alone remains
unchanged ; and here the flat water-meadows stretch up
to the garden-hedges and the actual walls of the houses
In spite of changes without the escarpments, the curfew
still sounds at the stroke of eight from St. Peter's with
its " peremptory clang," the signal for shop-shutting
throughout the town. The brick bridge over the Frome,
and the stone bridge over a branch of the same stream
in the meads, have their well-defined peculiarities in
Dorchester as in " Casterbridge." The neighbourhood of
" Mixen " Lane (Mill Lane), the " mildewed leaf " in the
sturdy and flourishing Casterbridge plant, is recognisable
at the east end of the towr\ near the town bridges.

Lucetta's house, " High Place Hall," at the corner of
Durngate Street, has a modern shop-front inserted ; while
the most significant feature of her house is to be found
at Colyton House, where, in the centre of the wall flank-
ing the garden, is an archway, now bricked up, surmounted
by a battered mask in which the open-mouthed, comic
leer can hardly be discerned to-day. Without the town,
on the Weymouth Road, is the immense Roman " Ring "
— " Maumbury Ring, melancholy, lonely, yet accessible

286 Memorials of Old Dorset

from every part of the town " — which was to Dorchester
what the ruined Colosseum is to modern Rome.

" Some old people said that at certain moments in the
summer time, in broad daylight, persons sitting with a
book, or dozing in the arena, had, on lifting their eyes,
beheld the slopes lined with a gazing legion of Hadrian's
soldiery as if watching the gladiatorial combat, and had
heard the roar of their excited voices ; that the scene
would remain but a moment, like a lightning flash, and
then disappear." The ancient square earthwork where
Henchard planned his entertainment is Poundbury Camp,
where the annual sheep-fair is held — " Square Pommerie "
of the poems.

Dorchester is interesting from the fact that it is the
only full-length portrait of a town drawn in the Wessex
novels, and is the almost unshifting scene of one, the
Mayor of Casterbridg,e, where the dramatic unity of
place is preserved. In other novels the characters are
wanderers and the scenes shifted ; or the towns and
villages are sketched in half-lengths or in small thumb-
nail sketches. Of these, certainly the most important
historically is Shaftesbury, the Shaston of the novels,
which seems to be set upon " a dominant cape or a
far-venturing headland." It is a town of shrunken
importance, " familiar with forgotten years," the ancient
British Palladour, "which was, and is, in itself, the city
of a dream."

The houses now composing Shaftesbury are held high
up above the Vale of Blackmore by the height, or cliff,
upon which it is built ; and Barnes, no less than Mr. Hardy,
was alive to the vision of the old city on watch, straining
her eyes to Blackmore's " blue-hilled plain," or shining
" so bright " to those down miles below in the Vale.

Another ancient, shrunken town is Warehafn, which
reminds one to a certain extent of Dorchester, for it is
square, ramparted, and defended by water on one side ;
but these are the only points of resemblance. The little

The Literary Associations of Dorset 287

diminished town " where only the presence of the river
and the shallow barges on its bosom suggest the ocean,"
goes by the name of " Anglebury "* in the Wessex novels,
for it was a noted town in the Saxon age, when it was a
place of strength. Sherborne, the " Sherton Abbas " of the
novels, takes its fictitious name, like many other Wessex
towns, from its most prominent feature, the Abbey. Cerne
Abbas — called "Abbot's Cernel " in the novels, one of its
old names being Cernel — is a village " still loitering in
a mediaeval atmosphere " ; while Bere Regis, which appears
in the novels under the older form, " Kingsbere," is another
of the diminished places that Mr. Hardy delights to
honour, a "blinking little one-eyed place" of thatched
cottages, the measure of whose earlier magnificence is the
fine church of St. John the Baptist that holds the dust of
the Turbervilles. " Kingsbere-sub-Greenhill," to give it its
full Wessex title, owes the last limb of that compound
name to Woodbury Hill (Greenhill) — a green hill partly
covered with trees that overlooks Bere. Its ancient fair,
now much decayed, is described rather as it was than as
it is, as the " Nijni-Novgorod of South Wessex." The
fair is, however, still held in September, beginning on the
eighteenth of the month. " Marlott," really Marnhull, also
connected with Tess of the UUrbervilles, lies embedded
in Blackmore Vale, " where the fields are never brown
and the springs never dry," between Sturminster and
Shaftesbury.

Some six miles distant from Mr. Hardy's home is the
village of Piddletown, known by the name of Weather-
bury in Far from the Madding Crowd. The church
described there remains, but, as the novelist expressly
warns us, " Warren's Malthouse " disappeared years ago,
with some of the village's characteristic peculiarities.

Stinsford, a parish of which the Bockhamptons are
hamlets, the original of " Mellstock," is so carefully

1 Wareham is called Southerton in the earlier editions of The Return
of the Native.

288 Memorials of Old Dorset

described by Mr. Hardy that each cottage might well be a
literary landmark, while Sutton Poyntz, the " Overcombe "
of The Trumpet-Major, like Piddletown, has lost one of
Mr. Hardy's landmarks, for the mill is demolished, but the
colossal figure of George III. upon the chalk downs, which
in the novel was being cut, is still to be seen.

Mr. Hardy's special quality of precision that comes of
knowledge is nowhere more closely shown than in his
pictures of great houses, or, indeed, of buildings of any
kind. They are all drawn from the real, from their cellars
and foundations to their leads and chimney-pots. The only
liberty he takes with the originals is to remove them, in
one or two cases,, to another position. For instance,
Lower Waterstone Farm, the original of Bathsheba
Everdene's house in Far from the Madding Crowd- — " a
hoary building of the Jacobean stage of classic Renais-
sance " — is nearly two miles from " Weatherbury "
(Piddletown). Again, Poxwell Hall, the " Oxwell Hall"
of The Trumpet-Major, is really three miles from " Over-
combe " (Sutton Poyntz), and, therefore, not the close
neighbour of the Lovedays it is made to be. The
original of " Welland House " is Charborough ; but the
" Tower," as Mr. Hardy writes, " had two or three
originals — Horton, Charborough, etc."

Wool Manor-house, or " Well Bridge," as Mr. Hardy,
reverting to the older name, calls it, once a possession
of the Turbervilles, is set on the bank of the rush-
grown Frome, near the great Elizabethan bridge that
gives the place half its name. The paintings of two
women are actually, as in the novel, on the walls of the
staircase, but they are now rapidly fading away, and can
only with difficulty be made out to-day by the light of
a candle.

" Enkworth Court " (Encombe), deep in the Glen of
Encombe, approached by a long road gradually dropping
into the cup-like crater by the only expedient of winding
round it, is a " house in which Pugin would have torn

The Literary Associations of Dorset 289

his hair." " Great Hintock House," however, another house
in a hole, has no original, though it has somewhat hastily
been identified with Turnworth House, near Blandford
The situation is similar, but Turnworth House is largely
a modern building, while the " Great Hintock House " of
The Woodlanders had a front which was an " ordinary
manorial presentation of Elizabethan windows, mullioned
and hooded, worked in rich snuff-coloured freestone from
local quarries."

The sea-coast towns of Dorset, southern outposts of
Wessex,, make an occasional appearance in the novels and
tales. The original of " Knollsea " is Swanage, which
would scarcely now be described as the sea-side village
" lying snug within its two headlands as between a finger
and thumb." With Bridport ("Port Bredy ") and its
neighbour, West Bay, Mr. Hardy takes one of his rare
liberties in altering the configuration of the country ; for
one story opens with the statement that " the shepherd
on the east hill could shout out lambing intelligence to
the shepherd on the west hill," over the intervening
chimneys. The cleft, however, in which the town is sunk
is not so exiguous.

Georgian Weymouth is peculiarly the scene of The
Trumpet-Major ; while Portland, "the Isle of Slingers " —

The Isle of the Race
Many-caverned, bald, wrinkled of face,

— is especially the district of The W ell Beloved. It is
a " wild, herbless, weather-worn promontory," sour and
treeless, with its beak-like point stretching out like the
head of a bird into the English Channel. On the east
side is an unexpected wooded dell, narrow and full of
shade, on the summit of which rises Pennsylvania Castle —
" Sylvania Castle " of the novel — a modern castellated
house, built in 1800 for John Penn, Governor of tHe
Island, who planted the trees around it.

Perhaps Mr. Hardy's most inalienable possession is not
u

290 Memorials of Old Dorset

the town but the wild, the " obscure, obsolete, superseded
country," a " tract in pain," which, with one form but many
names, stretches from Poole in the east to almost within
sight of Dorchester on the west, from near Bere Regis
in the north to Winfrith in the south, where it joins the
heath-land of the Isle of Purbeck. Though " Egdon "
Heath is broken up into many tracts, into Morden and
Bere, and Wool and Duddle and other heaths, it has an
essential unity, and the attempts at cultivation have met
with desperate and, as it were, voluntary resistance, so
that the breaks into green strips of corn-field slip the
memory on a back-look at that lonely land. It is a place
inviolate and " unaltered as the stars," a sweep of moor-
land, a tract of land covered with heather and bracken
and furze, practically unbroken, where, " with the excep-
tion of an aged highway, and a still more aged barrow,
themselves almost crystallized to natural products by long
continuance, even the trifling irregularities were not caused
by pick-axe, plough, or spade, but remained as the very
finger-touches of the last geological change." In appear-
ance its colours are by distance blended into the purple
brown called, in The Return of the Native, " swart " — its
" antique brown dress." The swart, abrupt slopes appear
to be " now rising into natural hillocks masquerading
solemnly as sepulchral tumuli, now dipping into hollows,
where the rain-water collects in marshy pools and keeps
green the croziers and fully-opened fronds of the bracken
much longer than the parched growths at the crests of
these rises, and again spreading out into little scrubby
plains " x

Its quality is " prodigious, and so as to frighten one
to be in it all alone at night." as Pepys said of another
solitary place — the great earthwork of Old Sarum. In
Mr. Hardy's words, " the face of the heath by its mere
complexion adds half an hour to evening : it can, in like

1 C. G. Harper's The Hardy Country.

The Literary Associations of Dorset 291

manner, retard the dawn, sadden noon, anticipate the
frowning of storms scarcely generated, and intensify the
opacity of a moonless midnight to a cause of shaking and
dread." It is an agent among agents, and what Words-
worth finds that nature becomes seen by man's intellect,
" an ebbing and a flowing mind." Its lonely face, and
the face of all solitary heath-lands, are interpreted for
ever in The Return of the Native.

Came Rectory.

The komt of William Barries.

SOME DORSET SUPERSTITIONS

By Hermann Lea

jN employing the term superstition, it is in the sense
denned by Franz v. Schonthan : —

Zwar nicht wissen — aber glauben
Heisst ganz richtig — Aberglauben.

(Not to know, but to believe; what else is it, strictly
speaking, but superstition?)

It is natural, no doubt, that superstition should decrease
in the same ratio as education and enlightenment advance,
but its total extinction need not be anticipated for a long
time to come. True, its death-knell was sounded by the
first invented printing press, a contrivance which, never-
theless, tends to some extent to foster its growth, since
" believers " read in history facts that give support to
their own beliefs. And although this survival may not
exactly please the practically minded, to the antiquary
or the psychologist its extinction would be certainly
regretable.

It must not be rashly concluded that superstition
goes hand in hand with foolishness or absence of
commonsense, nor must it be looked on as a symbol of
weak-mindedness. Did not Augustus Caesar hold strong
views regarding putting the left shoe on the right foot,
maintaining that such procedure betokened some dire
calamity ? And again, did he not deem the skin of a

292

Some Dorset Superstitions 293

sea-calf to be a certain preservative against lightning?
Yet he was not generally regarded as a particularly
foolish or weak-minded man.

Of the various forms of superstition current at the
present time, none hold such sway as the credence in
witchcraft. The date of its origin is lost in the dim past,
but we may safely surmise that it arose early in the
mind of man. Moses denounced witches in no measured
terms. " Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," he said,
and this decree survived until a comparatively recent date.
In mediaeval times the law of Moses certainly held good;
it mattered nothing what position in the social standard
the accused held. In the year 1537 Lady Janet Douglas
was burned in Edinburgh on the charge of being a witch.
John Knox was once accused of being a wizard because
" nothing but sorcery," so it was said, " could account for
Lord Ochiltree's daughter — " ane damosil of nobil blude "
— falling in love with him — " ane old, decrepid creature of
most base degree of ony that could be found in the
countrey." Although the days are past when witches were
publicly tormented or executed, even at the present time
such a reputation is not without danger to the supposed
witch. To effect a cure from the spell cast, it used to
be considered almost essential that her blood be drawn,
and within quite recent years I have known of cases
where reputed witches have been shot at with " silver
bullets," or struck at with hay- forks or other sharp
instruments.

Having its birth in so remote a past, it is, perhaps,
not to be wondered at that witchcraft has persisted
so long, that its demise is so protracted. Until a few
years ago, when the law stepped in to punish those who
made a livelihood by " conjuring " — i.e., pointing out
witches and producing spells to confound them — witch-
craft formed an everyday topic of conversation, and little
secrecy was deemed necessary ; but now, though as
staunchly believed in as ever, the subject is alluded to

294 Memorials of Old Dorset

in bated breath, and it is no easy matter to discover the
whereabouts of a " conjurer " or " witch-doctor."

In the more remote corners of the county may still
be heard fragments of the old Dorset speech, and in
these same out-of-the-way spots one may chance on the
strangest of superstitions and customs. Witchcraft holds
a place in the minds of the illiterate, the semi-educated,
and even the better educated, from which no amount of
argument can expel it. Thomas Hardy and William
Barnes have both used the theme as a groundwork for
prose and poem. It may be interesting to note here that
Conjurer Trendle, in the former's story entitled " The
Withered Arm," was no fictitious personage, but had a
veritable existence. He is still well remembered (under
his real name, of course) by some of the older people
who dwelt near, and the house in which he lived, in the
central portion of " Egdon Heath," may still be traced
in a heap of decayed walls and rotten timbers.

The reason for this strong and enduring belief is not
difficult to find ; thought-transference, mental telepathy,
hypnotism, are all scientifically admitted ; that our
ancestors observed the effects of these " sciences,"
attributing the causes to some easily explainable or at
least plausible reasons, is more than probable.

When attempting to trace to their origin some of the
stories current, one cannot help feeling that in many cases
the so-called witch stood more in need of pity than con-
demnation, for it required only very scanty evidence for
her to be thus branded. Gilfillan speaks of a witch as
" a borderer between earth and hell " — a view which was
probably shared by the majority of people. Goldsmith,
on the contrary, was for giving the accused the benefit
of the doubt. " If we enquire," he says in sarcastic strain,
" what are the common marks and symptoms by which
witches are discovered to be such, we shall see how
reasonably and mercifully those poor creatures were
burned and hanged who unhappily fell under that name."

Some Dorset Superstitions 295

If I were required to define a witch of the present
day I should state it as being the second-hand evidence of
numbers of people who have been " overlooked," or
bewitched, and who have given me detailed descriptions.
A witch, then, is an individual, male or female — usually
the latter — who by reason of certain gifts or powers is
able to exert an influence over another. She generally
includes in her dress some red token — perhaps a red hat,
red shawl, or red cloak. She is able to transform herself
into the likeness of almost any animal, chiefly that of a
cat or hare, and is also able to become invisible ; when
assuming the guise of an animal, she in no way hides
her identity from those who are conversant with the ways
of witches, a witch-hare or witch-cat differing in many
particulars, both in appearance and gait, from the ordinary
hare or cat. It has been said that two animals only she
cannot simulate — lambs and donkeys ; the usual Scriptural
reasons being adduced. Her power is nearly always
inherited, and I have heard it argued that a certain woman
of my acquaintance, who was perfectly inoffensive, must
necessarily be a witch because her mother was one. This
power may be used either for good or ill, and may be
directed against an animal or a human being. I have
been informed, in strict confidence, of certain signs by
which a witch may be recognised, and to test the accuracy
of my informant, I have many times asked people whom
I knew but slightly whether so-and-so was not a person
credited with superhuman powers, and, nine times out of
ten, have been answered in the affirmative. Hence it
would seem that these tokens are well known and generally
admitted.

The immediate effect on a person who has been " over-
looked," " ill-wished," or " hagrod " (Dorset for "hag-
ridden "), as it is variously called, consists as a rule
of some sort of indisposition. This gradually increases
to severe sickness, and finally death supervenes. The
disease is usually of an extremely subtle nature, defying

296 Memorials of Old Dorset

accurate diagnosis, and is often termed by the medical
man mental or hysterical. Sometimes the stricken
individual will merely pine away gradually, refuse food,
complain of nothing definite, yet preserve an entire
reticence as to any supposable cause. On the other hand,
it does happen occasionally that the effect of the " over-
looking " is extremely sudden — perhaps a fatal accident
from an apparently natural cause. Again, the ill-wishing
may take the form of a comparatively harmless nuisance —
the butter may fail to " come " in the churning, the fowls
may suddenly cease laying, the cows may refuse to r' give
down " their milk, or the pig, intended for an early
fattening, may object to partake of the most savoury
mixture prepared with consummate care. Perhaps the
horses will refuse to pull fairly at their loads, or may stop
entirely when encountering a small hill.

A " conjurer " or " white witch " is an individual
who, possessed of certain gifts (to some considerable
extent hereditary), is able to point out to those who
consult him (or her — for either sex may have the
qualifications) the person who is causing the mischief.
One necessary attribute is that he be a " seventh of
a seventh," i.e., a seventh child of a parent who,
in his turn, was a seventh child. It does not follow
that this peculiarity in itself is sufficient to produce
a conjurer, but without it he cannot be one. One
point, however, is shared by such-born people, and
that is, entire immunity from the effects of ill-wishing,
and a capability of identifying any other person gifted
with the powers of ill-wishing others.

There are, or rather were, conjurers and conjurers.
Some took a delight in frustrating the efforts of a witch,
whether paid for their services or not ; whilst others used
their knowledge merely as a means of livelihood, and
drained their patients of every copper or possession of
value. I knew of a family that, having consulted a
person of this latter class, parted with all their savings,

Some Dorset Superstitions 29;

then with their convertible possessions, and, lastly, with
their stock of winter provender (garden produce, potatoes,
and the like), until left in a perfectly destitute condition,
dependent on the parish for actual necessaries. A
conjurer, having listened to the complaint brought him,
will, as a rule, ask his client to what extent he would
wish the punishment to fall. Very often he would surprise
his visitor by saying at the start that he knew the reason
why they came to consult him, and would actually cite
the case as it stood. If desired, he would inform his
questioner who their ill-wisher was, generally by showing
them the face of their enemy reflected in a crystal, or
on the surface of a bucket of water. Then would follow
the prescription — and it was here that he as a rule gave
way to a love of effect, and suggested material cures for
a psychic malady. I am inclined to think that this
materialistic display was the chief reason for his being
held up to ridicule by the unbeliever or sceptic ; had he
contented himself with less rude emblematical display he
would have at least had more sympathy from the general
public. Some of the conditions laid down as being
essential to the withdrawal of the spell were, to say the
least, unnecessarily disgusting. Many I know of, which,
although interesting enough to the searcher, would cer-
tainly not bear putting into bald print. Most were
ingenious, and possessed colourable excuse for their
suggestion. I will give a few examples to illustrate this.
A simple remedy was suggested to a dairyman who
complained of sickness in his pig-yard. He was advised
to place a birch-broom (" Bezom," in Dorset) across the
doorway of the dairyhouse, it being said that any innocent
person could step over it, a witch never. This was tried,
with the result that in the morning a great outcry was
heard, and a neighbour was discovered standing outside
the door protesting that " something hurt her," and she
felt unable to cross the threshold. In a very similar case
where this was tried and failed to produce any result,

298 Memorials of Old Dorset

a further visit to the conjurer suggested sleeping with
a prayer-book under the pillow and fixing a horseshoe
on the door — a shoe that had of itself fallen from the
left hind foot of a horse — and in both these cases the
nuisance was put a stop to almost immediately.

In a case where the horses were dying from some
obscure complaint, the victim was told to cut out the
heart of the next animal that died and boil it in water
containing sage, peppermint, and onions ; when cold, it
was to be stuck full of new pins on the one side, and
on the other with " maiden " thorns — i.e., thorns of the
present year's growth — picked by a maiden — woman or
girl — and inserted by her. This done, it was to be hung
up on a nail in the chimney of a neighbour — the one
accused of being the witch. Another charm of a simple
character was for the bewitched person to take a dish
of water and carry it over three bridges at midnight.
Yet another was to take a bottle, place in it some sprigs
of hyssop, fill it up with a certain liquid, insert some
new pins in the cork, and bury it in a manure heap.
In the majority of instances that have come under my
notice, the charm has been emblematical of bodily ill to
the witch ; either pins or something similar capable of
drawing blood, or else some perishable material such as
the horse's heart, which would naturally decay slowly, or
a waxen effigy which, placed near a fire, would gradually
melt ; and I have been given to understand that the
slower the melting, the more protracted would be the
witch's suffering and death.

I believe it very rarely happens that the same person
is " overlooked " more than once ; at any rate, all those
who have spoken to me on the subject have told me
that since they suffered in this way they have taken most
elaborate precautions to avoid a repetition of the
occurrence. I know one man who utterly refuses to meet
or pass a woman who is a stranger to him should she
be wearing anything of a red colour ; in fact, he would

Some Dorset Superstitions 299

go a mile or more out of his way to avoid her, or enter
a field and hide until she had passed on her way. Another
man of my acquaintance, one who confided to me several
distinguishing marks by which a witch might be recog-
nised, advised me never to go near a cat or hare if they
exhibited any of these signs. A woman, well-to-do in
her walk in life, has warned me solemnly never to pick
yellow ragwort, lest I should thereby render myself liable
to be bewitched. The seriousness with which these and
many others have tendered advice is sufficient proof —
to me — of the genuineness of their beliefs.

Let me now briefly cite a few particulars of cases
that have either come under my own observation, or have
been related to me by people in whose veracity I have
the strongest confidence. A question which may be asked
is, do I myself believe that these things happened and
are still happening? It is not easy to find an answer.
Because I cannot explain any certain occurrence it in
no way proves that it is false ; moreover, I have personally
met with experiences of a strange, subtle character which,
although I may not be able to explain satisfactorily to
others, are irrefutable as far as I myself am concerned.
Probably many, if not most, of my readers have likewise
had " experiences," but the scientific scepticism of the
age prevents one from recording them only to be sneered
at by the unbelieving.

One of the strangest cases that has ever come to
my notice was that of a young baker. It appeared that
in some way or other he had given offence to a reputed
witch who lived in the same village, and who openly vowed
she would "pay him out." Nothing untoward happened,
however, until after his marriage a few months later,
when, going into the stable one morning to feed his
horse, he found the animal covered with sweat ; it was
trembling, and refused all food. The next morning the
same thing occurred ; so thinking to frustrate some
practical joker, he bought a strong, expensive lock for

300 Memorials of Old Dorset

the door, and prided himself on the fact that he had
now outwitted the culprit. But the next morning the
horse had disappeared, and only after considerable search
was it at length discovered shut up in the pound. The
stable was locked, and there was no evidence to show
that the lock had been tampered with. The only infor-
mation he gained was from a neighbour, who stated that
he heard a horse galloping down the road about midnight,
and that, looking out of his window, he had seen — not
a horse, but a hare. For some weeks afterwards all
went on quietly ; then his wife was taken ill. The doctor
who attended her could make nothing of her case, and
at length, taking the advice of a friend, he went to consult
a conjurer. As he arrived at the conjurer's door, the
latter came out, and, without any preamble, asked him
how his wife was. Now the men lived twenty miles apart,
yet the conjurer was conversant with every particular of
the case, including details which the baker declared he
had never mentioned to a soul. To him the conjurer
handed a charm, telling him to preserve entire secrecy
on the matter, and to place it with his own hands under
his wife's pillow. The result was an almost immediate
improvement in the wife's condition; but in a day or two
information reached him of the illness of the supposed
witch. As his wife improved, so the other woman became
worse. Then, one evening when she had so far recovered
as to come downstairs, a neighbour ran into his house
declaring that he had just come from the direction of
widow G.'s, that her house was entirely luminous, the walls
semi-transparent, and the whole neighbourhood reeked
strongly of sulphur. Nor was this all, for as he breath-
lessly told his tale, another man entered, confirming what
the first had said, and adding that a sound similar to
that made by a hare in a trap proceeded from the widow's
cottage. Joined by others, including the village police-
man, they hastened to the spot. As they neared it, the
baker, too, smelled the same odour, and saw the luminous

Some Dorset Superstitions 301

effect Arrived at the gate they stood spellbound, for
on the doorstep was a figure. To me he described it as
a :' thing, coal-black, with fire darting from its eyes and
mouth ; cloven hoofs, and a forked tail " — in short, a fair
description of a popular conception of the devil! For
some minutes they all stood still, too much frightened to
advance or retreat. Then, suddenly, an eerie cry rang
out, and the whole house was plunged in darkness. When
at last they pulled themselves together and entered in
a body, they met coming down the stairs from the bedroom
a woman who had acted as nurse to the stricken widow.
She stated that she had been sitting by the bedside when
she was suddenly overcome by a strong sulphurous smell,
which had rendered her unconscious. Coming to herself
at last, she glanced at the bed, to find it empty. Together
they all ascended the stairs ; the fumes still hung about,
but the bed had no occupant ; they searched the house
through and through, but could find no trace of the owner.

I may mention here that it is by no means an uncommon
belief that a witch has sold herself to the devil, and that
" he " will very often come to fetch his " disciple " at the
moment of her death.

The case of Charles was not without interest,

seeing that the narrator was a man of considerable
experience and intelligence, an engineer between thirty
and forty, in a good situation. As a boy he had lived in a
" haunted " house, in which strange and unaccountable
noises were continually heard, sufficiently loud to awaken
the whole household. He shared a small room with a
younger brother, and more than once they were awakened
in the night by the sound of a sheep bleating close to
them, apparently by the bedside. On one occasion he
and his brother, accompanied by their dog, started from
home before daybreak to drive a flock of sheep to a farm
some ten miles away. It was winter, the days were short ;
and having duly delivered the sheep, they started on their
return walk as dusk began to gather. Their way led past

302 Memorials of Old Dorset

a large pond, and as they neared this spot they both
stopped suddenly, hearing the loud bleat of a sheep close
to them. Peering ahead, they soon perceived the form
of a sheep just in front of them. The dog bounded
forward, but returned immediately with his tail between
his legs, and howling dolefully he ran behind his master
as if for protection. The dog was no coward naturally,
and the lads were accordingly somewhat alarmed. They
stood still, debating what to do, while the sheep drew
gradually nearer, uttering " ba-a " after " ba-a," until it
stopped within a few feet, when they distinctly saw that
the animal had no head. Petrified, they stood a moment,
clutching hold of one another, till the elder, recovering his
presence of mind, raised his stick to strike the animal ;
but his arm was powerless — he could only raise the stick
a few inches. Meanwhile, the animal advanced, and
rubbed its neck against their legs. Suddenly it turned,
and dashing to the edge of the pond, sprang in and
disappeared from view. The lads remained gazing after
it, spellbound, and then took to their heels and ran home.
I am inclined to the belief that originally the term
" hagrod " was chiefly applied to the case of horses that
had become mysteriously affected. An old carter once told
me that he had the charge of some horses at a certain
farm, and unconsciously chanced to give offence to a
reputed witch who lived near by. Her revenge took the
form of petty annoyances. It was no uncommon thing
for him to enter his stables in the morning to find his
horses bathed in sweat, and panting as though they had
been ridden far and fast — this, too, when the door was
found locked as he had left it on the previous night.
On such occasions the horses were fit for no work that
day, and he had considerable trouble to get work out
of them. Sometimes he would find them with their tails
and manes tightly plaited up with straw. Such occurrences
used to be comparatively common. One day I chanced
to mention to his master what the man had told me ;
his master smiled, and said what he thought might be

Some Dorset Superstitions 303

an explanation, but in no way denied the man's story.
Then he told me a case that had come under his own
observation. In the stable was a valuable young horse,
and one morning it was found with one hind leg perfectly
stiff, so stiff that it could not put it to the ground. Three
men tried their utmost to bend it, but without avail. At
last they led the animal out of the stable, limping on
three legs, and when outside it gradually got back the
use of the limb. This happened many times, and at
length the carter declared it was " hagrod," that an old
woman living near by had " overlooked it," that every time
she passed the stable — a thing which she did occasionally
to get butter from the dairy — the horse was invariably
stricken. Out of curiosity the farmer took note of what
the carter said, and, to his astonishment, he found that
the man was right — that is to say, in so far as that the
horse's stiffness coincided with the time of this woman's
approach. She left the neighbourhood a short time after-
wards, and from that date there was no recurrence of the
horse's strange attacks.

In a case with the details of which I am very familiar,
and the truth of which I can vouch for, the ill-wish found
vent firstly on animals, the property of the " overlooked."
What actually led up to the matter I never quite knew,
possibly the narrator had offended her neighbour; any-
how, the facts are indisputable. The first effects showed
themselves in the pigs refusing all food, and then dying
one after the other, in what looked like some form of
fit. A veterinary surgeon who was called in declared his
inability to give a name to the disease, and a subsequent
post-mortem examination threw no light on the matter.
Then, one by one, all the fowls sickened and died ; and,
lastly, the woman's daughter became seriously ill, but of
what disease the doctor was unable to say. It was at this
juncture that her mother, who had hitherto scoffed at the
notion, took it into her head that the girl was bewitched,
with the result that she paid a visit to a " wise-woman J'

304 Memorials of Old Dorset

(with whom I was also well acquainted), and sought her
advice. The "conjuress" listened to her story, told her
the name of the person who was ill-wishing her, and
gave her a charm, with instructions to sew it, unknown
to her daughter, inside her corsets, in such a position
that she should not suspect its presence. These directions
were faithfully carried out, with the result that in a short
time her daughter regained her normal health. Meanwhile,
a neighbour (the supposed ill-wisher) sickened, growing
worse as the girl improved, and finally left the neighbour-
hood ; her subsequent history was never known. The
charm, which, by the way, the mother was directed to burn
directly her daughter was out of danger, was preserved for
some time. It consisted of a small lump of wax, roughly
modelled into the form of a woman, the face bearing a
distinct likeness to the accused witch !

I will conclude with one more instance, which, although
free from complications, is interesting as having
happened quite recently. The supposed witch lived
within a few hundred yards of the house that
I was then inhabiting ; the bewitched was a man who
was for some years my gardener. The road from his
cottage to the nearest village led past the house occupied
by the witch, and, from some quite inexplicable cause,
he was never able to pass her house in the ordinary way.
When he attempted to do so he fell down ; his only
alternatives being either to turn round and walk back-
wards, or else to crawl by on hands and knees. Naturally,
all the neighbours were aware of the fact, but they had
grown so familiar with it that they ceased to comment
on it. About two years ago the woman died, and after-
wards, the spell presumably expiring with her, the old
man was able to pursue his way in normal fashion. In
front of the witch's house stood a fine apple tree, and
one day during the autumn following her death, the old
man asked me, with a twinkle in his eye, whether I had
noticed what a fine crop of apples this tree bore. " I've

Some Dorset Superstitions 305

a-knowed thic tree," he said, " ever since he wer' planted ;
but he haven't never had n'ar a opple on to en avore.
Now, sir, can'ee tell I how 'tis he do bear s'well t'year ? "
Knowing what was expected of me, I said : " Let me
see, John, is it not about a year ago since Mrs. X — ,
who lived there, died ?" His retort, though scarcely a
reply to my query, was nevertheless suggestive of the
fact that I had answered his former question to me. He
deliberately winked, then said, " Ther, sir, now you've
a-said it," and strode off to attend to his work.

INDEX

Abbey, Bindon, 189, 190

Cerne, 8, 9, 96

Church of Sherborne, 79

Foundations of Shaftesbury,

248
Abbotsbury Abbey, 102, 104

taken, 10

Adeliza, daughter of Baldwin de

Brioniis, 131
Agger-Dun, Round Barrows at,

22, 25
Agglestone Rock, 198
Agricola, 29
Albert, Prince, 152
Alfred, 119, 146, 200, 241, 242

Boyhood of King, 76

Victories of, 7

Allington, 233

All Saints', Dorchester, 147, 153
Almshouse, Sherborne, 81
Amphitheatre at Dorchester, 42
Anketil, Colonel, 215
Anne, "Good" Queen, 183
Archer, Abbot Walter, 95
Armada, Fight off Portland, 182

Scare, 205

Vessels sent from Weymouth

against the, 163
Arne, Village of, 198
Aryans, Invading, 3
Asser, 242
Athelhampton, 257

Hall, 262

Athelstan, 94, 98, 102-104, HIj

146, 158, 243
Athelwold, Assassination of, 201

Bacon, Francis (Lord Verulam), 176
Badbury,5, 18, 34, 35, 36, 145

Roman occupation of, 31

Ballard Head, 197

Band, Piddletown Church, 260

Bankes, Sir John and Lady, 206-

209, 212, 213, 215, 217,,

218
Bardolfeston, 263
Bankes, Sir Ralph, 217-219
Barnes, William, Dorset Poet,,

18, 153, 156, 247, 273*

280, 294
Barrows, Long, 19, 20

Round, 3-19, 20, 2i

Beach, Thomas, 113
Beaminster, 232
Beaufort: Family, 124
Bedford Family, 270

John, Duke of, 228

Bentham, Jeremy, 143
Bere Regis, 9, 287, 290

Long Barrow near, 20

Round Barrow at, 22

Church, Timber Roof, 60

Bindon Abbey, 189, 190

Biudun Camp, 30

Bingham, Colonel, Governor of

Poole, 214-216, 218, 223
Bingham's Melcombe, Headquar-
ters of Parliamentary

Forces at, 165
Relics of the Armada

at, 164
Blackmore Vale, 2, 250, 282, 286
Blandford, 209

Round Barrows near, 22

Bloody Assize, 15

Bloxworth Church, Hour-glass

in, 56

House, 270

Bond, Captain, 209

Borough Dome-book of Bridport,

236

Records of Bridport, 234

Bow and Arrow (or Rufus)

Castle, 180

307

3o8

INDEX

Bowles, William Lisle, 277
Bradley, John, last Abbot of

Milton, 96
Bradpole, 233
Branwalader, St., 102
" Bretagne, Damsel of," 203
Bridport, 13, 15, 232, 243, 289
" Bridport Dagger," 234
British Camps, 30
British Villages, Remains of, 20
Broadley, A. M., 113

Library of, 239

Broadwinsor, 14
Bronze Age, 19, 26

Cremation in the, 22

Pottery, 24

Brownsea, 225
Buckman, Professor, 39
Bulbarrow, Round Barrows at, 22
Burlestone Church, Chancel of,

263
Burney, Miss Fanny (Mme.

d'Arblay), 150
Butler, Colonel, Governor of

Wareham, 214, 215

Caen, Roger of, Bishop of
Sarum and Abbot of
Sherborne, 79

Came, 155, 281

Church, Recumbent Figures

in» 59
Down, 24

•Canford, 9

Cast-lead Font, St. Mary's,

Wareham, 55
'Castle, Bow and Arrow (or

Rufus), 180

Corfe, 10, 193, 195

Sherborne Old, 10, 90, 92

Royal visitors at Lulworth,

190

Pennsylvania, 180

Catherine of Alexandria, Chapels

dedicated to St., 61, 103,

104, 108
Celtic Earthworks, 4
Celts, Civilisation of, 4
Centwine, 6
Cenwealh, first Christian King of

West Saxons, 5
Cerne Abbas, 287

Round Barrows at, 22

Abbey, 8, 9, 96

Abbot of, 237

Characteristics of Shaftesbury, 252
Charborough, 288

Chard, Abbot, 133, 134, 139

Charles I., 92, 207, 267

II., 169, 224, 239, 245; at

Lulworth Castle, 190;

Defeat of, n ; Flight

of, 12
Charlotte, Queen, at Lulworth

Castle, 190
Charminster, 264

Canopied Tombs at, 59

Chesil Beach, 2, 4, 165

Chesilborne, 107

Chideock, 271

Chapel, Knight in plate

armour in, 59
China-clay, Important deposit of,

198
Christ Church, Dorchester, 153
Christmas Pie Legend, Corfe

Castle, 219
Churches of Bridport, 234

of Shaftesbury, 246

Church, Piddletown, 258

St. Ealdhelm's, 79

St. James', Milton, 115

Spires —

Iwerne Minster, 46

Trent, 46, 54

Winterborne Steepleton, 46,

53
Towers —

Beaminster, 53

Bradford Abbas, 53

Cerne, 53

Charminster, 53

Dorchester, St. Peter's, 53

Fordington St. George, 53

Marnhull, 53

Milton Abbey, 53

Piddletrenthide, 53

Steepleton, 53

Trent, 54
Civil War, 10, 165, 207
Civil War Days at Bridport, 238
Civil War, Sharp fight in Poole

during, 223
Sherborne Castle be-
sieged during, 92
Ciandon Barrow, 24
Clavinio (or Jordan Hill), 35, 40
" Clubmen," 10
Cnut, 8, 244

Coal Money, Kimmeridge, 191
Coke, Lord Chief Justice, 206
Company of Marblers, 195
Conig's Castle, 30
Conjurer or Witch-Doctor, 294

INDEX

3°9

Cooper, Sir Anthony Ashley, 213
Corfe, 9

Castle, 165, 187, 193, 195,

200-21, 224 ; Ruins of, 50

Church, 211-213

Corton Chapel, Stone Altar at, 56
Court Leet House, Piddletown,

261
Cranborne, 9

Long Barrow near, 20

Credence in Witchcraft, 293
Creech, Ancient Manor of, 189
Cromwell, 92

at Portland, 183

Letter from, n

Colonel, 214, 215

Cross-legged Effigies in —

Bridport, 57

Dorchester, St. Peter's, 58, 59

Frampton, 58

Horton, 57

Mappowder, 58

Piddletown, 57

Stock Gaylard, 57

Trent, 57, 58

Wareham, 57

Wimborne Minster, 57

St. Giles, 57

Crowe, William, 276
Culliford Tree, 24
Cunnington, Edward, 40
Curious Inscription, St. Mary's,

Melcombe Regis, 174
Cuthberga, Sister of Ine, 117,

118
Cwenberga, St., 118
Cynewearde (Kynewardus), 94

Damer, Anne Seymour, no
" Damsel of Bretagne," 203
Danes, Destruction of Shaftes-

bury by, 243
Danes in Wessex, 6, 7
Decorated Architecture —

Dorchester, St. Peter's, 51
Gussage, St. Michael's, 51
Milton Abbey Church, 51
Tarrant Rushton, 51
Wimborne Minster, 51
Wooton Glanville, 51
Denzil, Lord Holies, Monument
in St. Peter's, Dorches-
ter, of, 59
Destruction of Shaftesbury by

Danes, 243
Deverel Barrow, 24
Dialect of Dorset, 17

Digby, John, first Earl of

Bristol, 78
Dissolution of Monasteries, 10,

44, 245

Dodington, Bubb, first Lord Mel-
combe, 173, 176, 275

Domesday Survey, 233

Dorchester, 9, 34, 145-56, 170,208,

2I3> 233, 243> 28l> 283>
284, 290

Amphitheatre at, 42

Beaker at, 23

Discovery of MSS. in Auc-
tion Room at, 15

Execution of Catholic Priest

at, 272

Persons presented at, 16

Round Barrows near, 22

Walls demolished, 8

Dorset County Museum, 154
Specimens in, 23-

25, 3?» 40, 43

Superstitions, 292

Duke of Monmouth's Rebellion*

14
Dunstan, Archbishop of Canter-
bury, 94, 159
Durlston Bay, 194 ; Head, 193
Durnovaria, Station at, 35, 36
Durotriges, 4-6, 29, 31, 37
Durweston Church, Carving in,
60

Eadward, Murder of, 7

the Unconquered, 118

Ealdgyth, or Elgefu, 241
Ealdhelm, St., Abbot of Malmes-
bury, 7 ; first Bishop of
Western Wessex, 75-87
Ealdhelm's Head, St., 192, 193
Ealdhelm, Life of St., Wild-
man's, 5
Ealhstan, Bishop, 77
Earl of Richmond, 9
Early English Architecture —

Corfe Mullen, 51

Cranborne, 51

Knighton, 51

Portesham, 51

Wimborne Minster, 51

Worth, 51
Eastbury, 275
East Lulworth, 278
East Stower, 276
Ecgberht, King, 77
Edgar, King, 94, 200, 201
Edward I., 245

3JO

INDEX

Edward II., 254

III., 9

IV. at Tewkesbury, 9

VI., 87

the Confessor, 146, 159, 181,

233» 243
the Martyr, 201, 202, 207,

240, 249
Egdon Heath, 2, 290, 294
Eggardun, 30, 34
Elfrida, or ^Elfthryth, Queen, 7,

200-202
Elizabeth, Queen, 91, 170, 205,

271
Emma, Queen, 159
Encombe, Glen of, 288
Erie, Sir Walter, 208, 210-212
^Ethelbald, King, 76, 77
jEthelberht, King, 76, 77
^Ethelgede, or ^Ethelgeofu, 241
^Ethelhelm, Duke, 181
/Ethelred I., 117

II., 7, 15S

^Ethelwold, the ^Etheling, 117,

118
^Ethelwulf, King, yy
Etricke of Holt, Anthony, 15, 225
Anthony, Sarcophagus of,

127
Evans, Miss, 143

Farnham, Stone over Altar in,

59
Fielding, Henry, 275, 276
FitzHerbert, Mrs., at Lulworth

Castle, 190
Flowers, or Florus, Bury Camp,

3°

Font, Cast-lead, at St. Mary's,

Wareham, 55
Fonts, Saxon, at Toller Fratrum,

48 ; Martinstown, 48
Ford Abbey, 131

Chapel, 132

Seal, 140

Tapestries of, 144

The Cloister, 134

■ The Dissolution of,

139
The Guest Chamber,

137
"The Monks' Walk,"

133

The Surrender of, 138
Fordington, 15 1

Church, St. George's, 154

Field, 25

Frampton, Stone Pulpit at, 56
Fraunceis, John, 143
Fuller, Thomas, 277
Funeral, Portland Island, 186

Garrison at Wareham, 9

Gasquet, Abbot, 230

Gaunt, John of, 124

Gay, John, 150

Geology of Dorset, 1

George III., 157, 170, 271, 288

at Lulworth Castle, 190

Gillingham, 9, 281, 284

Manor of, 252, 253

Gipsies, Headstone of Peter

Standley, King of the, 261
Glen of Encombe, 288
Godwin, Earl, 181
Godlingstone, Manor of, 196
Goidelic Celts, 3, 19
Grammar School, Milton, 113

Shaftesbury, 255

Gravestone of Benjamin Jesty,

192
Great Tyneham, Ancient Manor

House at, 189
Guest, Lady Theodora, 252
Gussage Down, 36

Long Barrow near, 20

Gwyn, Francis, 143
John Francis, 143

Hambledon, Celtic Camp of, 10

Roman Occupation of, 31

Hambro, Baron, 97, 100

Everard, 106

Hamworthy, Old Manor House

at, 226
Handfast Point, 197
Handley Down, 34
Harbour, Bridport, 237
Hardy, Thomas, 2, 17, 18, 47, 70,

109, 114, 156, 190, 240,

256, 257, 260, 273, 282,

294

Thomas Masterman, 113

Wm., 194

Harold, Death of, 8
Harper, Hugo Daniel, 78
Hatton, Sir Christopher, 205, 217
Hawtrey, Mrs., 219
Henry III., 9, 235

V., 9

VI., 9, 92

VII., 144

VIII., 85, 96, 166, 178,234,

245

INDEX

311

Henry VIII., Inscription at Port-
land Castle to, 182

Letter from, 162

Herman, last Bishop of Sher-
borne, 7

Higher Bockhampton, birthplace
of Thos. Hardy, 283

Hilton Church, Mediaeval Panel
Paintings in, 57

Hinton Parva, Carving in, 60

Hod Hill, 31

Holt, 120

Holworth, Burning Cliff at, 108, 190

Chapel to St. Catherine of

Alexandria at, 104, 108

Homer, G. Wood, 262, 263

Horsey, Sir John, 85

Horton, Finding Monmouth at, 15

Hour-glass in Bloxworth Church, 56

Howard, Catherine, 182

Hundred Years' War, 230

Hutchins, John, the Dorset his-
torian, 114, 227, 257,
262, 265, 267, 274, 276

Hut Circles, 20

Iberians, 3

Ibernium, Station at, 36

Ilchester, Lord, 261

Ilsington House, 261

Imprisonment of Margery and
Isabel, daughters of
William, King of Scot-
land, 204

Ine, King of West Saxons, 7, 117,
118

Jacobean Screen at West Staf-
ford, 57

James I., 245, 273

at Lulworth Castle, 190

Jeffreys, Judge, 16, 148, 170, 239

Jesty, Gravestone of Benjamin,
r92

John, King, 92, 146, 203, 233

Houses in Dorset of King, 9

Jones, Inigo, 142

Joliffe, Monumental Inscription
to Captain Peter, 228

Jordan Hill (Clavinio), 35, 40

Jurdain Family, 264

Kimmeridge Clay, 2

Coal Money, 191

Ledge, 190

Shale, 43

Shell Objects, 25

King of the Gipsies, Headstone
of Peter Standley, 261

Kingston Down, Discovery on, 36

Lacy, 208, 219

Russell, Long Barrow near,

20

Round Barrows, 22

Knut the Dane, 8, 244

Lady Margaret, Son of, 9

de Lafontaine, A. C, 262

Langton Church, 194

Laurence, Captain, 209, 212, 215

M.P., Law-book of Richard,

236

Legend of the Christmas Pie,
Corfe Castle, 219

Leland, Record of Bridport
Dagger, by, 234

Visit to Poole of, 230

Life of St. Ealdhelm, Wild-
man's, 5

Limbrey, Stephen, 12

Liscombe Chapel, 107

Lulworth, 30, 187

Castle, 190. 215

Cove, 2, 189

Royal Visitors at, 190

Village of East, 190

Lyme Regis, 1, 10, 12, 14, 15,

3°> 35. J43> l64, 166,
208, 239

Duke of Monmouth's land-
ing at, 169, 182

Lynchets, Series of Terraces
known as, 193

Lytchett, 266

Macaulay, 275

Mai-dun (Maiden Castle), 30, 32,

34, 155

Malmesbury, William of, gr

Manor House at Trent, n

Marblers, Company of, 195

March, Dr. Colley, 193

Margaret, Lady, foundress of
Christ's and St. John's
Colleges, 123, 124

Wife of Henry VI., 9

Marnhull, 287

Church, Monument in, 59

Martinstown, 23, 25

Martyn Family, 258

Maud, Wars of Stephen and, 8

Maumbury Ring, 148, 285

Maurice, Prince, 10

312

INDEX

Mayo's Barrow, 24
Melbury Sampford, 12

Effigy of William

Brounyng, 59
Melcombe Regis, 208

Priory, 173

Melplash, 232

Memorial Brasses, Description of —

Beaminster, Bere Regis,
Bryanston, Bridport, 64

Caundle Purse, Compton
Valence, Chesilborne,
Corfe Mullen, Crichel
Moor, Crichel Long,
Cranborne, Dorchester
St. Peter, Evershot,
Fleet Old Church, 65

Holme Priory, Knowle,
Litton Cheney, Lytchett
Matravers, Langton,

Melbury Sampford, 66

Milton Abbey, Milborne St.
Andrew, Moreton, Ower-
moigne, Piddlehinton,
Piddletown, Pimperne,
Puncknowle, 67

Rampisham, Shaftesbury St.
Peter, Shapwick, Stur-
minster Marshall, Swan-
age, ah. Swanwich, 68

Swyre, Tincleton, Tarrant
Crawford, Thorncombe,
Upwey, West Stafford,
Wimborne Minster, 69

Woolland, Yetminster, 70

Bere Regis, 70

Caundle Purse, 70

Edward the Martyr, King,
68

Evershot, 71

Fleet, 71

Joan de St. Omar, 63

Litton Cheney, retroscript
brass, 63

Milton Abbey, Sir John
Tregonwell, 67, 71

Moreton, unusual inscrip-
tion, 72

Oke Brass at Shapwick, 63

Piddletown, 72

St. Peter's Church, Dorches-
ter, 63

Strangwayes, Sir Gyles, 66

Stratton, 63

Thorncombe, 73

Wimborne Minster, King
Ethelred effigy, 69, 73

Memorial Brasses, Description of —

Wraxall, 74

Yetminster, 74
Middleton, Abbot William de,

96, 98, 10 1, 102
Miles, G. F. W., 143
Milton Abbey, 44, 57, 94, 158

Grammar School, 113

Market Cross, in

Old Town of, 109, no

Town of, in America, 116

John, 100

Lord, 100, 109, 112-115

Mohun Family, 264
Monasteries, Dissolution of the, 10
Monastic Barns —

Liscombe, 45

Tarrant Crawford, 45
Monastic Ruins at —

Abbotsbury, 44

Bindon, 44

Cerne, 44

Shaftesbury, 44
Money, Kimmeridge Coal, 191
Monkton-up-Wimborne, 117
Monmouth, Duke of, 143, 148,
224, 225

at Lulworth Castle, 190

Landing at Lyme Regis

of, 169
Rebellion, 239

Monmouth's Close, field near
Horton called, 15

Declaration, 14

Monumental Effigies, 57-60
Monuments in Piddletown

Church, 258
Mons Badonicus, 5
Morton, Cardinal, 60
Motcombe, Village of, 276
Moule, Henry, 26, 37, 63

Napoleon's Invasion, 17
Neolithic Age, 3, 19
Netherbury, 232

Mutilated Figure in, 59

Newland, Borough of, 75
Newfoundland, Intimate connec-
tion between Poole and,
226
Norman Architecture at

Abbotsbury, 50

Bere Regis, 51

Corfe Castle, 50

Studland, 49

Worth Matravers, 49
Norman Conquest, 233

INDEX

3i3

Oaken Pulpits at

Abbotsbury, 56

Beaminster, 56

Charminster, 56

Iwerne Minster, 56

Netherbury, 56
"Old Harry and his wife," 187,

197
Owermoigne Church, 109
Owners of Athelhampton, First,
262

Palaeolithic Man, Traces of, 3

Parnham, 232

Parr, Catherine, 182

Paulinus Suetonius, 29, 30

Pave, Henry, 230

Peacock, Thomas Love, 175

Pennie, John Fitzgerald, 278

Pennsylvania Castle, 180, 289

Perpendicular Architecture, 52

Peveril Point, 194, 197

Philip and Joanna, King and

Queen of Castile, 268, 269
Piddle, or Trent, river with two

names, 117
Piddletown, 257, 287

Church, 55

Pimperne, Long Barrow near, 20
Pitman, Treachery of Lieut. -Col.,

215, 216
Pitt, Christopher, 275
Pitt-Rivers, General, 21, 22, 26,

29
Place-names of Bridport, 238
Pole, Cardinal, 120
Pollard, Richard, 139, 141
Poole, 12, 14, 15, 35, no, 164,

170, 208, 222-231, 290
Harbour, 2, 4, 7, 29, 50,

187

Quay, 222

Pope, Alfred, 113

Portesham Church, Window in,

56
Portland, 4, 30, 160, 165, 168,

177
Island, Funeral, description

of, 186

-" The Isle of Slingers," 289

Beds, 2

Bill, 179

Castle, 178

Roads, 109

Superstitions, 186

— —Wedding, Description of,

185

Pottery, 20, 21, 23, 26

Bronze Age, 24

Sepulchral, 22

Poulett, Sir Amias, 141
Poundbury Camp, 31, 32, 286
Poxwell Hall, 288
I'reston, Remains of Roman Villa

at, 158

Roman Arch at, 40

Prideaux, Edmund, 141, 142
Prior, Matthew, the poet, 129,

273
Priory, Melcombe Regis, 173
Purbeck, Isle of, 187-199, 208, 290

Beds, 2

Punfield Beds, 2
Pylsdun, 30

Racedown, Wordsworth at, 278
Radipole, Roman Remains at,

158
Ralegh, Sir Walter, 78, 91,

273
Rebellion, Duke of Monmouth's,

Recorder of Poole, Anthony
Etricke, of Holt, 15

Relics of the Armada at Wey-
mouth, 164

Richmond, Earl of, 9

Ridgeway, Round Barrows on the,
21, 25, 30

Robert the Bruce, 253

Robinson, Sir Charles, 193, 195,
196, 198

Rock, Agglestone, 198

Rocks, Old Harry, 187

Roman Camps, 30

Romans established, 4, 29, 242

Roman Occupation, 28-43

Road, 5, 34

Villas, Sites of, 37

Roper, Mrs. Freeman, 143

Roses, Wars of the, 9

Rosewall, William, 141

Sir Henry, 141

Rupert, Prince, 92

St. Mary's Church, Melcombe Regis,

174
St. Nicholas' Chapel, Weymouth,

172
St. Peter's, Dorchester, 146, 153
Sampson of Dol, St., 102, in
Sandford Orcas Church, Curious

Monument in, 58
Sandsfoot Castle, 166, 178

3*4

INDEX

Saxon Architecture —

Ealdhelm, Chapels of St., 48-
50

Corfe Castle, 48

Martinstown, 48

Tarrant Rushton, 48, 49

Toller Fratrum, 48

Wareham, 47, 48

Worth Matravers, 48
Saxon Fonts at

Martinstown, 48

Toller Fratrum, 48
Saxon Invaders, 5
Scott, Sir Gilbert, 96
Screen at West Stafford,

Jacobean, 57
Sepulchral Pottery, 22
Seymour, Jane, 182
Shaftesbury, 2, IO, II, 240,

286
Sherborne, 7, 287
Sherborne Abbey, 44, 79, 94,

102
Abbots of —

Barnstaple, John, last

Abbot, 85

Bradford, William, 77, 81,

83
Brunyng, John, 81

Mere, 77

Ramsam, Peter, 77, 81

Roger of Caen, 79
Sherborne Almshouse, 81, 92
Sherborne, Bishops of —

Alfwold, St., 77

Asser, the Biographer, 77

Ealdhelm, St., first Bishop
of Western Wessex, 75,

87
Ealhstan, Bishop, 77
Heahmund, St., 77
Werstan, 77
Wulfsy, St., 77

Castle, 40, 90, 92

Parish Church, All Hallows,

79, 81 , 82, 84, 85

School, 86, 87

Smuggling at Purbeck Isle, 194
Solomon, King, 241
Somerset, Protector, 78
Southey's Naval History of

England, 231
Stalbridge, 85

Church, Monument in, 59

Standley, Headstone of Peter,

261
Steepleton Down, 25

Stephen and Maud, Wars of, 8
Stinsford, 155, 287
de Stokes, Abbot William, 99
Stone Altar at Corton Chapel,

56
Stone Circles, 20

Stone Pulpit at Frampton, 56

Stone, Rev. William, 128

Stour Valley, 3

Stower, East and West, 276

Strangways, Sir John, 12

Stratton, 35

Studland, Old-world Village of,

197
Sturminster Newton, 246, 281,

283
Superstitions, Dorset, 292

-Portland, 186

Sutton Poyntz, 288

Swanage Bay, 2, 7, 29, 30, 289

Round Barrows at, 22

Description of, 195

Path known as Priestway to,

rg2, 193
Swegen, or Sweyn, King, 8, 76,

146
Sydenham, Captain, 210, 212,

213, 223
Sydenham's History of Poole,

228
de Sydelinge, Abbot Walter, 99
Sydling, Round Barrows at, 22

Tarrant Rushton Church, Restora-
tion of, 57
Tesselated Floors —

Creech, 38

Dorchester, 38, 39, 42

Fifehead Neville, 38, 41, 42

Frampton, 38, 40

Halstock, 38

Hemsworth, 38

Lenthay Green, 38, 40

Maiden Castle, 38, 40

Preston, 38, 39

Rampisham, 38

Thornford, 38
Pavements, Description of,

. 38
Teutonic Invaders, 5
Thompson, Sir Peter, 226
Thorncombe, 131, 144
Thornhill, Sir James, 174
Timber Roof, Bere Regis, 60
Tokens, Weymouth Tradesmen's,

169
Town Cellars at Poole, 229

INDEX

3i5

Tradesmen's Tokens, Weymouth,

169
Tregonwell, Sir John, 96, 100
Trenchard Family, 264, 265, 267,

269

Sir Thomas, 208, 271

Trent Manor House, 11, 14
Treves, Sir Frederick, 109
Trinity Church, Dorchester, 147
Turberville, George, 273
Turnworth House, 289

Vale of Blackmore, 2, 250, 282,

286
Var, or Frome, river bearing two

names, 117
Vespasian, 29, 30
Via Principalis, 34
Village of East Lulworth, 190
Vindogladia, Station at, 35, 36

Walburga, or Walpurgis, St., 119

Walpole, Horace, 277

Wareham, 7-10, 188, 202, 203,208,

213, 214, 232, 233, 243,

286, 287

Castle, 200

Cast-lead Font at St. Mary's,

55
Lady St. Mary's Church,

188

Warne, Charles, 20, 24, 25^ 27,

29. 3°-32> 35. 36> Io8
Wars of the Roses, 9

of Stephen and Maud, 8

Waterson, 260, 288

Warwick, King-maker, 9

Wedding, Description of old-time

Portland, 185
Weld Family, 271
Wesley, Bartholomew, 13
West Bay, 232, 289
West Chelborough, Curious

Monument at, 58
Stafford, Jacobean Screen at,

57
Stower, 276

Weymouth, 2, r2, 30, no, 157,
208, 213, 215, 232, 270,
271, 289

Bay, 2, 109

Margaret, wife of Henry VI.,

at, 9

Whitchurch Canonicorum, Tomb-
stone at, 168

Whitcombe, 108, 281

White, Rev. John, 147

Whitecliff, Manor House of, 196

Wildman, W. B., 5

William III., 92

Wim, or Allen, river with two
names, 117

Wimborne, 7, 274

Minster, 36, 44, 94. H7>

120

-Effigy in, 57

Round Barrows near, 22

St. Giles, 117

Winfrith, 290

Winterborne W'hitchurch, 273

Witchcraft, Credence in, 293

Witch-doctor, Conjurer or, 294

Wolfeton House, 155, 264

Wolsey, Cardinal, 81

Woodbury, Roman Occupation of,

31

Hill, 287

Woodyates, 5, 34

Woolland, 108

Wool Manor House, 288

Wor Barrow, 21

Worth "Club walking day," 51

Worth Matravers Church, 192, 193

Wordsworth at Racedown, 278,

291
Wren, Sir Christopher, 176
Wyke Regis, 160, 181, 232
Wyndham, Colonel Francis, n

Young, Edward, 275

Zouche, Elizabeth, last Abbess of
Shaftesbury, 245

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