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GEK'EALCCY  COLLECTION 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Allen  County  Public  Library  Genealogy  Center 


http://www.archive.org/details/proceedingsdorse08dors 


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REV,     WILLIAM      BARNES.,     B  D. 


PROCEEDINGS 


¥|c  Porstl  '5''^l"t'''^  ^^'sJ"^^''!  ''"^ 
J[nlii|uarian  %}t^\h  iluL 


EDITED    EV 

MOETON    CI.    STUART, 

Hon.    Secretary. 


VOLUME      VIII 


!l:5)orche8ter  : 

PRIXTED   AT   THE    "DORSET   COUNTY   CHRONICLE"   OFFICE. 
1887 


1413057 


*•  {'  f)  N  T  ¥,  -X  T  S 


V 


Plates  and  Engravings   ... 

Notice 

List  of  Otlicers  and  Hon.  Members    ... 

List  of  ^lembers 

In    Menioriam    Rev.    William     Barnes,     B.D.,     by    Rev.    0.    P. 

Cambridge,  M.A. 
A    Chronological    List   of    the    Published    Works    of    the    Rev. 

William  Barnes,  B.D. 
The  Proceedings  of  the  Dorset  Natural  History  and  Antiquarian 

Field  Club  during  1S86,  by  M.  C.  Stuart,  M.A.,  F.G.S.     ... 
Statement  of  Receipts  and  Payments,  June,  1885,  to  June,  1886 
General  Statement,  June  9th,  1886    ... 
List  of  New  Members    ... 


PAGE 

iv. 

v. 

vi. 

viii. 


xxxiv. 

li. 

lii. 

liii. 


^ 


Decoys  and  Swan  Marks,  by  J.  C.  Mansel-Pleydell,  Esq.,  F.L.S., 

F.G.S 

Charles  II.  in  Dorset,   by  J.   S.   Udal,  F.   R.   Hist.   Soc.  (of  the 

Inner  Temple) 
^The  Ancient  Connection  between  Cranborne  and  Tewkesbury,  by 

"^        T.  W.  W.  Smart,  M.D 

Abbotsbury  Abbey,  by  H.  J.  Moule,  M.A 

Bere  Kegi.s,  by  the  Rev.  J.  F.  Langford  (Vicar) 

On  some  Rare  anil  Local  Lepidoptera  lately  found  in  Dorsetshire 

by  the  Rev.  U.  P.  Cambridge,  M.A.  

On   the  Great  Earwig',  Lahidura  riparia  (Pallas),  by  R.  B.  Kemp 

Welch,  VjH([. 
Tlie  Abbotsbury  Iron   Deposits,  l)y  .Mr.  T.  B.  Groves,  F.C.S.  (o 

Weymouth) 
On  the  Ergot  {C/avicejjS  purpurea),  by  Morton  Stuart,  Esq. 

Gorton,  by  H.  J.  Moule,  M.A.  

On  the  Effects  of  a  Flash  of  Lightning  at  Bloxworth,  on  the  9th 

of  April,  1886,  by  the  Rev.  O.  P.  CandDridge,  M.A. 
Corrigenda  to  Vol.  VII. 


29 
38 
49 


74 

82 


PLATES     AND     ENGRAVINGS. 


Fr'nifinphn TriF.  i.atf,  Kf.v.   Wtltjam   ?>.\r.XFS.  B.T). 

IT.ATi:  PAOF. 

i.     CiiLiuii  OF  St.  John  Baptist,  Bere  Rf.cis      ...  ...         ...     49 

ii.     Rapk  ANrrt  Local  Lepihoptera  Forxi>  tx  Dorset  ..  ...     55 


Tkeks  .SrcrcK    i;v  LiciriNiN*:   at  lir-owvoirru SO 


J\l-OTICE. 

Members  are  reminded  that  payment  of  the  current  year's 
subscription  (los.)  entitles  them  to  the  immediate  receipt  of  the 
Vol.  of  "Proceedings"  or  other  publications  for  the  year  ;  also  that 
payment  of  arrears  entitles  to  previous  volumes,  issued  in  those 
years  for  which  the  arrears  are  due. 

All  volumes  are  issued,  and  subscriptions  received,  by  the 
Treasurer,  Rev.  O.  P.  Cambridge,  Bloxworth  Rectory,  \Vareham. 

Surplus  Copies  of  former  "Proceedings"  (vols.  i. — vii.)  at  an 
average  rate  of  7s.  6d.  a  volume,  and  of  "  Spiders  of  Dorset" 
(2  vols.  25s.),  are  in  the  Treasurer's  hands  for  disposal  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Club's  funds. 

Any  Member  joining  the  Club  and  paying  his  subscription  in  a 
year  for  which  no  volume  may  be  issued  is  entitled  to  a  coj^y  of 
that  last  previously  issued. 


I^he  Jjoimt  llntuiinl  li'itorii 


— ;$«:sS5Xc- 


IJYAUGURATED    MARCH    IGfh,    1875 


J.  C.   MANSEL-PLEYDELT.,   Esq.,  J.P.,  E.G.S.,  E.E.S. 

Vicc4?i;csiclcnt.O'  : 

Rev.  Sir  TALBOT  BAKER,   Bart. 

General  PITT  RIVERS,  F.R.S. 

MOR'I'ON  G.  STUART,   Esq.  (Hon.  Secretary). 

Rev.O.  p.  CAMP>RIDGE,  M.A.,F.R.S.,C.M.Z.S.,&c.("7>w^//;Tr;. 


IjfonorniM)   (.t^cmbcrs  ; 

Rev.    M.    J.   Berkeley,    F.R. H.S.L.,   Szc,    Sibbertoft    Vicarage, 

Northampton. 
M.   H.   Bloxham,   Issq.,  F.S.A.,  &c.,   Rugby. 
H,   W.    Bristow,    Esq.,    F.R.S.,    F.G.S.,    Geological    Museum, 

Jermyn  Street,  London. 
W.  Carruthers,  Esq.,  F.R.S.,  F.G.S.,  F.L.S.,  British  IMuseum. 
T.  Davidson,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  9,  Salisbury-road,  West  Brighton. 
R.     Etheridge,    Esq.,    F.R.S.,    F.G.S ,     Geological     Museum, 

Jermyn  Street,  London. 
E.   A.  Freeman,  Esq.,   D.C.L.,  Summerlease,  Wells, 
E.   Lees,  Esq.,    F.L.S.,   F.G.S. ,  Vice-President  of  the  Worcester 

Naturalists'  Club,  Worcester. 
Alfred  Newton,  Esq.,   'M.A.,  F.R.S.,  Professor  of  Zoology  and 

Comparative  Anatomy,  ]\Lagdalen  College,  Cambridge. 
J.     Prestwich,    Esq.,    F.R.S.,     F.G.S.,    Professor    of    Geology, 

Oxford. 
Rev.   Prebendary   Scarth,  F.S.A.,  Wrington   Rectory,  Somerset. 
J.   O.  Westwood,  Esq.,   Hope   Professor  of  Zoology,  Oxford. 
G.   B.   WoLLASTON,  Esq.,  Chiselhurst. 
Sir  William  Guise,  Bart.,  Elmore  Court,  Gloucestershire. 


v^(6rt 


LIST    OF    MEMBERS 


Dorset  |]vttural  Dicitori)  nub  Jlntiquarian 
Jficlb  dub 

For  the  Year  endinO  December  31st,  1886. 


The  Right  Hon.  the  Lord 

Eustace  Cecil 
The  Right  Hon.  Lord  Digby 
The  Lord  Stalbridge 
Acton,  Rev.  J. 
Aldridge,  Reginald,  Esq. 
Aldridge,  Dr. 
Allen,  George^  Esq. 
Allen,  Mrs. 

Andrews,  T.  C.  W.,  Esq. 
Atkins,  His  Honour  Judge 

Tindal 
Baker,  Rev.  Sir  Talbot,  Bart. 
Bankes,  Albert,  Esq. 
Bankes,  Rev.  Eldon  S. 
Bankes,  Eustace  Ralph,  Esq. 
Barrett,  W.  Bowles,  Esq., 

F.L.S. 
Baskett,  C.  H.,  Esq. 
Baskett,  Rev.  C.  R, 
Batten,  John,  Esq. 


Lytchett  Heath,  Poole 

Minterne,  Dorchestei 

Brook-street,  London 

Iwerne,  Minster,  Blandford 

Poole 

Yeovil 

Grove  House,  Stalbridge 

Grove  House,  Stalbridge 

I,  Buxton  Villas,  Rodwell,  Weymouth 

Uplands,  Wimborne 
Ranston  House,  Blandford 
Wolfeton  House,  Dorchester 
Corfe  Casde  Rectory,  Wareham 
Corfe  Castle  Rectory,  Wareham 

"Weymouth 

Evershot 

Stinsford  Vicarage,  Dorchester 

Aldon,  Yeovil 


IX. 


Bell,  E.  W.,  Esq. 

Bennett,  H.  R.,  Esq. 

Bond,  N.,  Esq. 

Bond,  T.,  Esq. 

Brennand,  W.  E.,  Esq. 

Bridges,  Captain 

Bright,  Percy  M.,  Esq. 

Brook,  Miss 

Browne,  Rev.  W.  C. 

Buckman,  S.  S.,  Esq. 

Budden,  E.  T.,  Esq. 

Burden,  Rev.  R. 

Burt,  George,  Esq. 

Cambridge,  Rev.  O.  P.  (  Vice- 
President  and  Treas.) 

Cambridge,  Colonel,  J.  P. 

Childs,  Dr.  C. 

Chislett,  H.  O.,  Esq. 

Chudleigh,  Rev.  Augustine 

Cleminshaw,  E.,  Esq.,  M.A., 
E.G.S. 

Clinton,  E.  Fynes,  Esq. 

Colfox,  T.,  Esq. 

Colfox,  Miss  ]\Iargaret 

Colfox,  W.,  Esq. 

Colfox,  Miss  A.  L. 

Collinson,  Rev.  E.  W. 

Crespi,  Dr. 

Crickmay,  G.  R.,  Esq. 

Cross,  Rev.  J. 

Curme,  Decimus,  Esq. 
Dale,  C.  W.,  Esq. 
Damon,  R.,  Esq. 
Davidson,  Rev.  T. 


Gillingham 

Markham  House,  Wyke  Regis 

Creech  Grange,  Wareham 

Tyneham,  Wareham 

Blandford 

Fifehead  Magdalen 

Bournemouth 

Southfield,  Dorchester 

Tyneham  Rectory,  Wareham 

Hampen,  Andoversford,  Cheltenham 

Wimborne 

Haselbury  Rectory,  Blandford 


Bloxworth  Rectory,  Wareham 

Bloxworth  House,  Wareham 

2,  Royal-terrace,  Weymouth 

Wimborne 

AVest  Parley  Rectory,  Wimborne 

Belvedere,  Kent 

Wimborne 

Bridport 

Westmead,  Bridport 

Westmead,  Bridport 

Westmead,  Bridport 

Watton  Rectory,  Hertford 

Wimborne 

Weymouth 

Baillie  House,  Sturminster  Marshall, 

Wimborne 
Child  Okeford 

Glanvilles  Wootton,  Sherborne 
Weymouth 
Ashmore,  Salisbury 


Dayman,  Rev.  Canon 
Disney,  A.  N.,  Esq. 
Dowland,  Rev.  E. 
Dobie,  Rev.  A.  C.  B. 
Diirden,  H.,  Esq. 
Durden,  H.,  Esq. 
Dugmore,  H.  Radcliffe,  Esq. 
Ehves,  Captain 
Embleton,    D.    C,    Esq., 
L.R.C.P.,M.R.C.S.,Lond. 

Falkner,  C.  G.,  Esq. 
Farley,  Rev.  H. 
Farquharson,   H.   R.,   Esq., 

MP. 
Farrer,  Oliver,  Esq. 
Ffooks,  T.,  Esq. 
Filliter,  Freeland,  Esq. 
Fletcher,  W.  J.,  Esq., 
Floyer,  J.,  Esq.,  F.G.S. 
Floyer,  G.,  Esq. 
Forbes,  Major  L. 
Freame,  ]Miss  E.  M. 
Freame,  R.,  Esq. 
Fyler,  J.  W.,  Esq. 
Galpin,  G.,  Esq. 
Glyn,  Sir  R.,  Bart 
Goodden,  J.  R.  P.,  Esq, 
Gorringe,  Rev.  R.  P. 
Green,  Rev.  Canon 
Gresley,  Rev.  N.  W. 
Grove,  Walter,  Esq. 
Groves,  T.  B.,  Esq. 
Guest,  M.  J.,  Esq. 
Guise,  CD.,  Esq. 


Shillingstone  Rectory,  Blandford 

Islington  High  School,  London 

Tarrant  Keynstone,  Blandford 

Fontmell,  Shaftesbury 

Blandford 

Dorchester 

The  Lodge,  Parkstone,  Poole 

Bournemouth 

St.     Wilfrid's,     St.     Michael's-road, 

Bournemouth 
The  College,  Weymouth 
Lytchett  Minster,  Poole 

Tarrant  Gunville,  Blandford 

Binnegar  Hall,  Wareham 

Totnel,  Sherborne 

Wareham 

Wimborne 

Stafford,  Dorchester 

Stafford,  Dorchester 

Shillingstone,  Blandford 

Gillingham 

Gillingham 

Heffleton,  Wareham 

Tarrant  Keynstone,  Blandford 

Gaunts  House,  Wimborne 

Compton  House,  Sherborne 

Manston  Rectory,  Blandford 

Steepleton,  Dorchester 

Dursley  Rectory,  Gloucestershire 

Fern  House,  Salisbury 

St.  Mary-street,  Weymouth 

Bere  Regis,  Wareham 

Elmore  Court,  Gloucester 


XI. 


Hambro,  C.  J.  T.,  Esq.,  M.P. 
Hansford,  Charles,  Esq. 
Hardy,  T.,  Esq. 
Harrison,  G.,  Esq. 
Hart,  Edward,  Esq. 
Hill,  Rev.  Arthur 
Hogg,  B.  A.,  Esq. 
Hooper,  Pelly,  Esq., 
House,  Rev.  Thos.  Hammond 

Howard,  Sir  R.  N. 
Hussey,  Dr. 

Kemp-Welch,  E.B.,  Esq. 
Kendall,  Rev.  W. 
Laing,  Rev.  S.  Malcolm 
Laws,  John,  Esq.,  L.S.D. 
Lawton,  H.  A.,  Esq. 
Leach,  J.  Comyns,  Esq..M.D. 

Leonard,  Rev.  A. 
Long,  R.  G.,  Esq. 
Lovett,  Rev.  R. 
Ludlow,  Rev.  Edward 
Luff,  J.  W.,  Esq. 
Mansel-Pleydell,  J.  C.,  Esq. 

(President) 
Mansel-Pleydell,  ]\Lajor 
Marriott,  Sir  W.  Smith,  Bart. 
Mason,  Rev.  H.  J. 
Mate,  William,  Esq. 
Maude,  W.  C.,  Esq. 
Maunsell,  Rev.  F.  W. 
Mayo,  George,  Esq. 
Mayo,  Rev.  C.  H. 
Middleton,  H    B.,  Esq. 


Milton  Abbey,  Blandford 

Dorchester 

Dorchester 

National  Provincial  Bank,  Wareham 

Christchurch 

Preston  Vicarage,  Weymouth 

Dorchester 

Weymouth 

Winterborne    Anderson    Rectory, 

Blandford 
Weymouth 
Dorchester 

Dinmore,  Westbourne,  Bournemouth 
East  Lulworth 

Hinton  St.  ]\Iary  Vicarage,  Blandford 
II,  Gloucester-row,  Weymouth 
High-street,  Poole 
The  Lindens,   Sturminster  Newton, 

Blandford 
Fordington,  Dorchester 
Stalbridge 

Bishops  Caundle,  Sherborne 
Alartinstown  Rectory,  Dorchester 
The  Old  House,  Blandford 

Whatcombe  House,  Blandford 

Whatcombe  House,  Blandford 

Down  House,  Blandford 

Swanage 

Poole 

Brakenwood,  Bournemouth 

Symondsbury,  Rectory,  Bridport 

West  House,  Puddletrenthide 

Longburton  Rectory,  Sherborne 

Bradford  Peverell,  Dorchester 


Xll. 


Middlcton,  H.  N.,  Esq. 
Miller,  Rev.  J.  A. 
Mondey,  Rev.  F. 
Montague,  J.  M.  P.,  Esq. 
Moorhead,  Dr.  J. 
Moule,  H.  J.,  Esq. 
Murray,  Rev.  R.  P. 
Okeden,  Colonel 
Paget,  Rev.  Cecil 
Parish,  Rev.  W.  Oakes 
Payne,  Miss 

Penney,  W.,  Esq.,  A.L.S. 
Penny,  Rev.  J. 
Piercy,  G.  J.,  Esq. 
Pinder,  Reginald,  Esq. 
Pike,  T.  M.,  Esq. 
Pope,  A.,  Esq. 
Portman,  Hon.  Miss 
Portman,  Hon.  W.  H.  B. 
Ravenhill,  Rev.  H.  E. 
Reynolds,  R.,  Esq. 
Reynolds,  Mrs.  Arthur 
Rivers,  General  Pitt 
Robinson,  J.,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 
Rodd,  Edward  Stanhope,  Esq. 
Ruegg,  L.  H.,  Esq. 
Russell-Wright,  Rev.  T. 
Sanctuary,  Ven.  Archdeacon 
Sanctuary,  Rev.  C.  Lloyd 
Searle,  Allan,  Esq. 
Serrell,  D.  H.,  Esq. 

Sherren,  J.  A.,  Esq. 

Smart,  T.  W.  Wake,  Esc^.,  M.D, 

Sparks,  W.,  Esq. 


Bradford  Pevercll,  Dorchester 
The  College,  Weymouth 
2,  Southfield  Villas,  Weymouth 
Downe  Hall,  Bridport 

1,  Royal  Terrace,  Weymouth 
The  County  Museum,  Dorchester 
Shapwick  Rectory,  Blandford 
Turnworth 

Holt,  Wimborne 
Longfleet,  Poole 

2,  Westerhall  Villas,  Weymouth 
Poole 

Tarrant  Rushton  Rectory,  Blandford 

Bournemouth 

Heronhurst,  Bournemouth 

Wareham 

Dorchester 

Bryanstone,  Blandford 

Durweston,  Blandford 

Buckland  Vicarage,  Dorchester 

Haselbury,  Crewkerne 

Bridport 

Rushmore,  Salisbury 

Newton  Manor,  Swanage 

Chardstock  House,  Chard 

Sherborne 

County  School,  Dorchester 

Powerstock,   Bridport 

West  Fordington,  Dorchester 

Sherborne 

Haddon  Lodge,  Stourton  Caundle, 

Blandford 
Weymouth 
Cranborne 
Crewkerne 


xm. 


Stephens,    R.     Darell,    Esq., 
F.G.S.,  F.L.S.,  F.Z.S. 

Stephens,  Miss  Guilelma 

Stihvell,  Mrs. 

Stroud,  Rev.  J. 

Stuart,     Morton    G.,     Esq. 
(Secretary  ) 

Stuart,  Colonel 

Styring,  F.,  Esq. 

Symonds,  Miss  Juliana 

Sydenham,  David,  Esq. 
Thompson,  Dr.  Roberts 
Thompson,  Rev.  G. 
Todd,  Colonel 
Travers,  Rev.  Duncan 
Trotman,  Rev.  L. 
Truman,  Rev.  J.  M. 
Turner,  W.,  Esq. 
Udal,  J.'S.,  Esq. 

Urmson,  F.  B.,  Esq. 
Vaudrey,  Rev.  J.  T. 
Waddington,  F.  Sydney,  Esq. 

Ward,  Rev.  J.  H. 

Warre,  Rev.  F. 
Watts,  Rev.  R.  R. 
West,  Rev.  G.  H. 
White,  Dr.  Gregory 
Whitehead,  C.  S.,  Esq. 
Whitting,  Rev.  W. 
Williams,  Rev.  J.  L. 
Williams,  R.,  jun.,  Esq. 


Trewornan,  Wadebridge 
Girtups,  Bridport 
Leeson,  Wareham 
South  Perrot,  Crewkerne 

Hinton  Blewitt,  Bristol 

Manor  House,  St.  Mary's,  Blandford 

Poole  House,  Poole 

Waterloo       House,      Lennox-street 

Weymouth 
Bournemouth 

Monkchester,  Bournemouth 
Highbury,  Bournemouth 
Keynstone,  Lodge,  Blandford 
Swanage 
Wimborne 

Hinton  Martell,  Cranborne 
High-street,  Poole 
The    Manor   House,    Symondsbury, 

Bridport 
Hook,  Beaminster 
Osmington  Vicarage,  Weymouth 
12,    New     Court,     Lincoln's     Inn, 

London 
Gussage     St.     Michael     Rectory, 

Salisbury 
Melksham  Vicarage,  Wilts 
Stourpaine  Rectory,  Blandford 
Ascham  House,  Bournemouth 
West  Knoll,  Bournemouth 
Sherborne 

Stour  Provost,  Dorset 
Canford  Vicarage,  Wimborne 
Bridehead,  Dorchester 


Williams,  Mrs.  R. 
Williams,  W.  H.,  Esq. 
Witchell,  Edwin,  Esq. 
Wix,  Rev.  J.  Augustus 
Wright,  Dr. 
Wright,  H.  E.,  Esq. 
Wynne,  Rev.  G.  H. 
Yeatman,  Mrs. 
Yeatman,  M.  S.,  Esq., 


Young,  Rev.  E.  M. 


Bridehead,  Dorchester 
Sherborne 
The  Acre,  Stroud 
Ibberton  Rectory,  Blandford 
Bournemouth 
Dorchester 

Whitchurch  Vicarage,  Blandford 
Stoke  Gaylard,  Sherborne 
The  INIanor  House,    Hohvell,  Sher- 
borne 
King's  School,  Sherborne 


ill  ^Xemorimn. 

Rev.    WILLIAM    BARNES,    B.D. 


Since  October  7th,  1886,  when  we  were  suddenly  called  upon 
to  mourn  for  our  old  friend  and  staunch  member  of  the  Dorset 
Natural  History  and  Antiquarian  Field  Club,  the  Rev.  William 
Barnes,  B.D.,  so  much  has  been  written  and  said  and  published 
about  him  that  little,  at  any  rate,  little  new,  can  now  be  said; 
scarcely  a  periodical  or  journal  has  been  silent ;  all  have  been 
necessarily  and  deservedly  eulogistic.  Some,  it  has  appeared  to  me? 
have  placed  his  claim  to  public  notice  ou  somewhat  insufficient 
grounds,  and  others  on,  as  it  were,  the  side  issues  rather  than  on 
the  main  ones  of  his  long  life.  It  would  be,  however,  quite  out  of 
place  in  our  Proceedings  to  criticise  here  what  has  been  said  and 
published.  Want  of  space,  if  nothing  else,  would  prevent  it.  A 
very  characteristic  and  faithful  portrait  of  Mr.  Barxes  forms  a 
frontispiece  to  our  annual  volume.  As  regards  this  portrait,  it 
may  be  remarked  that  this  has  been  designedly  chosen  rather 
than  another,  which,  while  it,  no  doubt,  faithfully  gives  Mr. 
Barxes'  general  appearance  according  to  the  costume  adopted  late 
in  life,  was  by  no  means  characteristic  of  the  man  known  to  those 
who  had  enjoyed  his  friendship  in  earlier  days,  and  had  watched  the 
development  of  his  simple  but  strong  and  almost  unique  character 
under  the  more  usual  garb  of  the  day.  What  it  is  proposed  to 
give  here  as  an  accompaniment  to  our  frontispiece  will  consist 
of  such  biographical  details  as  may  be  necessary  for  the 
information  of  those  who  would  hereafter  know  who  Mr.  Barxes 
was,  whence  he  came,  and   the  more  salient  points  of  his  life.     A 


XVI.  IN    MEMORIAM. 

list  of  his  works  is  also  appeuded.  Some  of  these  are  uow  not 
kuowu  to  many,  even  by  name  ;  and  probably  few  have  been  read 
or  studied.  On  two  of  them  I  shall  offer  a  few  more  detailed 
observations, — viz.,  his  poems  in  the  Dorset  dialect,  and  one 
entitled  "  Views  on  Labour  and  Gold,"  on  which  last  I  have  not 
seen  or  heard  any  remark  made  amidst  the  much  that  has  been 
said  and  written  on  the  former.  I  have  not  attempted  to  give 
any  classification  of  Mr.  Barnes'  works,  but  have  drawn  out  the 
list  in  chronological  order,  as,  in  flict,  he  himself  drew  it  up  in  his 
later  years,  and,  as  by  the  kindness  of  his  son  (the  llev.  W.  M. 
Barnes,  Rector  of  Winterborne  Monkton),  I  am  enabled  to  give  it. 
Mr.  Barnes'  birthplace  was  Eushhay,  Bagber  (or  Bagberry),  a 
hamlet  of  Sturminster  Newton,  in  the  Vale  of  Blackmoor,  Dorset. 
It  seems  that  his  family  had  been  anciently  landowners  in  or  near 
the  Vale,  but  had  subsequently  become  tenant-farmers  there ;  and 
it  w\as  in  the  place  above  mentioned  that  his  parents,  John  and 
Grace  Barnes,  were  living  at  the  time  of  Mr.  W.  Barnes'  birth  in 
1801.  From  his  mother  (Grace  Scott)  he  appears  to  have 
inherited  strong  intellectual  and  poetical  tastes,  which,  becoming 
marked  as  he  grew  up,  it  was  decided  to  place  him  in  some  line 
of  life  above  that  of  the  toilsome  work  of  the  farm.  He 
accordingly,  at  a  very  early  age,  entered  the  office  of  a  solicitor 
— Mr.  Dashwood — at  Sturminster  Newton  as  an  engrossing  clerk, 
and  from  thence  afterwards  (in  1818)  he  removed  to  occupy  a 
similar  post  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Coombs,  Solicitor,  Dorchester. 
During  the  time  of  these  clerkships  (about  seven  or  eight  years) 
Mr.  Barnes  never  lost  a  chance  of  acquiring  knowledge  on  every 
possible  subject,  laying  the  foundation  of  his  future  great 
knowledge  of  languages,  and  qualifying  himself  for  the  Mastership 
of  the  Boarding  School  at  Mere,  Wiltshire  ;  to  this  post  he  was 
appointed  in  1823,  and  we  find  him  described  in  1829  as 
"  Teacher  of  Perspective  and  Drawing,  and  of  the  Latin,  French, 
Italian,  and  German  languages."  With  Italian  he  seems  to  have 
become  conversant  some  time  before  this  date,  as  in  1827  he 
published  translations  in  verse  from  the  Italian  of  Metastasio.  It  was 


IN    MEMORIAL.  XVll. 

during  his  residence  at  Mere  that  Mr.  Barnes  first  began  seriously 
to  study  the  origin  of  his  own  language,  both  British  and  English. 
It  is  probable  that  these  studies  were  suggested  and  actually 
begun  during  a  visit  to  Wales  in  1831.  x\t  any  rate  in  1832-33 
he  published  papers  on  these  subjects  in  the  ''  Gentleman's 
Magazine  ;"  and  to  his  latest  days  Anglo-Saxon  and  the  British 
language  were  his  favourite  study.  In  1835,  an  opening  for 
advancement  offering,  Mr.  Barnes  (who  had  previously  married 
Miss  Miles,  a  Dorsetshire  lady)  removed  to  Dorchester  and  opened 
a  school  in  Durngate  Street,  from  which  a  further  move  was 
not  long  after  made  (1837)  into  more  convenient  premises  within 
a  door  or  two  of  the  Dorchester  Grammar  School,  next  to  the 
Almshouses,  on  the  east  side  of  South  Street.  Here  for  some 
years  his  school  filled  and  prospered,  and  while  giving  every 
attention  to  his  pupils  Mr.  Barnes  carried  on  his  own  private 
studies  with  extraordinary  vigour  and  success  ]  no  subject,  no 
language  daunted  him  when  once  he  made  up  his  mind  for  the 
attack;  his  clear  and  logical  understanding  seemed  to  get  hold 
of  the  subject,  take  it  in,  absorb  and  assimilate  it  as  completely 
as  a  sea-anemone  does  its  food.  And  not  only  did  Mr.  Barnes  thus 
simultaneously  carry  on  his  school  work  and  private  studies,  but 
he  found  time  for  extra  lessons  to  pupils  desirous  of  getting  on, 
and  to  his  assistant  masters,  (Mr.  Isaac  Hann  and  others), 
as  well  as  for  wood  engrwing  and  music ;  and  a  glance  at  the 
list  of  his  works  shows  that  during  the  whole  of  this  time  his 
pen  was  also  pretty  constantly  at  work  for  the  publisher.  In 
1817  Mr.  Barnes  removed  from  the  east  side  of  South  Street  to 
the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  and  it  was  now  (1847)  that,  having 
obtained  the  degree  of  B.D.  at  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  as  a 
"  Ten-years-man,"  he  was  ordained  Deacon  by  Edward  Denison, 
Bishop  of  Salisbury,  on  the  nomination  to  Whitcombe  as  a  title  by 
the  Hon.  Col.  Damer,  of  Came.  In  1862  Mr.  (now  the  Rev.  W.) 
Barnes  gave  up  his  school  (which  was  afterwards  for  a  time 
carried  on  by  a  Mr.  de  Winton),  and  accepted  the  living  of  Came 
on  the  presentation  of  Captain  Damer,  son  of  his  former  patron. 


Xviii.  IX    MEMORIAM. 

and  liimself  at  one  time  a  pupil  of  Mr.  Barnes'.  ITere  in  tlie 
faithful  work  of  his  small  secluded  parish  and  in  his  own  studies 
and  literary  recreation  the  autunni  and  winter  of  his  life  passed 
on  in  peace,  happiness,  and  usefulness,  until  from  the  natural 
decay  of  extreme  age  he  passed  away  on  the  7th  of  October  last 
at  8G  years  old. 

Tt  has  been  said  that  there  must  be  blame  somewhere  that 
]\Ir.  Barnes,  with  all  his  genius  and  great  talents,  should  have 
thus  passed  a  long  life  without  any  signal  or  very  substantial 
recognition  in  high  or  influential  quarters.  I  think  this  is  un- 
just both  to  himself  and  to  the  world  in  which  he  was  known. 
He  had  no  ambition — i.e.,  no  desire  to  use  his  talents  as  a  mere 
means  of  obtaining  either  the  world's  fame  or  its  more  solid 
rewards  ;  his  mind  and  powers  were  emphatically  himself,  and  his 
happiness  consisted,  and  was  amply  found,  in  attacking  and 
assimilating^  those  subjects  which  cropped  up  at  every  turn  of  his 
path.  He  would  have  considered  it  a  prostitution  of  liis  powers 
to  have  designedly  aimed  at  wealth  or  position  by  their  means  ; 
the  attainment  of  knowledge  was  the  end  he  always  had  in  view, 
and  that  end  was  to  him  its  own  sufficient  reward.  No  greater 
injury  could,  I  cojiceive,  have  been  done  to  him  than  to  have  offered, 
or,  perhaps,  pressed  upon  him,  the  acceptance  of  honours  or  position 
which  might  have  turned  him  in  his  course  or  tended  to  obscure 
the  end  he  had  in  view.  So  far  as  concerned  himself !  ;  and  as 
respects  the  fancied  neglect  of  him  by  others,  what  was  there  in 
his  life  and  work  to  draw  upon  him,  perforce,  the  notice  of  any 
excepting  those  of  his  more  immediate  circle?  From  that  circle,  as 
occasion  called,  he  did  receive  such  recognition  as  put  him  in  the 
very  position  of  all  others  where  his  talents  would  be  freely  used 
and  his  worldly  requirements  sufficiently  sui)plied  for  the  modest 
needs  of  himself  and  his  family.  In  this  view  of  it  Mr.  Barnes' 
life  forms  a  harmonious  whole  such  as  the  world  rarely  sees,  and 
if  I  were  going  to  lecture  to  young  men  on  the  examples  set  by 
striking  characters  gone  before,  I  do  not  know  of  one  whom  I  could 
select,  like  Mr.  Barnes,  as  so  pre-eminent  in  all  that  a  Christian 


IX    MEMORIAM.  XIX. 

man's  life  should  be  both  for  this  world  and  the  next.  A  sound 
mind  in  a  sound  body  and  sufficient  food  for  both  ;  the  result,  a 
long  life  of  physical  and  mental  happiness,  and  a  legacy  to 
posterity  from  his  mind's  work,  the  value  of  which  will  be  the 
more  felt  the  more  it  is  used  by  those  to  whom  it  is  bequeathed. 
If  the  recognition  of  himself  by  great  men  or  great  minds  were  an 
ambition  with  Mr.  Bar^^es  (I  am  not  aware  that  it  was,  I  think 
it  was  not)  he  did  obtain  a  share  of  that  in  the  visits  paid  him  while 
Rector  of  Came  by  such  men  as  Tennyson,  Allingham,  Prince  Lucien 
Bonaparte,  Max  Miilier,  Sir  Henry  Taylor,  Coventry  Patmore,  and 
others. 

With  regard  to  Mr.  Barnes'  family  it  is  enough  to  say  here 
that  he  had  the  great  misfortune  to  lose  his  wife  comparatively 
early  in  life,  and  has  left  four  daughters  and  one  son  (Rev.  William 
Miles  Barnes,  of  Monckton  Rectory)  surviving  him,  another,  a 
younger  son,  having  died  early.  Miss  Laura  Barnes,  the  eldest 
daughter,  is  unmarried;  the  others  are  married.  Two  are  settled  in 
Italy,  and  from  the  talented  pen  of  one  of  them,  Lucy  Barnes  (Mrs. 
Baxter),  we  hope  shortly  to  have  a  biography  of  our  old  friend  such 
as  none  but  a  daughter  so  well  qualified  could  possibly  furnish. 
Some  have  questioned  whether  Mr.  Barnes'  career  can  be  pointed 
to  as  a  successful  one  ;  of  course  that  depends  on  what  success  in 
life  is  taken  to  mean.  If  I  am  right  in  the  remarks  I  have  made 
above,  he  must  be  considered  to  have  been  most  successful. 
Some  have  pointed  to  his  scholastic  work  and  said  it  is  not  there 
that  Mr.  Barnes  succeeded  ;  others  have  said  his  literary  works, 
excepting  the  Poems  in  Dorset  Dialect,  will  not  live,  and 
most  are  dead  already,  and  that  his  clerical  life  was  a  mere  accident. 
Well !  I  think  these  critics  are  all  wrong.  I  am  very  confident 
that  even  in  these  separate  parts  of  his  career  Mr.  Barnes  might, 
were  it  worth  while,  be  shewn  to  have  amply  succeeded.  I  will 
only  mention  one  fact  in  regard  to  his  school  work,  and  that  is 
that  he  had  the  faculty  of  interesting  his  scholars,  and  not  only 
of  causing  them  to  understand  but  to  love  what  he  taught.  I  can 
testify  to   this  from  my  own  experience  as  his  pupil,   and  I  feel 


XX.  [X    MEMORIAM. 

confident  of  the  supporting  testimony  of  many  others  whom  he 
taught.  If  this  be  so  what  scholastic  success  could  be  greater  1 
As  regards  his  literary  labours,  perhaps  few  know  anything  of  them 
except  of  the  Dorset  poems  ;  but  may  that  not  be  simply  a  proof  of 
their  ignorance,  not  of  any  want  of  intrinsic  value  in  his  other 
works  1  And  as  respects  his  clerical  life,  those  who  know  what  it 
was  speak  of  it  as  being  as  thoroughly  complete  as  everything  else 
he  did  ;  its  sphere  was  no  doubt  small,  but  had  it  been  ten, 
or  twenty  times  the  extent  it  was  it  could  not  have  been  more 
sincerely  or  systematically  worked.  Where  is  any  proof  of  non- 
success  in  these  separate  parts  then  of  ]\Ir.  Barnes'  life  1  But 
these  parts  are  simj^ly  parts  of  a  whole,  harmonious  life,  and  ought 
not  to  be  taken  and  analysed  separately,  rudely  dissected  like  a 
beautiful  flower  by  a  would-be  botanist  !  and  that  these  portions 
of  Mr.  Barxes'  life  and  w^orks  are  what  they  are  constitutes,  it 
seems  to  me,  his  life's  true  success. 

Space  will  not  allow  n\e  to  say  anything  scarcely  of  Mr.  Barxes' 
published  works,  excepting  the  one  mentioned  before,  "  Labour  and 
Gold,"  and  his  Dorset  dialect  poem.s.  Criticism  of  these  poems,  in 
the  ordinary  sense,  w^ould  be  out  of  place — impossible  !  unnatural ! ! 
One  might  with  equal  propriety  criticise  a  handful  of  spring  flowers 
plucked  fresh  from  the  hedge-row.  We  might  indeed  admire  one 
flower  rather  than  another  ;  we  might  find  greater  beauties,  greater 
sweetness,  deeper  suggestions  in  one  than  in  another;  but  criticism, 
as  such,  would  be,  like  the  dissector's  knife — barbarous,  almost 
brutal  !  Mr.  Barxes'  poems  are  the  spontaneous  outflowings  of  his 
remembrance  of  persons,  things,  and  scenes,  of  which  he  bore  away 
as  he  viewed  them,  the  bright,  the  pure,  the  good  side  only.  lie 
looked  at  Nature,  and  human  nature  in  his  Blackmoor  Vale 
haunts,  with  a  soul  only  open  to  its  beauties — quite  closed  (as  far 
as  it  was  possible)  to  all  that  might  have  been  disfiguring  or 
unsweet.  His  mind  was  attuned  to  harmonies,  not  discords  ;  such 
discords  as  may  occasionally  sound  out  in  the  songs  he  sings  are 
instantly  resolved  into  sweet  harmony  again.  I  am  told,  on 
good  authority,  that  he  never,  with  perhaps  one  exception,  wrote 


IN    MEMORIAM.  XXI. 

his  poems  with  "  a  purpose."  With  such  a  purpose  (everywhere 
evident  in  his  poems)  as  that  with  which  the  bird  sings,  that 
is  from  the  love  that  was  in  his  heart  and  the  instinct  within  his 
soul  he,  certainly,  always  wrote.  I  leave  criticism,  therefore,  if 
such  be  possible,  to  others.  Another  thing  I  think  is  notable 
in  respect  to  the  Dorset  poems  ;  there  is,  if  I  do  not  mistake, 
not  even  the  smallest  reference  there  to  any  of  the  social  sins 
or  vices  of  peasant  life.  In  one  only  such  a  reference  may 
perhaps  be  found  (Comjylete  collection  of  the  j^oems,  p.  382),  but 
only  there  as  the  product  of  evil  in  a  higher  rank  of  life, 
whe:e  the  selfishness  of  idle  vice  has  prevailed  over  the 
peasant  child's  ignorant  innocence.  Each  poem  is  a  picture 
true  to  life,  without  a  touch  too  much  or  too  little,  and  never 
a  touch  put  in  for  mere  effect.  Those  who  have  lived  amongst, 
and  loved,  rural  life,  will,  I  think,  see  and  feel  this.  Each 
poem,  as  it  is  read  thus,  satisfies  the  reader  just  as  the  picture 
itself,  if  viewed  in  Xature,  would  satisfy.  If  this  is,  as  I 
think,  the  perfection  of  poetry,  then  certainly  Mr.  Barnes 
approached  perfection  as  a  poet.  I  have  remarked  that  he  seldom 
or  never  wrote  his  poems  "  with  a  purpose,"  nor  ever  scarcely 
brought  forward  the  frail  or  bad  side  of  his  country  folk,  but  it 
was  not  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the  latter,  or  did  not  desire  to 
have  it  as  he  wished  to  see  it  and  sung  of  it — No  !  it  would 
simply  have  been,  in  his  view  and  intention,  a  distortion  and 
blurring  of  what  he  saw  and  felt  to  have  used  his  powers  of  song 
to  denounce,  or  even  to  correct.  Much  rather  would  he  look  upon 
country  life,  wherever  possible,  from  its  humorous  side,  and  this 
he  did  in  his  poems,  as  many  of  them  so  abundantly  testify.  He 
was  indeed  possessed  with  a  very  keen  sense  of  humour,  his  laugh, 
at  any  sally  of  genuine  wit  or  humour,  was  the  most  infectious 
that  I  ever  met  with  ;  it  must  have  been  a  dull-witted  one  indeed 
who  could  fail  to  be  caught  by  and  to  join  in  it.  It  has  been 
remarked,  and  with  truth,  that  throughout  a  volume  of  nearly 
500  pages  of  poems  there  is  no  allusion  to  the  sea,  the 
seaside  and   its  concomitants,   or  to   mountains  ;   but   this,  if  it 


XXll.  IN    MEMORIAM. 

proves  anything,  proves  the  genuine  sincerity  of  the  man.  His 
Jot  had  been  cast  and  his  earliest  and  deepest  impressions  had 
been  received  inland,  where  neither  sea  nor  mountain  existed,  and 
he  sung  of  what  was  in  him — impressions  from  the  river,  the 
brook,  the  lake  or  pond,  the  coppice,  the  hedgeside,  the  farmyard, 
the  country  folk  of  every  degree,  their  thoughts,  ways,  habits, 
employments,  and  amusements ;  these  and  such  like  formed  the 
staple  of  his  song,  and  to  say  that  he  only  sang  of  these,  but  not 
of  the  sea  or  the  mountain,  is  only  equivalent  to  saying  that  a 
nightingale  sings  only  the  nightingale's  song,  but  never  screeches 
like  the  seagull  nor  croaks  like  the  raven  ;  and  what  better  proof 
could  be  given  than  this  that  he  had  no  keen  ambition  for  any 
such  fame  as  a  great  poet,  in  the  world's  estimation,  might  aim 
at  !  No  !  Mr.  Barnes  was  here,  as  in  all  else,  himself,  and  in  his 
songs  he  was,  as  he  was,  and  always  loved  to  remember  that  he 
was,  a  Dorsetshire  country-man.  These  few  allusions  to  Mr. 
Barnes'  poems  must  suffice  us  here  ;  space  prevents  any  quotations 
from  them.  Others  (notably  Professor  Palgrave,  National  Review, 
No.  48,  February,  1887,  p.p.  818-830,  and  the  Rev.  Walter 
Locke  in  an  able  Lecture  at  Dorchester,  April  18th,  1887,  to 
be  published,  I  believe,  shortly)  have  gone  very  fully  into  them 
and  given  numerous  and  apt  quotations.  Indeed,  if  anything  I 
have  said  be  true,  the  whole  volume  might  be  quoted  in  proof  of 
Mr.  Barnes  having  been  a  genuine  staunch  Dorset  man  ;  and  to 
that  proof  I  recommend  every  one  who  has  not  yet  made  a  close 
acquaintance  with  those  genial  and  pleasant  outflowings  of  a  true 
and  loving  heart. 

Although,  as  before  remarked,  Mr.  Barnes  did  not  write  his 
poems  "  with  a  purpose,"  he  could,  and  did,  write  with  a  purpose 
much,  and  to  good  purpose  if  some  of  his  other  works  were 
studied.  I  fear,  though,  that  most  of  them  are  but  little  known. 
I  allude  now  to  "Views  of  Labour  and  Gold,"  a  volume  of  190 
pages,  published  in  1859.  He  speaks  of  this  work  as  formed  from 
notes  for  a  course  of  lectures  ;  but  whether  the  lectures  were  ever 
publicly   delivered,  or  if  so,  when,   I  d(^   not   know.      This  work 


IN    MEMORIAM.  xxiii. 

appears  to  bo  the  outpouring  of  Mr.  Barxes  mind  on  an  old  suliject, 
but  one  at  that  time  cropping-  up  as  a  vital  one  for  human  society 
in  all  ranks,  and  which  has,  as  we  are  aware,  become  the  question 
underlying  most  of  the  other  questions  of  the  day — the  question 
of  the  relations  and  respective  rights  of  labour  and  capital.  Mr. 
Barxes  here,  as  in  all  his  poems,  touching  en  the  temporal 
welfare  of  the  labourer,  is  unmistakably  in  closest  sympathy  with 
the  sons  of  toil  ;  but  as  in  his  poems,  so  here,  too,  he  is  filled 
with  the  conviction  of  the  need  of  labour  to  man,  and  of  its  great 
dignity.  But  while  he  extols  labour,  he  is  unflinching  in  his 
severity  upon  labour  for  the  mere  sake  of  hoarding,  and  of  labour 
that  injures  body,  mind,  or  soul.  Some  kinds  of  labour,  he 
observes,  have  "a  painful  reaction  on  the  mind,"  and  others  "a 
bad  reaction  on  the  conscience  "  (p.  33),  and  which,  however  easy 
may  be  "their  action,  and  however  great  their  gain,  are  not  to  be 
earnestly  chosen  by  Christian  men,  since  as  they  deaden  the 
conscience  they  likewise  do  harm  to  the  soul,"  Weighty  words  of 
truth  which  need  to  be  much  taught,  and  still  more  learnt,  in 
these  enlightened  days.  As  we  might  expect,  Mr.  Barnes  is 
severe  upon  capital  !  Not  by  any  means  that  he  objected  to  the 
prudent  laying  up  for  a  rainy  day,  or  the  gathering  of  means 
to  carry  out  works  impossible  to  be  effected  without  stored-up 
labour  in  the  shape  of  gold  or  capital,  but  it  was  the  ever-growing 
"  monopoly  and  tyranny  of  capital"  against  which  he  warns.  A 
chapter  is  devoted  to  this  under  the  above  heading.  Mr.  Barnes' 
object  is  "  to  show  the  possible  effect  of  the  increase  of  great 
working  capitals  and  monopolies  on  the  labourers'  freedom  or 
welfare."  And,  is  there  a  doubt  but  that  the  present  labourers' 
Unions  and  Trades'  Unions,  and  the  consequent  strikes  and 
lock-outs,  and  other  warfare  between  employers  and  workers — i.e., 
between  "  Labour  and  gold,"  have  been  the  result  of  that 
"  tyranny  and  monopoly  of  capital  "  Mr.  Barnes  speaks  of  ?  He 
humorously,  but  forcibly,  illustrates  the  benefits  asserted  to  be 
conferred  upon  workers  by  capital  when  in  the  enlargement  of  an 
already  perhaps  great  business,  scores  of  small  businesses  of  the 


XXIV.  IN    MEMORIAM. 

kind  are  swallowed  up  by  the  outlay  of  capital ;  "The  kindness  which 
is  done  by  capital  when  it  affords  employment  to  people  from 
whom,  by  a  monopoly,  it  has  taken  their  little  businesses,  is  such 
as  one  might  do  to  a  cock  by  adorning  his  head  with  a  plume 
made  of  feathers  pulled  out  of  his  own  tail."  And  as  regards 
th(^se  who  have  sunk  from  being  (though  perhaps  small  ones) 
masters  to  mere  workers,  he  says  their  wages  are  doubtless  better 
than  nothing,  but  ''  yet  it  may  have  been  quite  as  well  for  them 
if  the  profit  on  their  toil  had  been  taken  by  themselves  instead 
of  the  great  capitalist,  and  if  they  had  taken  their  money  on  their 
own  desk  rather  than  on  the  Saturday  pay-table."  This,  of 
course,  at  once  opens  up  the  whole  question  of  the  rights  of 
labour  to  share  in  the  profits  of  their  work  ;  and  this  is  the  bone 
of  contention  still.  Mr.  Barnes  also  has  a  pertinent  sentence 
upon  a  dogma  which  one  frequently  now  hears,  and  sees  in  print,  as 
addressed  to  our  "  masters,"  the  agricultural  labourers,  and  with 
a  view  to  content  them  with  their  lot.  It  refers  to  the  "  identity 
of  interest  between  the  employer  and  the  labourer,"  or,  what  is  the 
same,  between  "  capital  and  labour."  Mr.  Barnes  remarks  (p.  70) 
— "  It  is  often  said  that  the  interests  of  capital  and  labour  are 
identical,  and  so  in  truth  they  are  as  long  as  they  are  kept  so  by 
the  law  of  Christian  kindness  ;  but  if  the  truth  or  the  broad 
form  of  it  be  misunderstood  by  the  hand-hiring  capital,  it  does 
not  follow  that  the  wealth  of  the  capitalist  and  workman  are 
identical."  Mr.  Barnes  here  appeals  to  a  higher  law  than  the 
mere  law  of  the  land,  or  the  market  price,  as  a  true  and 
potent  factor  in  all  questions  between  labour  and  capital.  The 
capitalist  may  ensconce  himself  behind  the  law  of  the  land, 
he  may  seek  to  justify  himself  by  the  "  market  price  of  labour," 
but  no  law,  in  Mr.  Barnes'  opinion,  can  ever  enforce  any  true 
identity  of  interest  between  capital  and  labour,  but  that  one  of 
which  he  speaks  in  the  passage  quoted,  "  The  law  of  Christian  kind- 
ness," which,  when  it  works  so  as  to  discover  that  the  market 
price  is  not  always  the  just,  although  it  may  be  the  legal  measure 
of  labour's  value,  will  also  operate  so  as  to  accord  a  share  of  the 


IN    MEMURIAM.  \XV. 

profits  of  JaboLir  to  the  workman  !  AVheii  will  that  bo  ?  Echo 
answers,  when  1  But  if  we  may  hazard  a  guess  we  shall  not 
be  far  wrong,  I  think,  in  saying  that  the  considerations  and 
discussions  continued  in  "  Labour  and  Gold,"  if  widely  spread 
abroad,  will  not  fail  to  hasten  the  day.  Mr.  Barxes,  again,  speaking 
on  the  effects  of  the  monopoly  of  great  capitals,  (p.  70),  admits  that 
"  one  man  may  leave  a  million  to  his  wife,  earned  out  of  his 
capital  by  his  workmen,  but  then  fewer  men  out  of  every  hundred 
in  his  trade  can  leave  their  children  a  hundred  pounds."  Who 
cannot  feel  that  the  loss  of  the  hundred  pounds  to  each  of  the  many 
is  ill  compensated  for  by  the  gain  of  a  million  to  one  person  ? 
Everywhere  throughout  this  little  book  the  relations  of  capital 
and  labour  are  discussed  thus  earnestly  and  temperately.  If  space 
allowed  we  might  show  how  fair  he  is  towards  capital  rightly 
employed,  and  how  dear  to  his  heart  were  the  interests  and  well 
being  of  the  working  man,  especially  in  those  chapters  on  "  the 
measure  and  quantity  of  labour,"  on  "  overwork,"  on  the 
"  reaction  of  labour,"  and  of  "  inaction  ;"  as  well  as  on  the 
"  dignity  and  disdain  of  work,"  on  "  machinery,"  and  "  con- 
gregated labour."  But  what  I  consider  the  essential  point  in  this 
work  is  the  insistence  upon  a  higher  law  than  the  law  of  the  land, 
and  the  market  price  as  a  factor  in  the  relations  of  labour  and 
capital — '•  the  law  of  Christian  Kindness."  I  have  gone  thus 
much  into  this  work  of  Mr.  Barxes',  not  only  because  of  the  great 
and  pressing  present  importance  of  the  subject,  but,  principally, 
here,  to  show  that  Mr.  Barnes  was  not  merely  a  poet,  not  simply  a 
singer  of  pretty  melodious  songs,  but  a  true,  a  large  hearted,  and  a 
uist  philanthropist  ;  and  I  venture  to  think  that  Mr.  Barxes'  fame 
will  not  in  the  future  simply  rest  upon  his  Dorset  Dialect  poems, 
exquisite  as  they  undoubtedly  are. 

It  is  time,  though,  that  some  mention  should  be  made  here  of 
Mr.  Barxes  in  connection  with  the  Dorset  Natural  History  and 
Antiquarian  Field  Club.  As  we  might  have  supposed,  Mr.  Barxes 
was  always  forward  to  support  anything  connected  with  the 
interests  of  natural  history  and  natural  science.      Every   morning 


XXvi.  IN    MEMORIAM. 

during  his  scholastic  life  before  the  regular  school  work  began  he 
gave  his  scholars  a  short  lecture  on  some  natural  history  or  scientific 
subject.  Each  scholar  had  to  take  down  in  writing  a  proposition, 
generally  embracing  one  point  only,  on  which  the  lecture  was 
based.  Notes  were  to  be  taken  upon  the  lecture,  which  was 
always  illustrated  by  objects  or  experiments,  and  an  examination 
npon  it  was  subsequently  made.  I  have  still  in  my  possession  the 
MS.  notes  of  these  lectures  during  the  \\hole  of  the  two  years  that 
I  was  a  pupil  of  Mr.  Barnes'.  He  was  among  the  founders  of  the 
County  Museum,  and  stood  firmly  by  it  through  evil  and  goodreport 
until  it  bloomed  into  its  present  fair  and  prosperous  form;  and  at  once 
on  its  inauguration  in  1875  became  a  member  of  the  Field  Club, 
frequently  attending  the  Field  Meetings,  even  down  to  a  very 
recent  period,  and,  whenever  called  upon  to  do  so,  always  con- 
tributed his  quota  to  the  proceedings  of  the  day  in  his  habitually 
retiring,  but  simple,  clear,  and  concise  way.  These  contributions 
were  usually  of  an  Antiquarian  kind,  as  are  all  those  contributed 
in  writing  to  the  Field  Club's  published  proceedings.  I  have 
given  these  contributions  in  a  separate  list  at  the  end  of  the 
general  list  of  his  works  ;  they  are  14  in  number  and  are  mostly 
concerned  with  topics  at  the  moment  before  the  club.  The  last 
paper  contributed  to  our  Proceedings  was  in  September,  1885,  on 
"  Pilsdon,"  and  is  published  in  vol.  vii.,  p.  102.  Mr.  Barnes  was 
then  in  too  feeble  a  state  to  attend  outdoor  meetings,  and  I 
myself  had  the  pleasure  of  reading  (in  his  absence)  his  last  words 
to  us  ;  and  the  very  last  words  (with  which  the  paper  concludes) 
suggest  to  us  a  bit  of  practical  work,  which,  I  hope,  some  one 
among  us  may  one  day  carry  out.  He  was  speaking  of  the 
curious  parallelogram  on  the  area  of  the  Great  Earthwork  at 
Pilsdon,  and,  after  hazarding  a  guess  on  the  subject,  concludes 
with  these  words — "I  wonder  what  is  under  its  turfl"  and  I 
will  now  add  "  AVill  not  some  one  institute  a  search  and  let  us 
know  r 

And  now,  ill  done  indeed  I  fear,  but  yet,  so  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  do  it,  my  task  is  done.     I    should   have   liked    to    dwell 


IN    MEMOHIAM.  XXVll. 

longer    on    many    points    of  Mr.    Barnes'   life  and  character,  and 

l^articularly  on  some  others  of  his  published  works.       I  feel  little 

doubt  but  that   if  the   real   value   of  his  philological    work   were 

thoroughly    gone    into    he  would    be   found    to  have   been   well 

abreast    of   the  greatest    contemporary    masters    of  philological 

science,  but  I  must  leave  that  to  other  hands.     To  say  that  we 

of  the  Field  Club  most  deeply  lament  our  old  friend  is  onl}^  to 

repeat  what  all  the  world  has  said  since  his  death  ;  to  say  that 

we  shall  never  see  his  like  again  would  be  to  prophesy  when   we 

do  not  know,    a  proceeding  proverbially  unwise ;  but  I  do  think 

that  it  may  well  be  the  ambition  of  us  all,  wdien  our  time  shall 

come,  to  have  lived  as  Mr.  Barnes   lived  and  to  have  died  as  he 

died. 

0.  P.  CAMBPvIDGE. 

May  10th,  1887. 


A      CHRONOLOGICAL      LIST 

OF   THE   PUBLISHED 

WORKS   OF    THE    REV.    WILLIAM    BARNES^    B.D. 


1S22    Orra  :  A  Lapland  Tale.     A  short  poem,  published  by  Clarke,  Dorchester. 
8vo.,  p.p.  28,  with  four  woodcuts  engraved  by  the  Author, 
Other  Short  Poems,  also  published  in  this  year. 

1827    Some  Little  Essays  and  other  papers,   signed   "Dilettante,"  in  Dorset 
CoiDity  Chro/iide  from  1827,  cir.  to  1835. 
Some  Sonnets  and  other  Poems,  some  of  which  were  printed  in  a  book  in 

1846. 
Translations  in  Verse  from  the  Italian  of  Metastasio. 

1829  The  Etymological  Glossary  ;  or  Easy  Exposition  for  the  use  of  Schools 
and  Non-Latinists,  wherein  the  greater  part  of  the  English  w^ords  of 
foreign  derivation  are  so  arranged  that  the  learner  is  enabled  to  acquire 
the  meaning  at  once.  By  William  Barnes,  Master  of  the  Boarding 
School  at  Mere,  in  Wiltshire,  Teacher  of  Perspective  and  Drawing,  and  of 
the  Latin,  French,  Italian,  and  German  languages.  Shaftesbury  :  T. 
Rutter.     London  :  Whittaker,  Teacher,  and  Arnot. 


XXVUl.  IN    MEMORIAM. 

1631     Pu/ters  tie  Gtiitkmmts  Magazine — 

Ox  English  Derivations. 

Ox  THE  Structure  of  Dictionaries. 

On  Pronunciation  of  Latin. 

Hieroglyphics. 
1832     Papers  in  Hones  Year  Booh— 

Dorsetshire  Customs,  p.  1172. 

Single  Stick  and  Cudgels,  p.  1525. 

Lent  Crocking,  p,  1599. 
la  Gentleman  s  Magazine — 

Identity  of  National  Manners  and  Language. 

Mere  Church,  with  woodcuts. 

Songs  of  the  Ancient  Britons. 

Analogy  of  Greek  and  other  Languages. 

Origin  of  Language. 

Thornhill  Obelisk,  with  a  woodcut. 

Origin  of  Language. 

English  Compounds. 
1S33     In  Gentleman's  Magazine — 

Xapper's  Mite,  Dorchester,  with  a  woodcut. 

Silton  Church,  with  woodcut. 

Supplement  to  vol.  ciii.  pt. 

Sturminster  Newton  Church. 

The  English  Language. 

Nailsea  Church,  Somerset. 

Chelvey,  Somerset. 
A  Catechism  of  Government  in  general  and  of  England  in  particular. 

Shaftesbury,  1833. 
The   Mnemonical   Manual,   founded   on   a  new   and  simple   system   of 

Mnemonics.     Recommended  to   the  notice    of  teachers  and   readers   of 

history,  &c. ,  &c. 
1831    A  Few  Words  on  the  Advantages  of  a  More  CoMxMON  Adoption  of 

the  Mathematics  as  a  Branch  of  Education  or  Subject  of  Study. 

London  :  Whittaker.  20vo.,  and  various  Local  Publishers,  1834. 
Poems  of  Rural  Life  in  Dorset  Dialect,  begun  in  this  year,  published  in 

Dorset  Count)/  Chronicle. 
A  Dorset  Idyl,  written  in  a  sick  room  coming  on   to  convalescence — 

"  When  I  was  up-halening  from  a  sickness — an  ailing  of  the  liver." 
"On  the  Cross  at  St.  (?)."     A  paper  in  Gentlemarts  Magazine. 

1835    A    Mathematical    Invkstigation   of   the    principle   of  Hanging  Doors, 

Gates,  Swing  Bridges,  and  other  heavy  bodies  swinging  on  vertical  axes. 

Dorchester  :  Simonds  and  Sydenham,  1835. 
1835     In  GtidlemaiCs  Magazine — 

PuNCK  Knowle  House,  with  a  woodcut. 


1838- 


IN    MEMORIAM.  XXIX. 

1837    OxV  Roman  Minerals,  p.  573. 
On  .-Esop. 
Some  Etymologies. 

1840  Another  Letter  to  Gentleman's  Magazine  on  the  distinction  between 
YlR  and  Homo.  According  to  the  general  rule  of  the  ' '  Elegantite 
Latinse "  ViR  is  equivalent  to  a  man,  when  noticed  for  jd raise  or 
excellence  ;  never  when  blame  is  expressed.  Homo  is  used  indis- 
criminately. What  Mr.  Barnes  thought  was  that  ViR  is  equivalent  to 
man,  as  distinguished  from  a  woman,  as  of  the  female  sex  ;  Homo  i 
equivalent  to  a  human  being,  in  distinction  from  one  of  a  different  order, 
whether  higher  or  lower  ;  ViR  is  equivalent  to  the  German  Mann, 
Homo  is  equivalent  to  German  Mensch.  He  quotes  from  Ovid, 
Metamorph,  Sallust,  Horace,  Terence,  ^c,  in  proof  of  his  idea. 

1839  111  GeiUlematis  Alagazine — 

On  the  so-called  Kimmeridge  Coal  Money. 
Battle  of  Penn. 

The  Roman  Amphitheatre  at  Dorchester. 
The  Hindoo  Shasters. 
Phoenicians. 

Hindoo  Pooran  and  Sciences. 
In  Gentleman's  Magazine — 

1840  Hindoo  Faqueers. 

Dorset  Dialect  compared  with  Anglo-Saxon. 
The  Old  Judge's  House,  Dorchester,  with  a  woodcut. 
Laws  of  Case.     An  investigation   of   the  Laws   of  Case  in   Language 
Published  1840.     Longman  and  Co.  and  Whittaker  and  Co  ,  London. 

1841  Education  on  Words  and  Things. 

Fielding's  House  at  Stower,  with  a  woodcut. 

Goths  and  Teutons. 
An  Arithmetical  and  Commercial  Dictionary.     Pubhshed  by  (?) 
Hints  on  Teaching,  in  the  Educational  Magazine,  pp.  160,  March  1841. 
Pronouncing  Dictionary  of  Geographical  Names,  pp.  249.    Published  by  (?) 

1842  The  Elements  of  English  Grammar.     London :  W^hittaker  and  Co. 
The  Elements    of  Linear  Perspective  and  the  Projection  of  Shadows, 

16  woodcut  diagrams,  by  author.     Published  by  Longman  and  Co.  and 
Hamilton  and  Adams. 

Numerous  Reviews  of  all  kinds  of  books  in  Gentleman's  Magazine  from 
1841  to  1849  (inclusive.) 
1844    Six  Sacred  Songs  "Sabbath  Lays."    Poetry  by  W.  Barnes,  music  com- 
posed by  F.  W.  Smith,  Dorchester.     Price  to  Subscribers,  5s.  ;  to  Non- 
subscribers,  6s.     London  :  Chappell,  New  Bond-street,  London. 

Exercises  in  Practical  Science,  containing  the  Main  Principles  of 
Dynamics,  Statics,  Hydro-Statics  and  Hydrodynamics,  with  14  diagrams 
in  wood,  by  author,  pp.  65  for  my  pupils.      Pub.  Dorchester,  Clark, 


XXX.  IN    MEMORIAM. 

Dorset  Poems  (collected  from  Dorset  Couiiirj  Chronicle)  with  a  dissertation 
on   the  Folk  Speech,   and  a  glossary  of  Dorset  words.     Published   by- 
George  Simonds,  Dorchester. 

1546  Poems  partly  of  Rural   Life   (in  national  English).      London :    J.   R. 

Smith.     Containing  ' '  Some  of  my   Earlier   Bits   of  verse   Sonnets  and 
others,  with  some  later  ones  in  Common  English. 

1547  "Poems  of  Rural  Life  in  Dorset  Dialect."     2>'d  Edition.     J.    R. 

Smith.  London. 
Outlines  of  Geography  and  Ethnography  for  Youth,  pp.  242.     Bar- 
clay, Dorchester. 

1857     A  new  edition,  applied  for  by  H.  C.   Harris  ;  published  21, 
Great  Alie-street,  Goodmansfields,  and  afterwards  brought 
out. 
1849     Se  Gefylsta  (the  Helper)  an  Anglo-Saxon  Delectus.    J.  R.  Smith,  London. 
(Another  edition  since. ) 
HUMILIS    DoMUS.       Some    thoughts    on    the   Abodes,    Life,    and    Social 
Condition  of  the   Poor,    especially   in   Dorsetshire.     (Printed  from  the 
Poole  Herald). 

1853  and  1854     Papers  in    ''The  Retrosprctivi  Revieic."     London:    J.    R.  Smith. 

Vols.  I.  and  11. 
Population  and  Emigration  at  the  beginning  of  the  17th  Century. 

Art.  4. 
Anecdota  Liter  aria.     Extracts  from  the  Diary  of  John  Richards,  Esq., 

pp.  97,  201. 
Pyrrhonism  of  Joseph  Glanvillb. 
English  Music  and  Madrigals.     Vol.    II.,    Art.    4.     The  Antiquary. 

Art.  6,  No.  6.     Lelantd,  February,  1854. 
Astrology,  Xo.  7,  Art.  5. 
Controversial  Writers  on   Waterhouse  and    Fox,    on  the    Utility   of 

Learning  in  the  Church.     No.  8,  Art.  3.     Aug.  1854. 

1854  A  Philological  Grammar,  8vo.,  pp.  312.     J,  R.  Smith,  London. 

1859     Hwomely  Rhymes,  a  second  collection  of  Dorset  Poems.      J.  R.  Smith, 
London. 
Britain  and  the  Ancient  Britons,  pp.  167.     J.  R.  Smith,  London. 
1859    Views  of  Labour  and  Gold,  pp.  190.     J.  R.  Smith,  London. 

The   Song    of    Solomon,   in    the    Dorset    Dialect    (for    "  Prince    Louis 
Buonaparte). 

1861  In  Macmillans  Magazine  (May,  1861) — 
On  The  Beautiful  in  Nature  and  Art. 

1862  Dorset  Poems,   3rd  Edition  of  1st   Coll  ,   being  in  fact   the  4th  Edition: 

John  Russell  Smith,  London. 
Tiu,  or  a  View  of  the  Roots,   and  stems  of  the  English  as  a  Teutonic 
Tong\ie,  p.p.,  324.     J.  R.  Smith. 


IN    MEMORIAM.  XXXI. 

Macmillan's  Magazine — 

On  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  Trial  by  Jury  in  Britain,  March  1S62. 
1863    The  "  Uariora  "  of  Old  Poetry.     May  1863. 

Eraser's  Magazine — 

On  the  Credibility  of  Old  Song,  History  and  Tradition,  Sept.  1863. 

On  Patmore's  Poetry,  July  1863. 

Poems  in  the  Dorset  Dialect.  3rd  collection,  with  frontispiece  and 
vignette.     4s.  6d.     1st  ed.,  J.  R.  Smith,  London. 

Dorset  Poems.    •2nd  edition  of  2nd  collection.     J.  R.  Smith,  London. 

Grammar  and  Glossary  of  the  Dorset  Dialect,  with  the  history, 
outspreading  and  bearing  of  the  South-western  English.  Published  for 
the  Philological  Society,  by  A.  Asher  and  Co  ,  Berlin — 8vo.,  p.p.  103. 

1)1  the  Reader— 

1863  A  Review  of  Dean  Hoare  on  English  Roots  and  Exotics. 
In  the  Ladies'  Treasury — 

"  On  Christian  Marriage." 

1864  In  the  Reader— 

Review  of  Cooke's  "Neglected  Fact,"  in  English  History. 

1865  A  Guide  to  Dorchester,     PubUshed  by  Barclay. 

1864  and  1865  Versions  of  the  Psalms  in  English  measures  (unrhymed),  formed 

upon  those  of  the  Hebrew,  with  some  original  and  other  notes — printed 
in  the  Dorset  Coanty  Chronicle.  (This  appears  to  have  been  afterwards 
published  in  a  vol.  by  some  Liverpool  publishers  O.P.C.) 

1866  In  Eraser  s  Magazine — 

On  The  Welsh  Triads,  Oct.  1866. 

1865  "On  Dorset."    Read  before  the   Archaeological  Society  at   Dorchester. 

Printed  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society. 

1867  In  the  Ladies'  Treasury — 
The  Hoax. 

1866  Dorset  Poems       A  4th  Edition  of  1st  coll.— in  fact  the  5th  edition. 

John  Russell  Smith,  London. 
In  Macmillans  Magazine — 
On  Plagiarism. 
In  Ladies'  Treasury — 
On  Prinking  or  Bodily  Ornament. 
A  Glossary,  with  some  pieces  of  verse  of  the  old  dialect  of  the  English 

Colony  in  the    Baronies  of  Forth   and    Bargy,    Co.   Wexford,    Ireland, 

formerly  collected  by   Jacob  Poole,   of  Growton.      Edited  by  Rev.   W. 

Barnes.    J.  R   Smith,  Lond. 
In  Macmillan's  Magazine — 

1867  On  Bardic  Poetry. 

Some  bits  of  Writing  in  the  HAWK— a  monthly  hover  from  the  Vale  of 
Avon.     Published  by  W.  Wheaton,  Ringwood. 


XXxii.  IN    MEMORIAM. 

The  Church  in  Ireland.     Logical   anomalies  of   the  disendowment  of. 

Dorset  County  Chromde. 
The  Rating  of  Tithes.    Ditto. 

1868  Poems  of  Rural  Life,  in  common  English,  pp.  200.     Macmillan  and  Co. 

1869  Early  England  and  the  Saxon  English,  with  some  notes  on  the  Father- 

stock  of  the  Saxon  English — the  Frisians.     J.  R.  Smith. 

1870  Dorset  Poems  2nd  Edition  of  3rd  coll.     J.  R  Smith. 

'•  On  Somerset,"  read  before  the  Somerset  Archaeological  Society,  at  Win- 
canton  . 
1869    A   Paper  for  the   Government   Commission  on    the   EmplojTnent    of 
children,  young  persons,  and  women  in  agriculture.     Printed  in  the  Blue 
Book.     Appendix  :  Part  II  ,  to  Second  Report,  p.  12. 

1871  On  the  Origin  of  the  Hundred  and  Tithing  of  English  Law.     Read 

before   the   Archaeological   Association  at   Weymouth.      Printed  in  the 
Transactions. 

1878  An  Outline  of  English  Spbechcraft.     Kegan  Paul  and  Co. 

1879  Poems  of  Rural  Life  (in  the   Dorset  dialect.)    8vo  ,  pp.,  467:  Kegan 

Paul  and  Co.     (This  is  a  complete  collection  of  all  the  Dorset  dialect 
poems.) 

1880  An  Outline  of  Redecraft  (logic)  in  English  Wording.      8vo.   pp.  56. 

Kegan  Paul  and  Co. 
Ill  Leisure  Hour  (a  series).     Dorset  Folk  and  Dorset,   with  illustrations. 
188(?)  A  Glossary  of  Dorset  and  West  English  words  as  kindred  stems  from 
their  main  roots.     Published  by  (?) 


PAPERS    PUBLISHED     IN     THE     PROCEEDINGS      OF     THE     DORSET 
NATURAL    HISTORY    AND    ANTIQUARIAN    FIELD    CLUB,    FROM 

1875  TO  1886. 

Vol.  I.— A  British  Earthwork,  p   94. 
Vol.  Ill  — Notes  on  the  History  of  Shaftesbury,  p.  27. 

The  Tout  Hill,  Shaftesbury,  p.  48. 
Vol.  IV. — On  the  Iter  xvi.,  of  Antoninus,  p.  62. 

,,  Addendum  to  Notes  on  the  Histor}^  of  Shaftcshur}-,  p.  77. 

.,  Cranborne,  the  so  called  Castle,  p.  134. 

,,  On  the  Maze  or  Mismaze  at  Leigh,  p.  154. 

Vol.  V. — Some  Slight  Notes  on  Badbury  Rings,  p.  38. 
,,  Eggardon  and  British  Tribeship,  p.  40. 

„  A  Study  0.1  the  Bockley,  or  Bockerly,   Dyke,   and  others,  in  Dorset, 

p   49. 
Notes  on  the  so-called  Roman  Roads,  p.  69, 
Vol.  VI. — A  Study  on  the  Invasion  of  the  South- West  of  Britain,  by  Ve.spa.sian, 
p.  18. 
,,  A  Study  on  the  Belga:;  in  South  Britain,  p.  33. 


IN    MEMORIAM.  XXAlll. 

Vol.  VII.— Pilsdon,  p.  102. 

Several  songs  have  been  composed  by  various  composers  to  words  written  by 
Mr.  Barnes.     Among  these  are  : — 

"There's  a  Chakm  in  the  Bloom  of  Youth."     Music  by  F.  W.  Smith. 
"  The  Mother'.s  Dream."     Music  by  Sir  A.  Sullivan. 
"The  Bells  of  Alderburnham."     Music  by  Dolores. 
"John  Bleake  of  Blackmoor."    Music  by  F.  W.  Smith, 


MSS.  NOT  PRINTED. 

A  Second  Set  of  Poems  in  Common  English. 

Hymns  on  Church  openings,  Harvest  Thanksgivings,  Baptism,  Marriage, 
Choir  Meeting,  School. 

Word  Building  in  English. 

A  Word  List  of  EngUsh  Words,  which  have  heretofore  holden,  or  would  do, 
instead  of  others  that  have  been  intaken  from  other  tongues, 

A  Latin  Word-book  of  Words  ranked  under  their  Roots  or  main  Stem-words, 

On  Angria  the  Pirate,  and  the  Indian  Wars  of  his  time.  (A  paper  meant  for 
the  Retrospective  Heviev:.) 

Utilitarianism.     An  answer  to  Utilitarianism,  by  John  Mill. 

A  Version  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  handled  as  poetry,  with  some  out-clearing 
notes  from  Eastern  poetry,  and  other  sources 

Studies  in  poetrj^  of  less  known  schools. 

Notes  on  Persian  Word  Stems. 

Notes  on  the  Song  of  Deborah  and  Barak. 

Alphabetical  and  Etymological  Dictionary  of  the  common  names  of  animals 
(not  polished.) 

Echoes  from  Zion — a  free  version  of  as  many  of  the  Psalms. 

King  Ai'thur  and  Welsh  poetry,  of  and  since  his  time 

Notes  on  the  God-ha-dum,  a  Redeemer  of  blood  under  the  Law. 

Latin  Word-building  in  the  noun  and  verb  endings. 

A  Word  List  of  Grammar  terms,  out-cleared  by  wording,  and  English  words  in 
their  stead. 

Essay  on  the  Maintenance  of  the  Church  of  England  as  an  Established  Church . 

Palraam  non  meruit. 

(This  is  the  author's  simple  endorsement  on  the  rejected  essay,  which  was  written  hi 
competition  for  the  Peeke  prizes  in  1872,  but  failed  to  win.) 

Dorset  Dialogues. 

Preaching.  - 

Liturgy, 

Hymn  for  a  Harvest  Thanksgiving, 


^hc  fJrorccMng$  of  the  ^ov^ct  ilatural  Dietonji 
iinb  Jlntiquariau  Jficli)  Club  baring  1S80. 


By  M.  a.  STUART,  M.A.,  P.G.S. 


The  year  1S8G  has  been  a  successful  one  on  the  whole.  Four  summer 
meetings  have  been  held,  for  which  favourable  weather  was  fortunately 
secured,  resulting  in  a  high  average  of  attendance.  The  elections,  which 
took  place  at  the  latter  pai't  of  June,  interfered  with  the  meeting  for  that 
month,  and  it  was  obliged  to  be  abandoned.  The  number  of  subscribers 
to  the  .Society  is  gradually  on  the  increase  ;  in  fact,  the  names  on  the  books 
never  before  stood  so  high.  Following  the  precedent  of  last  year,  a 
winter  meeting  was  held  in  February  at  the  County  Museum,  Dorchester, 
which  was  well  attended.  Upwards  of  20  papers  have  been  read  before 
the  Society  during  the  year,  and  several  remain  in  the  secretary's  hands 
waiting  an  opportunity  for  introduction.  Thus  there  seems  no  indication 
of  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Club  diminishing,  or  of  any  lack  of  workers. 
During  the  year  the  Club  has  been  enrolled  on  the  list  of  Corresponding 
Societies  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  which 
gives  the  right  of  representation  by  a  delegate  at  their  annual  meeting. 
By  this  means  the  publications  of  the  Field  Club  are  brought  more 
prominently  before  the  notice  of  the  scientific  world  by  their  being  entered 
on  the  classified  report  of  the  Corresponding  Societies.  On  the  other 
hand  a  copy  of  the  annual  volume  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  British 
Association  is  presented  free  of  charge  to  the  Dorset  Field  Club. 


The  First  Meeting  for  the  year  was  held  at  Dorchester  on  Wednesday, 
June  9th,  in  the  County  Museum.  It  was  attended  by  about  30  members, 
and  was,  as  is  usually  the  case,  princijially  devoted  to  matters  of  business. 
The  Treasurer,  the  Rev.  0.  P.  Cambridge,  made  his  annual  report.  He 
said  the  financial  affairs  of  the  Club  were  in  a  satisfactory  condition. 
After  paying  all  debts  there  was  an  actual  balance  in  hand  of  £4  7s.  Od., 
exclusive  of  the  subscription  for  1886,  and  of  arrears  yet  to  come  in.  Their 
prospective  income  for  the  year  was  £122  17s.  Gd.  The  number  of 
members  was  175,  as  against  169  at  that  time  last  year. 

The  President,  Treasurer,  and  Secretary  were  respectively  elected  for 
office  during  the  coming  year. 


XXXV. 

The  President,  in  acknowledging  the  vote,  remarked  that  every  year  he 
received  letters  of  commendation  on  the  work  of  the  Club  and  the  value 
of  its  j)ublications  from  eminent  scientific  men.  He  then  referred  to  two 
points  of  interest  which  had  lately  been  brought  before  the  Royal  Society  ; 
one,  that  in  the  slow  worm  a  third  and  rudimentary  eye  had  been 
discovered  in  the  forehead,  covered  by  the  skin,  which  was  not  of  use  to 
the  animal.  The  second  point  was  that  of  the  fossil  elephant  lately 
discovered  at  Stalbridge.  The  remains  indicated  certain  peculiarities  of 
structure,  to  which  he  hoped  to  do  fuller  justice  on  some  future  occasion. 

A  ballot  was  taken  for  the  most  suitable  sites  for  holding  the  meetings 
during  the  summer,  and  it  was  eventually  decided  to  meet  at  Chard  in 
June,  Corfe  Castle  in  July,  Cranborne  in  August,  and  Abbotsbury  in 
September.     Seven  new  members  were  elected. 

The  Secretary  read  a  paper  on  the  question  of  re-organising  the  Club. 
He  showed  that  the  Field  Club  had  been  in  active  existence  for  a  period  of 
ten  years,  and  during  that  time  most  of  the  leading  features  of  the  county 
had  been  investigated,  and  that  in  the  future  some  new  lines  of  research 
would  have  to  be  discovered,  or  there  would  be  a  danger  of  a  decline  in 
the  interest  shown  in  their  Proceedings.  New  Societies  wei-e  springing  up 
around,  which  were  liable  to  draw  off  workers  and  to  reduce  their 
efficiency.  A  dangerous  proposal  had  lately  been  suggested  of  forming  a 
separate  Archaeological  Society,  which  should  attach  itself  to  the  older 
Society  of  the  county  of  Somerset.  To  counteract  these  dangerous 
tendencies  it  was  proposed  to  endeavour  to  obtain  the  enrolment  of  the 
Field  Club  on  the  List  of  Corresponding  Societies  of  the  British  Association, 
and  to  place  the  Antiquarian  section  of  the  Field  Club  under  a  separate 
sub-committee,  who  should  organise  the  meetings  more  thoroughly  on 
behalf  of  the  members.  A  long  discussion  ensued,  which,  if  it  produced 
no  other  result,  evinced  the  wish  of  the  members  that  no  split  in 
the  existing  Society  should  occur,  but  that  the  two  bodies  should  remain 
united  in  one  Field  Club  as  hitherto. 

Mr.  H.  J.  Moule,  the  Curator  of  the  County  Museum,  read  a  report  of 
the  additions  to  the  collection  and  the  work  of  re-arrangement  carried  out 
in  the  building  during  the  past  twelve  months.  The  chief  object  kept  in 
view  had  been  that  of  keeping  together  and  arranging  the  collections 
belonging  to  Dorsetshire  entirely.  These  had  been  placed  in  the  five  north 
bays  of  the  building.  Much  valuable  help  and  advice  had  been  rendered 
by  General  Pitt  Rivers  and  Mr.  Mansel  Pleydell  in  this  matter.  In  the 
Palaeontological  collection  the  Purbeck  formation  was  particularly  well 
represented,  especially  in  the  turtle  and  fish  remains.  Attention  was 
directed  to  the  Maggs  collection  of  Nautili  and  Ammonites  from  the  Inferior 


XXXVl. 

Oolite  of  Sherborne  ;  also  a  specimen  of  Icthyosaurus  tcnuirostris,  lately 
bought.  In  the  antiquarian  department  Mr.  E,  Cunnington  had  added  to 
his  already  fine  collection  two  groups  found  in  a  secondary  and  tertiary 
interment  in  a  barrow  on  Ridgeway  Hill.  Other  presentations  or  loans 
had  been  made  by  Mr.  Hogg,  Mr.  Pearce  Edgcumbe,  Mr.  Montague  Guest, 
and  others.  Mr.  Udal  had  presented  a  carefully  arranged  collection  of 
48  Dorset  tokens.  The  Rev.  Nigel  Gresley  had  lent  a  most  interesting  and 
beautifully  decorated  Queen  Elizabeth's  virginal.  Attention  was  finally 
called  to  the  ignorance  displayed  by  workmen  and  labourers  in  destroying 
many  valuable  relics  of  antiquity  through  carelessness. 

Mr.  Cunnington  read  a  paper  entitled  "  Recovered  Dorset  History," 
giving  an  outline  of  the  changes  in  the  physical  features  and  climate  which 
have  modified  the  character  of  the  county  from  Liassic  times,  but  specially 
dealing  with  Paleolithic  and  Neolithic  man.  The  author  stated  that  he 
obtained  the  earliest  specimens  of  the  works  of  man  from  the  Broom 
ballast  pit  near  Chardstock,  represented  by  the  stone  hatchet  and  spear 
heads  now  in  a  case  in  the  Museum.  Similar  specimens  had  been  found  in 
the  banks  of  the  River  Stour,  near  Blandford,  resembling  those  found  by 
Professor  Prestwich  near  Amiens.  The  changes  in  the  physical  features  of 
the  neighbourhood  were  touched  upon.  The  fissure  in  the  chalk 
escarpment,  upwards  of  100  feet  in  depth,  had  been  occupied  by  the  river, 
which  commenced  forming  its  great  deposit.  The  Celtic  earthworks  of  the 
county  differed  in  character  according  to  their  date  of  construction  ;  the 
earliest,  M'hich  were  cone-shaped,  were  easily  appropriated,  and  might  be 
afterwards  strengthened  by  Valiums  and  ditches.  Such  were  Milborne, 
Badbury  Rings,  Dogbury  Camp,  near  Minterne,  Shipton  Beacon,  and  one 
in  Frampton  Park.  A  late  Celtic  camp  is  represented  by  Poundbury. 
Camps  of  the  Roman  period  generally  occupied  commanding  jjositions, 
apparently  along  a  northern  line  of  march.  The  author  dissented  from  the 
opinion  that  Roman  camps  were  always  square,  but  were  suited  to  the 
position  and  shape  of  the  ground  they  occupied.  There  was  good  reason 
to  believe  the  Romans  landed  at  Preston,  near  Weymouth.  There  are 
still  the  remains  of  a  pile  landing  stage  ;  they  encamped  on  Jordan  Hill, 
and,  having  conquered  the  tribes  in  the  neighbourhood,  advanced  to  Maiden 
Castle,  where  immense  labour  was  expended  in  fortifying  the  position, 
the  occupancy  having  lasted  for  300  years,  as  shown  by  the  coins 
discovered  there.  Thence  they  extended  to  Aggerdon,  \yoodbury  Hill 
probably,  and  Dungeon,  Hamilton,  Hod  Hill,  and  Cadbury  Castle. 

The  Treasurer  (the  Rev.  0.  P.  Cambridge)  read  a  paper  giving  an 
account  of  the  effects  of  a  flash  of  lightning  on  some  trees  in  his  own 
parish  of  Blox worth,  which  occurred  at  three    p.m.  on  the  9th  of  April 


previously,  illustrated  by  drawings  of  the  trees,  and  a  ground  plan  showing 
their  position.     This  paper  will  be  found  given  in  full  in  this  volume. 

This  brought  the  day's  programme  to  a  conclusion,  and  the  proceedings 
terminated. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  season  was  arranged  to  take  place  at  Chard  on 
"Wednesday,  July  7th.  The  elections,  however,  which  were  taking  place 
at  that  time  interfered,  and  the  programme  for  the  day  had  to  be  abandoned. 


The  Second  Meeting  was  held  at  Corfe  Castle  on  Wednesday,  July  28th, 
and  a  warm  and  clear  day  was  fortunately  obtained.  There  were  a  large 
number  of  members  and  friends  present,  including  the  President,  Treasurer, 
and  Secretary.  The  first  point  visited  was  that  of  the  Blashenwell  deposit 
of  Post  Tertiary  age,  which  lies  at  the  distance  of  about  a  mile  from  the 
village,  and  which  formed  the  subject  of  a  paper  by  the  President  (see 
Proceedings  vol.  vii.,  p.  109).  On  reaching  the  site  of  the  bed,  much  of 
which  has  been  removed  for  the  purpose  of  marling  the  adjoining  land,  a 
description  of  the  physical  geology  of  the  district  was  given  by  the 
President.  He  said  :  W^e  are  standing  near  the  two  great  fluvio-marine 
deposits  of  the  Purbeck  and  the  W^eald.  Towards  the  close  of  the 
preceding  Portland  era  there  had  been  a  steady  increase  of  land,  enclosing 
one  or  more  centres  of  depression,  which  became  inland  seas,  or  shallow 
lakes  ;  with  the  close  of  the  Wealden  epoch  the  gain  was  once  more  on  the 
side  of  the  ocean.  The  Purbeck  strata  show  a  small  amount  of  river 
action  ;  its  insect  and  mammalian  remains  were  probably  derived  from  the 
adjacent  shores,  and  not  from  any  great  distance,  as  was  the  case  during 
the  Wealden  period,  when  river  action  was  more  powerful.  Although 
there  is  no  intermingling  of  fresh  water  with  marine  genera  in  the  same 
stratum,  there  are  evidences  of  more  than  one  sudden  change  from  fresh 
water  to  marine,  and  a  return  to  fresh  water  again  through  various  stages, 
Suggesting  the  supposition  of  the  sudden  intrusion  of  the  sea  and  its 
gradual  subsidence  ;  this  accords  with  the  idea  of  its  intrusion  into  a  lake, 
and  is  not  due  to  tidal  action.  The  water  was  probably  shallow  and 
brackish,  then  not  under  the  influences  of  the  river  which  flowed  through 
it.  The  carrying  power  of  the  river  appears  to  have  been  greater  westward, 
for  at  Warbarrow  and  Lul worth  the  grits  are  coarser,  and  composed  of 
more  bulky  materials  than  those  at  Swanage.  During  the  latter  portion  of 
the  Wealden  period  there  seems  to  have  been  a  continuous  depression, 
which  increased  the  depth  of  the  lake,  and  consequently  diminished  the 
river  action.  The  change  of  the  Weald  to  the  succeeding  period  was 
exceedingly  abrupt  ;  this  is  well  shown  at  Atherfield,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight, 


where  the  passage  beds  rest  upon  a  bed  of  gravel  containing  fragments  of 
fish  bones,  whicli  were  destroyed  by  the  introduction  of  the  sea.  The 
Punfield  beds,  which  represent  this  period,  are  ably  described  by  our 
Secretary,  Mr.  Morton  Stuart,  in  a  paper  which  was  read  before  the 
Society  last  Christmas,  and  forms  a  part  of  the  new  volume  of  our 
Proceedings,  which  has  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  members  to-day. 
I  need  not  say  more  on  these  two  fiuvio-lacustrine  beds,  and  will  at  once 
discuss  the  Blashenwell  deposit,  which  probably  dates  back  as  early  as  the 
Neolithic  age  ;  it  reposes  on  the  soutliern  edges  of  the  Weald,  whose  clay 
beds  supported  the  waters  of  a  small  lake,  into  which  they  flowed  from  a 
spring  originating  in  a  fault  at  the  junction  of  the  Weald  with  the  Purbecks, 
depositing  the  lime  with  which  it  was  charged  as  it  passed  through.  In  the 
course  of  time  the  lake  became  silted  up,  and  the  little  stream  by  a  change 
of  course  reached  the  valley  by  its  present  channel.  The  tufa  contains  a 
remarkable  variety  of  land,  fresh^-ater,  and  marine  shells  ;  the  two  former 
comprise  genera  and  species  common  to  the  neighbourhood  at  the  present 
day,  the  latter  the  periwinkle  and  the  limpet,  also  some  mammalian  bones 
and  worked  flints,  which  were  probably  derived  from  the  refuse  heap  of  pre- 
historic men,  who  at  one  time  frequented  the  neighbourhood  of  the  lake,  and 
were  washed  down  by  rain  torrents.  The  lightness  of  their  specific  gravity 
(the  heaviest  being  only  a  few  ounces)  leads  to  the  supj)Osition  that  the 
torrential  force  was  feeble  and  incapable  of  conveying  more  than  extremely 
light  materials.  The  shells  are  in  perfect  preservation  ;  the  dark  bands  of 
Helix  nemoralis  are  unobliterated,  and  the  characteristic  porcelain  feature  of 
Zonites  cellarius,  unimpared.  The  bones,  which  are  fractured  transversely 
to  obtain  the  marrow,  and  the  manipulated  flints  point  to  the  presence  of 
man  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  lake  during  one  period  at  least  of  its 
history.  Its  history  may  be  read  from  the  records  it  contains,  from  the 
deposition  of  the  first  lime  atom  to  its  becoming  a  marshy  waste — the 
habitat  of  Succinea  putris  and  other  amjjhibious  molluscs.  Some  discussion 
followed,  and  an  examination  of  the  deposit  M^as  made,  bringing  to  light  the 
following  remains  : — Helix  nemoralis,  Zonites  cellarius,  C/jclostoma  eleyans, 
Littorina,  Patella,  an  Astralagus,  and  a  Flint  Implement. 

The  party  then  returned  to  the  village  and  visited  the  Museum.  Here 
the  President  undertook  the  task  of  demonstrator,  and  drew  attention  to 
the  fine  collection  of  turtles  obtained  from  the  Purbeck  beds  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Swanage  ;  also  to  the  collection  of  birds  found  in  the  Isle 
of  Purbeck. 

The  party  adjourned  to  luncheon  at  the  Ship  Inn.  Some  business  was 
then  transacted,  and  new  members  were  admitted  to  the  Society.  A  very 
fine  stone  Celt,  polished  on  one  side,   rough  on  the  other,  was  handed 


round  for  inspection  by  the  Rev.  0.  P.  Cambridge,  to  whom  it  had  been 
given  by  the  Rev.  J.  H.  House,  of  Anderson,  and  was  then  presented  to 
the  County  Museum.  This  Celt  was  discovered  in  Coombe's  Ditch,  near 
Colwood,  in  December,  1885.  Some  rare  plants  found  lately  in  Purbeck 
were  handed  round  by  the  President. 

The  Castle  was  thrown  open  to  the  members  of  the  Club  for  the  day  by 
ticket,  by  the  kindness  of  the  owner,  W.  Ralph  Bankes,  Esq. 

Mr.  Tom  Bond,  of  Tyneham,  arrived  during  luncheon,  and  brought  with 
him  a  large  ground  plan  of  the  Castle,  and  gave  an  address  on  the  history 
of  the  structure,  noticing  specially  the  dates  of  the  chief  portions  of  the 
ruins.  Since  he  is  the  greatest  authority  on  this  subject  it  was  an 
advantage  as  welcome  as  it  was  unexpected  to  the  members  that  he  was 
able  to  be  present.  A  move  was  made  towards  the  Castle  at  three  p.m.  In 
addition  to  Mr.  Tom  Bond's  presence  as  guide,  Mr.  Eustace  Bankes  had 
prepared  a  rcsinnS  of  jiortions  of  ]\Ir.  Bond's  book  on  the  Castle,  bearing 
specially  on  the  architectural  features  of  the  ruins,  and  under  the  leader- 
ship of  these  two  authorities  the  party  was  conducted  round  the  whole 
fabric.  A  large  portion  of  the  members  were  obliged  to  leave  about  five 
o'clock  in  order  to  catch  their  train. 

The  Norden  Clay  Pits  were  then  visited  by  the  remainder  of  the  party, 
for  which  permission  had  been  kindly  granted  by  the  owner,  Lord  Eldon. 
These  pits  are  situated  about  half-a-mile  from  the  Castle,  on  the  road 
between  Wareham  and  Corfe.  The  clay  is  of  Eocene  age,  and  is  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  the  finest  kinds  of  china  ;  it  is  of  a  bluish  colour, 
unctuous  to  the  touch,  and  very  homogeneous  throughout  the  bed.  The 
seams  vary  in  thickness  from  2ft.  to  16ft.  The  mode  of  extracting  the 
clay  is  either  by  open  workings  or  by  tunnels  at  a  depth  of  60ft.  to  70ft. 
At  the  base  the  clay  becomes  more  carbonaceous  in  character,  and 
resembles  an  impure  lignite.  From  the  presence  of  a  large  quantity  of 
^ulphur  in  the  lower  jDart  of  the  bed  the  air  becomes  very  impure,  and 
work  in  the  tunnels  is  frequently  impeded.  Organic  remains  are  very  rare 
in  the  seams  of  clay — only  a  few  leaf  impressions  have  been  found, 
resembling  those  of  the  Bournemouth  and  Alum  Bay  beds.  The  chief 
interest  of  the  Norden  Clay  Pits  centres  on  the  fine  collection  of  Roman 
potterj^  which  was  discovered  there  four  years  previously,  and  which  is 
now  preserved  at  Encombe,  the  seat  of  Lord  Eldon.  This  pottery  is  black 
in  colour ;  it  occurs  principally  in  the  form  of  urn-shaped  vessels, 
decorated  with  a  lozenge  pattern  around  the  neck.  From  the  j)osition  in 
which  the  pottery  was  found  the  idea  suggests  itself  that  a  considerable 
manufactory  existed  here,  while  the  depth  at  which  it  occurs  beneath  the 
surface,  and  the  fact  of  the  superincumbent  layer  being  one  of  black  mould 


xl. 

a  few  inches  thick,  point  to  the  agenc}'  of  earthworms  in  its  burial  and 
preservation.  In  addition  to  the  pottery,  several  coins,  a  bronze  weapon 
and  buckle,  together  with  some  stone  coffins,  have  been  discovered  ;  the 
latter  all  crumbled  to  pieces  on  their  first  exposure  to  the  air.  The 
remains  of  what  appeared  to  be  a  road  were  displayed  in  the  section  near 
the  spot  where  the  pottery  had  been  discovered,  at  a  depth  of  about  18in. 
beneath  the  sui-face. 

The  Third  Meetixo  took  place  at  Cranborne  on  Tuesday,  August  26th, 
in  lovely  weather,  and  a  large  attendance  was  the  result.  The  President 
was  absent  in  Scotland,  but  the  chair  was  most  suitably  occupied  by  Lord 
Eustace  Cecil,  a  representative  of  the  family  so  long  connected  with  the 
place.  Cranborne  House  was  first  visited,  for  which  permission  had  been 
given  by  the  owner,  the  Marquess  of  Salisbury.  Here  Lord  E.  Cecil  acted 
as  cicerone,  conducting  the  party  through  the  various  rooms,  assisted  by 
Mr.  Cocks,  the  present  tenant,  and  Mr.  Burton,  the  estate  steward.  The 
conversation  which  ensued  elicited  the  following  general  description  : — 
The  architecture  of  the  north  frontage  was  a  mixture  of  Gothic  and  various 
other  styles.  The  house  had  been  visited  and  used  as  a  hunting  lodge  by 
King  John  and  all  the  Plantagenet  kings,  by  Elizabeth,  James  I.,  and 
Charles  I.  The  former  had  stayed  there  eleven  times,  the  latter  had  come 
there  to  hunt  during  the  peaceful  days  of  his  reign,  and  during  his  later 
troubles  had  slept  there  with  his  army  camped  in  the  neighbourhood. 
Court  leets  and  court  barons  were  held  thei-e.  The  hall  was  used  as  a 
place  of  judicature,  especially  with  reference  to  poaching,  which  was 
largely  carried  on  in  the  adjoining  chase  whilst  deer  were  preserved  there. 
Beneath  the  house  was  a  dungeon  where  pi^isoners  were  confined.  In  the 
hall  were  hanging  two  of  the  caps  w'hich  were  used  in  the  old  days  of 
Cranborne  Chase  by  the  keepers  to  protect  themselves  in  the  poaching 
raids  which  were  then  so  frequent.  An  engraving  of  a  keeper  of 
Cranborne  Chase,  in  cap  and  jack,  was  included  in  the  second  edition  of 
"  Hutchins'  History  of  Dorset,"  taken  from  the  original  picture,  formerly 
in  the  possession  of  the  Rev.  H.  Good,  of  Wimborne.  The  parish  church 
of  Cranborne  was  next  visited.  The  following  brief  account  is  drawn  from 
the  description  furnished  by  Mr.  J.  Fletcher,  of  Wimborne  : — The  church, 
dedicated  to  St.  Mary  and  St.  Bartholomew,  is  interesting  as  being  one  of 
the  oldest  and  largest  in  the  county,  being  140ft.  in  length.  The  different 
styles  of  architecture  indicate  different  periods  when  restoration  or 
enlargement  were  effected.  The  inner  arch  of  the  north  porch  is  all  that 
remains  of  the  Norman  Church,  the  details  of  which  are  fine.  Thomas 
Parker,    abbot   of   Tewkesbury    frorp    1.39S   to    1-421,    did   much   towards 


xli. 

improving  the  church,  and  probably  the  perpendicular  Avork  is  to  be 
referred  to  him,  though  the  west  tower  is  of  later  date.  His  initials  are  to 
be  seen  on  the  frieze  of  the  pulpit.  The  large  west  window  of  the  tower 
was  pvit  in  to  the  memory  of  Bishop  Stillingfleet,  who  was  a  native  of 
Cranborne,  and  became  Bishop  of  Worcester  in  1635. 

On  leaving  the  church  the  luncheon  hour  intervened,  after  which  a  very 
interesting  pajjer  was  read  by  Dr.  Wake  Smart,  of  Cranborne,  entitled 
"  The  Ancient  Connection  between  Cranborne  and  Tewkesbury,"  which 
will  be  found  in  full  in  this  volume,  p.  29. 

Castle  Hill,  distant  about  half  a-mile  from  the  village,  was  then  visited. 
This  is  an  extensive  earthwork,  the  origin  of  which  has  led  to  a  variety  of 
conjectures.  Dr.  "Wake  Smart,  who  acted  as  guide,  stated  that  in  his 
opinion  it  was  probably  of  Celtic  origin,  used  as  a  place  of  judicature  for 
the  tribe,  and  that  no  building  existed  on  the  top  of  the  mound.  Mr. 
Bloxam  considered  it  to  be  one  of  the  castles  of  Stephen,  though  no  trace 
of  masonry  had  been  discovered.  However,  stockades,  similar  to  those  in 
use  amongst  the  Maories  of  New  Zealand,  might  have  been  erected  for 
pui'poses  of  defence.  The  Rev.  W.  Barnes  considered  it  a  British  circle, 
and  he  might  be  equally  right.  The  place  was  called  cruc-ye-gorsedd,  a 
ring  of  council,  a  great  mound  cruc,  which  had  afterwards  degenerated 
into  Creech  Hill.  There  was  a  Creech  Hill  in  Purbeck,  in  the  lower  part 
of  Dorset,  and  another  about  half  a  mile  distant,  on  the  top  of  which  were 
two  huge  stones,  which  had  always  been  a  puzzle  to  him.  These  mounds 
were  much  like  what  were  called  specula.  At  Laughton-en-le-Morthen, 
Yorkshire,  there  was  a  portion  of  a  castle  called  Edwin's  Hill,  probably 
Saxon,  which  was  very  much  like  this  place,  as  were  also  Rayleigh,  and 
Hedingham  Castle,  in  Essex. 

Carriages  were  in  readiness  to  convey  some  members  of  the  party  to 
Bockley  Dyke,  an  ancient  British  earthwork,  described  by  the  Rev.  W. 
Barnes  and  Dr.  Wake  Smart.  (See  Proceedings,  Vols.  Y.  and  VI.)  The 
Dyke  runs  for  some  three  miles  along  the  open  down,  and  was  raised, 
probably,  as  a  tribal  boundary  to  indicate  pasturage  rights,  rather  than 
for  defensive  purposes. 

It  had  been  proj^osed  to  visit  the  C4rotto  at  St.  Giles',  for  which  permission 
had  been  given  by  Lord  Shaftesbury.  However,  as  the  day  was  drawing 
to  a  close  the  majority  of  the  party  preferred  a  shady  walk  through  the  Chase 
woods,  under  the  guidance  of  Mr.  Burton,  to  Edmondsham  House,  where 
they  were  entertained  at  tea  by  the  hospitality  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hector 
Monro,  who  showed  them  over  the  beautiful  grounds  and  enabled  them  to 
spend  a  very  pleasant  half-hour.  The  house  was  probably  built  during 
Queen   Elizabeth's  reign.      It  shows  some  characteristic  features  of    the 


xlii. 

domestic  architecture  of  that  period,  and  bears  the  date  of  1589  on  a  stone 
in  the  central  gable  over  the  porch.  But  considerable  additions  and 
modern  improvements  have  been  made  to  tlie  original  edifice  by  the  late 
and  the  present  proprietor.  Over  the  entrance  porch  is  a  coat  of  arms  of 
the  Hussey  family.  The  parish  church,  which  was  open  for  inspection, 
stands  in  the  grounds.  It  is  a  very  small  but  picturesque  building, 
showing  no  very  distinctive  architectural  features,  though  of  great  age. 
Originally  a  large  portion  of  the  interior  was  occupied  by  the  family  vault 
of  the  Husseys,  to  whom  the  house  formerly  belonged.  Alterations,  which 
were  carried  out  in  1863,  removed  the  vault,  and  thereby  threw  open 
more  room  for  the  requirements  of  the  congregation.  The  situation  of 
Edmondsham  House  is  interesting,  standing  as  it  does  in  its  own  grounds, 
laid  out  with  care  and  judiciously  planted,  surrounded  with  the  extensive 
Chase  woods  of  fine  oak  and  beech,  M'ith  intervening  tracts  of  open  downs, 
associated  with  the  histories  of  the  days  when  the  deer  were  preserved  there 
and  furnished  pastime  to  various  English  Sovereigns,  The  geology  of  the 
district  furnishes  a  key  to  the  surrounding  landscape.  The  position  is  near 
the  edge  of  the  Hampshire  basin  of  the  Eocene  beds  of  clays  and  gravels. 
The  admixture  of  these  beds,  occurring  as  they  do  in  contact  with  the  great 
chalk  formation  lying  to  the  west  and  north,  produce  a  variety  in  the 
physical  features  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  consequently  of  the  vegetation. 
On  the  bright  August  afternoon  when  the  Society  was  entertained  at 
Edmondsham  House  it  was  looking  at  its  best,  and  will  be  remembered  as 
a  very  pleasant  finale  to  a  successful  Field  day. 

It  was  now  nearly  five  o'clock,  and  brakes  were  in  readiness  at  the  front 
door  to  convey  the  party  to  Verwood  Station  in  time  for  their  respective 
trains. 

Abbotsbury  was  the  spot  arranged  for  the  last  Field  meeting  of  the 
year,  on  Wednesday,  September  loth,  and  again  fine  weather  favoured  the 
Society,  The  President,  Treasurer,  and  between  60  and  70  members  were 
present,  and  were  conducted  to  the  various  points  of  interest  by  Dr. 
Hawkins,  of  Abbotsbury,  and  Mr.  George  Downie,  agent  of  the  Earl  of 
Ilchester,  to  whose  combined  and  untiring  efforts  the  success  of  the  day 
was  largely  due.  On  assembling  at  the  rendezvous,  which  was  the 
Ilchester  Arms  Hotel,  the  President  stated  that  before  beginning  the 
proceedings  of  the  day  he  wished  to  express  his  regret  at  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Fox  Strangways,  Their  thoughts  were  particularly  led  to  that  sad  event 
since  Lord  Ilchester  had  so  kindly  opened  the  gardens  and  Swannery  and 
other  objects  of  interest  to  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  the  members,  and  he 
thought  it  M-as  only  right  that  he  should,  on  their  behalf,  express  their 
regret  at  the  melancholy  event.     Before  starting  to  explore  the  grounds 


xliii. 

the  President  said  that  he  would  read  a  paper  entitled  "  Decoys,  the 
Abbotsbury  Swannery,  and  Swan  Marks,"  which  w^ould  describe  the 
history  of  Decoys  and  the  method  employed  in  capturing  wild  fowl,  and 
render  their  walk  more  interesting.  This  paper  is  printed  in  full  in  the 
present  volume,  p.  1. 

The  j)arish  church  was  next  visited  under  the  guidance  of  Dr.  Hawkins. 
It  is  a  Gothic  structure,  with  a  square  tower  containing  five  bells,  and 
dedicated  to  St.  Nicholas.  The  pulpit  is  a  fine  example  of  oak  carving  of 
the  Jacobean  period.  In  it  are  two  holes  caused  by  bullets  fired  by 
Cromwell's  soldiers,  when  the  church  was  garrisoned  by  Royalists  under 
General  Strangways.  The  house  occupied  by  the  General  was  not  far 
distant,  which  was  eventually  captured  by  Cromwell's  men.  The  windows 
of  the  south  side  of  the  church  are  of  debased  English  style,  of  about 
1640.  This  part  of  the  church  was  restored  about  200  years  ago.  The 
windows  of  the  north  side  are  lattice.  The  walls,  surmounted  by 
pinnacles,  represent  the  oldest  portion  of  the  building.  A  remarkable 
feature  in  the  interior  of  the  cliurch  is  a  double  piscina  of  a  very 
uncommon  character.  The  initials  "J.  P."  and  "  J.  R."  at  the  top  of  one 
of  the  pillars  of  the  south  side  stand  for  two  of  the  abbots  of  Abbotsbury, 
John  of  Portesham  and  John  of  Rodden,  of  the  dates  1527  and  1534 
respectively.  On  the  west  side  of  the  tower  is  a  curious  figure,  emble- 
matical of  the  Trinity,  represented  as  an  old  man  sitting  with  a  crucifix 
between  his  knees^  and  a  dove  in  the  act  of  descending. 

The  tithe  barn,  300ft.  in  length,  was  afterwards  visited. 

Mr.  H.  Moule,  curator  of  the  County  Museum,  Dorchester,  then  read  a 
paper  on  "  The  Stone  Altar  of  Corton."  This  will  be  found  given  in  full 
in  the  present  volume  at  p.  71. 

The  Swannery  and  Decoy  were  next  visited. 

Luncheon  was  provided  at  the  Ilchester  Arms  at  1.30,  and,  though  the 
number  present  far  exceeded  the  expectations  of  the  landlord,  there  was 
sufficient  for  all.  After  new  members  had  been  elected,  the  Treasurer 
read  a  letter  from  Professor  Westwood,  speaking  in  high  terms  of 
Proceedings  Vol.  VII.,  a  copy  of  which  he  had  lately  receiv^ed. 

Mr.  H.  Moule  then  i-ead  a  paper  on  "  The  Archieology  of  the  Abbey," 
which  will  be  found  in  the  present  volume  at  p.  38. 

The  President  rose  to  return  thanks  to  Mr.  Moule  for  his  eloquent 
paper,  and  said  he  felt  satisfied  that  they  had  postponed  their  visit  to  St. 
Catherine's  Chapel  until  after  the  paper  had  been  read. 

Mr.  Groves  remarked  that  the  Strangways  family  founded  a  chantry  in 
1505.  The  indenture  of  that  chantry  pi'ovided  for  the  number  of  priests 
to  the    abbey,   and  sxsecified,   if  they   diminished  below  eight,  the  daily 


xUv. 

serv'ice  was  not  to  be  accepted.  Although  the  number  of  priests  was 
specified  as  eight,  notliing  was  said  as  to  lay  brethren.  In  1539  the 
chantry  was  surrendered  to  the  King,  and  in  1544  the  site  of  the  abbey 
building  was  granted  to  Giles  Strangways,  Knight, 

St.  Catherine's  Chapel  was  then  visited.  Mr.  Udal  called  attention  to 
the  wishing  holes,  into  which,  according  to  ancient  tradition,  young  maids 
used  to  place  their  thumbs,  and  into  two  larger  holes  below  their  knees, 
and  invoke  the  aid  of  the  patron  saint  not  to  let  them  die  old  maids. 

By  this  time  the  party  had  become  scattered,  many  preferring  to  ramble 
about  the  gardens  and  examine  the  various  rare  shrubs  and  plants  which 
have  been  established  there. 

Dr.  Moorhead  conducted  a  party  of  geologists  to  the  site  from  which  the 
iron  ore  had  been  extracted,  which  is  described  in  Damon's  work  on  the 
"  Geology  of  Weymouth  and  the  Neighbourhood."  At  the  spot  known  as 
Red  Lane,  where  the  operations  were  carried  on,  the  iron  ore  is  exposed, 
lying  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Damon  says  "  The  upper  part  of  the 
formation  contains  certain  oolitic  grains  of  iron  ore  in  such  quantity  as  to 
form  a  rich  ore  of  hydrous  oxide  of  iron  (Limonite)."  From  a  report  made 
by  Mr.  Bristow  on  August  1st,  1849,  in  reference  to  the  iron  ore  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood  of  Abbotsbury,  we  find  "That  the  general 
inclination  of  the  coral  rag  (and  of  the  subordinate  strata),  of  which  the 
iron  bearing  beds  constitute  the  upper  portions,  is  towards  the  north,  at 
an  angle  of  10  or  15  degrees  ;  but  a  fault  north  of  the  village  has  the 
effect  of  reversing  the  dip  and  of  producing  an  inclination  to  a  similar 
amount  in  the  opposite  direction.  The  slope  of  the  ground  varying  very 
little  from  the  dip  of  the  strata,  the  last  are  for  the  most  part  at  or  near 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  consequently  easily  accessible,  but  in  the 
valley  at  the  western  end  of  Abbotsbury  the  beds  containing  the  iron  ore 
are  concealed  by  an  oval  patch  of  Kimmeridge  clay  about  half-a-mile  in 
length,  from  beneath  which  they  merge  to  form  the  high  grounds  in  the 
neighbourhood  around.  At  the  eastern  end  of  the  village,  and  on  the 
north  side  of  Linton  Hill,  these  upper  strata  of  coral  rag  also  dip  under, 
and  are  overlaid  by  Kimmeridge  clay.  I  have  not  yet  measured  the 
thickness  of  the  iron  beds,  but  they  cannot  be  less  than  30ft.  or  401t." 
Mr.  Damon  then  says  :  "  Other  beds  of  the  coral  rag  in  the  neighbourhood 
are  more  or  less  ferruginous,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  rusty-looking  cliflF  near 
Sandsfoot,  but  nowhere  is  it  so  rich  in  iron  as  at  Abbotsbury." 

Mr.  T.  B.  Groves,  F.C.S.,  of  Weymouth,  then  read  a  pajjer  on  the 
Abbotsbury  iron  deposits,  which  will  be  found  at  jj.  G4  of  the  present 
volume. 

Mr.  Damon,  F.G.S.,  of  Weymouth,  also  contributed  the  following  paper 


xlv. 

on  the  Portesham  elephant,  which  was  read  on  his  behalf,  since  he  was 
unable  to  attend  : — 

"The  so-called  Portesham  fossil  elephant,  of  which  we  have  lately 
heard,  is,  I  need  scarcely  say,  a  myth,  and  may  be  put  alongside  of  the 
astronomer's  '  Elephant  in  the  Moon.'  There  is  nothing  of  animal  in  it. 
As  to  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  animal  in  question,  we  know  this  much, 
that  it  once  lay  at  the  bottom  of  a  great  lake,  and  we  can  suppose  how  one 
of  those  trees  which  were  so  numerous  at  this  period  may  have  formed  the 
nucleus  of  a  deposit.  The  opening  that  runs  through  the  centre  j)robably 
resulted  from  the  decay  of  the  supposed  trunk  (not  the  trunk  of  the 
elephant),  while  its  calcareous  covering  was  imperishable.  The  alternating 
ridges  on  its  upper  surface  may  be  ripple  marks.  On  the  floor  of  the  forest 
at  Lulworth  Cove  there  are  many  examples  of  prostrate  trees  with  a 
calcareous  envelope.  A  section  of  one  of  these  would  probably  show  the 
silicified  trunk,  or  the  sj)ace  which  it  once  filled.  Of  course  we  can  only 
conjecture,  as  we  are  speculating  on  events  that  were  in  operation  at  a 
vastly  remote  period,  if  we  only  take  100,000  years,  which  is  but  a  decimal 
in  geological  time.  If  the  members  of  the  Club  interested  in  the  geology 
of  the  district  were  to  visit  the  Portesham  quarries  belonging  to  Mr, 
Manfield,  in  which  the  specimen  referred  to  was  found,  they  would  receive 
much  interesting  information  from  Mr.  Manfield,  jun.,  under  whose  super- 
intendence the  works  are  carried  on.  Ijwould  further  add  that  though 
elephants  are  of  modern  creation,  and  nowhere  found  fossil,  but  only  in 
superficial  deposits,  large  land  animals  existed  during  the  '  Purbeck' 
period,  animals  of  whose  existence  we  have  as  yet  no  further  evidence 
than  impressions  of  their  footsteps.  They  have  been  found  in  the  Dorset- 
shire '  Purbecks,'  while  in  the  strata  immediately  above  similar  footsteps 
have  been  recorded,  measuring  27in.  in  length  by  24in.  in  width,  with  a 
stride  of  42in.  At  Sir  C.  Lyell's  last  visit  to  Weymouth  he  wished  us  to 
be  on  the  look-out  for  these  footprints  wherever  a  large  surface  of  the 
'  Purbeck'  limestone  was  exposed,  and  the  same  advice  may  now  be 
offered  to  any  rising  local  geologist." 

The  Rev.  0.  P.  Cambridge  exhibited  examples  of  the  following  rare 
insects  (Lepidoptera)  : — CEautra  pilleriana,  Pterophurus  jja/wrfwr/i,  lately 
taken  at  Bloxworth,  and  Coleophora  flataginalis  (new  to  Britain),  from 
Portland,  bred  by  Mr.  Eustace  Bankes. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  members  left  Abbotsbury  by  the  4.40 
train,  the  remainder  by  the  6.40.  This  brought  the  Summer  work  of  the 
Society  to  a  successful  close. 

A  Winter  Meeting  was   held  in   the   County  Museum,  Dorchester,  on 


xlvi. 

Wednesday,  February  9tli,  1887.  In  the  absence  of  Mr.  Mansel-Pleydell 
the  Rev.  Sir  Talbot  Baker  presided,  and  tliere  was  a  gathering  of  some 
forty  members  and  friends  present.  After  electing  new  members  the 
business  of  the  day  was  entered  upon.  The  Secretary  laid  on  the  table 
the  report  of  the  meeting  of  Delegates  of  Corresponding  Societies  at  the 
Birmingham  meeting  of  the  British  Association  in  September,  1886.  The 
report  of  the  meeting  of  Delegates  contained  a  number  of  subjects  on  which 
it  was  deemed  advisable  to  secure  the  investigation  and  co-operation  of 
local  societies.  Some  of  the  more  important  of  these  in  relation  to  Dorset- 
shire were  then  described — viz.,  the  appearance  and  study  of  insects 
injurious  to  crops  ;  the  investigation  of  British  bari'ows  and  prehistoric 
remams  ;  the  distribution  of  erratic  blocks  ;  the  appearance,  position, 
and  direction  of  luminous  meteors  ;  the  investigation  of  meteorological 
phenomena  recorded  in  the  log  books  of  steamers  ;  the  erosion  of  sea 
coasts,  and  the  influence  of  the  artificial  abstraction  of  shingle  in  that 
direction  ;  the  circulation  of  underground  waters  in  the  permeable  forma- 
tions of  the  country  ;  earth  tremors,  and  their  j)ossible  connection  with 
mine  explosions  ;  the  preservation  of  native  plants. 

The  Rev.  0.  P.  Cambridge  suggested  that  the  report  should  be  printed, 
so  that  members  should  have  the  opportunity  of  forming  an  opinion  on  the 
matters  for  investigation. 

Mr.  Moule,  curator  of  the  County  Museum,  said  he  should  be  glad  to 
support  the  objects  referred  to  in  the  report,  especially  in  regard  to  the 
extermination  of  local  plants,  one  serious  instance  of  which  he  was  aware 
of  in  the  neighbourhood. 

Mr.  Udal  supported  the  proposal  to  print  the  report  in  the  Proceedings. 

It  was  finally  settled  to  print  and  circulate  the  chief  items  of  the  rejjort 
before  the  first  meeting  of  1887,  so  that  members  might  have  time  to 
consider  the  questions  before  discussing  them  at  that  meeting. 

The  Secretary  then  brought  forward  a  proposal  to  hold  a  two-days' 
meeting  during  the  ensuing  summer  at  Chard,  on  the  borders  between 
Somerset  and  Dorset.  Chard  had  been  fixed  on  as  the  site  for  the  June 
meeting  of  1886,  but  the  elections  had  interfered  and  it  had  to  be  abandoned. 
In  preparing  the  programme,  however,  it  was  found  that  Chard  possessed 
so  much  of  interest  in  its  neighbourhood  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  do 
it  full  justice  in  one  day.  The  question  of  holding  a  two-days'  meeting  at 
Chard,  with  an  evening  conversazione,  after  some  remarks  from  Sir  Talbot 
Baker  and  the  Rev.  0.  P.  Cambridge,  was  eventually  carried. 

Some  discussion  ensued  on  the  question  of  exchanging  a  portion  of  the 
Club's  annual  volumes  of  Proceedings  with  those  of  other  societies,  which 
might  be  deposited  in  the  County  Museum,  provided  the  Museum 
Committee  sanctioned  such  a  step. 


xlvii. 

The  reading  and  discussion  of  the  papers  tor  the  day  was  then  entered 
uj)on. 

The  first  paper,  "  Dorset  Rubi,"  by  the  Pi'esident,  in  the  absence  of  the 
author,  was  read  by  the  Secretary.  He  explained  that  the  first  part  was 
devoted  to  the  literature,  general  description,  and  history  of  the  subject  ; 
the  latter  an  enumeration  of  the  various  species  hitherto  found  in  Dorset, 
their  specific  characters,  and  the  localities  where  they  were  discovered. 
Little  attention  had  been  paid  in  early  days  to  the  study  of  British  fruc- 
ticose  Brambles.  Ray's  Synopsis  (1724)  included  three  species  ;  Smith's 
Flora  Britanuica  (17S0)  included  four  species  ;  Lindley's  Synopsis  included 
IS  species.  The  eighth  edition  of  the  London  Catalogue  of  British  Plants 
(1886)  includes  59  species,  25  sub-species.  The  author  in  his  "  Dorset 
Rubi"  identified  30  species  within  the  borders  of  the  county. 

The  Rev.  R.  P.  Murray,  Rector  of  Shapwick,  said  that  nowhere  was  the 
difficulty  of  establishing  specific  distinctions  more  forcibly  evidenced  than 
in  the  genus  Ruhus.  He  had  studied  the  subject  for  some  three  years,  and 
stated  that  in  Britain  we  had  something  like  70  forms,  but  in  Germany 
they  made  the  number  three  or  four  times  as  many,  and  in  France  over 
70  forms  had  been  subdivided  by  French  Rubists  into  300  or  400.  He 
protested  against  the  recommendation  of  Professor  Babbington  that  they 
should  name  every  form  they  found.  He  thought  they  should  take  the 
leading  forms  and  try  and  group  the  intermediate  ones  around  them.  He 
said  that  Mr.  Mansel  Pleydell  and  himself  proposed  to  bring  out  a  joint 
Flora  of  the  Counties  of  Somerset  and  Dorset,  which,  if  successfully 
carried  out,  should  be  a  work  of  more  than  ordinary  interest,  since  there 
was  no  natural  boundary  between  the  counties,  and  no  unsurmountable 
barrier  to  the  migrations  of  plants  from  the  English  to  the  Bristol 
Channel. 

Mr.  Moule  said  there  was  an  expert  on  Rubi,  a  native  of  Dorchester, 
Mr.  F.  Galpin,  wdio  had  studied  the  genus  for  some  years  and  should  be 
able  to  throw  light  on  the  difficult  subject. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Udal  then  read  a  paper  on  "  Dorset  XVII.  Century  Tokens," 
tracing  the  causes  which  led  to  the  introduction  of  tokens  for  purposes  of 
exchange.  Amongst  the  Counties  in  England  Somerset  contained  the 
largest  number  of  towns,  13  or  14,  which  coined  them,  whilst  Dorset,  with  8, 
stood  next.  These  boroughs  w^ere  Blandford,  Dorchester,  Lj^me  Regis, 
Poole,  Shaftesbury,  Sherborne,  Weymouth,  and  Wimborne.  The  Dorsetshire 
tokens  were  farthings  principally  ;  halfpennies  were  very  few,  and  there 
were  no  pennies.  The  earliest  date  on  any  Dorset  token  Avas  1650,  that  of 
Richard  Oliver,  of  Poole,  the  latest  1670.  The  great  majority  of  tokens 
belonged  to  a  period  subsequent  to  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.     On  the 


xlviii. 

subject  of  coin  collections  the  author  considered  that  wider  jjower  should 
be  given  to  those  who  had  charge  of  coin  departments  in  dealing  with 
those  who  wished  to  exchange  or  purchase  duplicates.  Attention  was 
drawn  to  the  number  of  discrepancies  and  omissions  in  Hutchins'  History 
uf  Dorset,  the  author  having  marked  no  less  than  SO  in  his  own  copy.  As 
an  instance  of  the  increased  interest  taken  of  late  in  these  tokens  of  the 
17th  century,  Mr.  Udal  stated  that  whilst  Boyne  in  1858  records  141  tokens 
only  he  had  been  able  by  the  addition  of  fresh  examples  to  bring  the 
number  to  219. 

A  conversation  followed  on  the  subject  of  the  paper. 
Mr.    Kemp-Welch's   i^aper    on    the    "Great   Earwig"    was    then    read 
by    the    Treasurer,    and    Dr.     Wake    Smarts    paper,    "An   Analysis    of 
the    Celtic   Tumuli    of    Dorset,    by    Charles    Warne,    Esq.,    F.S.A.,"    in 
the    absence    of    the    writer,    was   entrusted   to    the    Secretary    to    read. 
It    consisted    of    an    exhaustive    criticism    of    Warne's    Book,    divisible 
roughly    into     two    parts.       The    former     was    a    classification    of     160 
Tumuli  described  in  the  work,  with  a  view  to  show  the  relative  proportion 
of  cremation  to  inhumation  in  northern,  central,  and  southern  Dorset.     The 
latter   portion   of   the    paper  was  a   classification  and   description  of  the 
various  kinds  of  relics  found  in  the  tumuli  of  the  three  districts.     Owing 
to  the  length  of  the  whole  paper  it  was  considered  advisable  to  read  only 
the  first  portion,  reserving  the  latter  part  until  the  next  meeting  of  the 
Society.     For  purposes  of  comparison  the  County  was  divided  into  three 
divisions,  the  south  extending  from  the  coast  to  the  river  Frome,  central 
from  the  Frome  to  the  Stour,  and  north  from  the  Stour  to  Bockley  Dyke. 
The  character  of  the  interments  in  the  various  barrows  was  referred  to, 
M-ith  this    general  inference,   that  the    practice  of  burning  the  body  and 
depositing   the    calcined   bones,    whether  in  earthenware  vases,  or,  more 
simply,  in  cists  or  graves  dug  in  the  soil,  or  by  heaping  the  remains  of  the 
funeral  pile  on  the  surface  of  the  soil  and  covering  them  with  earth,  was 
more   in    vogue   in   the    aera   when   these    tumuli    were    raised,    than  the 
alternative    practice  of    burying    the  body    without    subjecting   it    to  the 
action  of  tire  ;  still  it  is  shown  that  this  older  custom  still  prevailed  along 
with  the  other  in  the  Bronze  age.     The  predominance  of  cremation  was 
attested  by  the  contents  of  121  of  the  tumuli,  showing  a  difference  of  30 
per  cent,  between  the  two  modes  of  the  disposal  of  the  dead  in  favour  of 
the  practice  of  cremation.     The  division  of  the  County  into  three  districts 
served  to  bring  out  the  fact  that  the  custom  of  burying  the  body  unburnt 
prevailed  much  in  the  south,  less  so  in  the  central,  and  still  less  in  the 
north.     There  was  a  decreasing  ratio  from  south  to  north.     In  the  north 
cremation   marked  about  74  per  cent.,  inhumation  about   26   per  cent., 


xlix. 

whilst  in  the  south  the  relative  proportion  is  about  59  per  cent,  for  the 
former  to  41  of  the  latter.  The  suggestion  was  thrown  out  that  the 
contracted  form  of  hurial  may  have  been  continued  as  a  venerable  and 
honourable  form  of  interment  down  to  a  later  period.  The  character  of  the 
cinerary  urns  found  in  Dorset  varied  considerably,  but  on  the  whole  there 
was  an  absence  of  ornamentation.  The  chevron  pattern  is  seen  on  some, 
but  not  often.  In  all  the  material,  consisting  of  sand,  clay,  and  particles 
of  grit,  is  of  a  thick  coarse  nature,  of  a  brown  or  reddish  colour,  and 
it  is  evident  they  were  not  wheel  made  or  kiln  baked.  In  the  heath 
districts  a  very  primitive  type  of  manufacture  is  evidenced.  This  denoted 
the  existence  of  tribes  of  a  low  culture  adhering  to  their  old  manufactures, 
whilst  their  neighbours  had  advanced  in  civilisation  and  skill.  In  Purbeck 
skeletons  are  found  laid  at  full  length,  in  Kist  Vaens  throughout  the  same 
tumulus.  This  exceptional  mode  of  sepulture,  so  frequent  then,  might 
identify  those  tumuli  where  it  occurred  with  a  much  later  period  of  the 
Bronze  sera,  implying  the  dawn  of  the  new  customs  and  manners  arising 
from  the  intercourse  with  a  more  civilised  people.  These  people  could 
hardly  be  other  than  the  Roman  Colonists,  who  settled  themselves  in 
Purbeck  and  left  abundant  evidence  of  their  occupation  in  certain  localities. 

Luncheon  was  provided  at  the  King's  Arms  Hotel  at  Two  p.m.  Mr.  J.  S, 
Udal  exhibited  his  cabinet  containing  his  private  collection  of  Dorset 
Tokens.  Some  interesting  specimens  of  old  glass  were  exhibited  by  Sir 
Talbot  Baker,  discovered  in  the  excavation  of  a  well  near  Ranston.  A 
collection  of  South  American  plants  was  also  displayed.  After  luncheon 
the  meeting  was  resumed  in  the  Coffee-room  of  the  hotel,  since  the 
prevalent  east  winds  rendered  the  Museum  unsuitable. 

A  paper  on  "  Rare  and  Local  Lepidoptera  lately  found  in  Dorsetshire" 
was  then  read  by  the  Rev.  0.  P.  Cambridge,  and  drawings  of  the  insects 
were  exhibited.     (This  paper  will  be  found  in  the  present  vol.,  page  55.) 

Sir  Talbot  Baker  then  read  a  paper  entitled  "  Rough  Notes  on  some 
Churches  in  Norway  and  Sweden,''  the  result  of  travel  during  the  previous 
summer.  It  was  illustrated  by  a  series  of  good  and  highly  interesting 
photographs,  which  showed  the  architectural  features  of  the  buildings  very 
clearly. 

The  first  portion  of  the  paper  dealt  with  Dragon  Churches  of  Norway, 
which  date  from  the  12th  century,  and  are  entirely  constructed  of  wood. 
Originally  they  numbered  26,  of  which  only  six  can  be  found  still  standing, 
and  two  are  used  for  Divine  service.  One  was  actually  sold  to  King 
William  of  Prussia  for  a  sum  of  about  £18,  and  removed  by  him  to  his  own 
country.  Fortunately  Antiquarian  Societies  have  now  sprung  into 
existence,   which  are  endeavouring  to  protect  these  ancient  monuments. 


1. 

The  general  appeamnce  of  these  churches  resembles  that  of  a  Chinese 
pagoda  more  closely  than  a  place  of  Christian  worship.  The  name  Dragon 
as  applied  to  the  buildings  is  derived  from  the  external  decoration  at  the 
end  of  the  gables  of  the  nave,  which  appears  to  the  observer  more  like 
the  prows  of  Venetian  gondolas  than  as  dragons'  heads  with  the  tongues 
projecting  from  them.  The  idea  denoted  by  this  seems  to  have  been  to 
symbolise  the  expulsion  of  Paganism  by  Christianity  which  was  rejiresented 
by  the  Cross  on  the  summit  of  the  Cupola.  Anotlier  curious  feature  in  these 
churches  was  the  absence  of  windows,  all  the  light  which  entered  the 
building  being  admitted  through  six  small  triangular  openings  in  the  roof. 
The  decorations  consisted  principally  of  Runic  patterns  carved  on  the  doors. 

The  greater  number  of  modern  churches  in  the  country  were  also  of  wood, 
but  in  the  towns  there  were  some  handsome  buildings  of  stone.  Of  these 
the  Domkirke  and  the  Nyekirke  of  Bergen  are  noticed  ;  also  the  two 
really  interesting  stone  churches  of  Norway — the  cathedrals  of  Stavanger 
and  Trondhjem,  These  contain  much  Norman  and  Early  English  M'ork 
with  the  mouldings  and  decoration  witli  which  we  are  familiar  in  buildings 
of  the  same  date  in  England. 

The  Church  of  Solna,  about  three  miles  from  Stockholm,  was  described. 
This  had  the  reputation  of  dating  back  to  Pagan  times.  The  stone  work 
of  the  centre  and  eastern  portions  of  the  church,  from  the  shape  and  size 
of  the  blocks  and  their  inequality,  suggested  the  cyclopean  walls  of 
Mycenae  or  Fiesole,  carrjung  the  mind  back  to  a  remote  antiquity. 

Mr.  T.  B.  Groves,  F.C.S.,  read  a  paper  on  "The  Dorset  settlement  in 
Massachusetts,"  which  he  had  made  a  point  of  visiting  during  his  journey 
to  America  for  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  at  Montreal  in 
1884.  The  writer  traced  the  founding  of  a  settlement  in  Massachusetts  by 
the  Rev.  John  White,  who  made  his  first  attempt  in  1G29,  and  in  1630 
succeeded  in  establishing  himself  and  a  party  of  140,  consisting  chiefly  of 
several  Puritans  from  Dorsetshire  and  the  neighbouring  counties  at 
Mattapan,  M'hich  they  at  once  re-named  Dorchester.  The  Rev.  John 
White  was  rector  of  Holy  Trinity  Church  in  1G06,  and  was  called  the 
Patriarch  of  Dorchester.  He  died  on  July  21,  1648,  and  was  interred  in 
the  porch  of  St.  Peter's  Church.  His  name  is  held  in  affectionate 
remembrance  by  Bostonians,  who  sometimes  journeyed  to  Dorchester  for 
the  purpose  of  visiting  his  last  resting  place.  The  growth  of  Dorchester 
was  traced  from  1726,  when  the  district  was  .35  miles  long  and  some  six 
or  eight  broad,  to  its  incorporation  with  Boston,  of  which  it  is  the  16th 
ward  with  a  population  of  14,445.  The  settlement  of  Weymouth  was  also 
referred  to,  which  was  regarded  as  an  off-slioot  of  New  Plymouth. 

The  meeting  terminated  at  five  p.m. 


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VI 


pq  M 


I^ist  of  Jlclu  iUcinlnn-s   clcdcD   in 

1880-7. 


June  9TH,  1S86, 

Bright,  Percy  M. 

Mason,  Rev.  H.  J. 

Parish,  Rev.  W.  Oakes 

Wright,  H.  E. 

Collinson,  Rev.  E. 

Hiissey,  Dr. 

Travers,  Rev.  Duncan 
July  28th. 

Chislett,  Henry  Oakley 

White,  Dr.  Gregory 

Bankes,  Rev.  Eldon  S. 

Wright,  Dr. 

August  24TH. 

CUnton,  E.  Eynes 
Turner.  \\'. 
Piercy,  G.  J. 
Stihvell,  :Mrs. 
Truman,  Rev.  J.  M. 


Rocca  Bruna,  Bournemouth 

Swanage 

Longfleet,  Poole 

Dorchester 

Woodsford 

Dorchester 

Swanage 

^Vimborne 

West  Knoll,  Bournemouth 

Corfe  Castle  Rectory,  Wareham 

Bournemouth 

\Vimborne 

High-street,  Poole 

Bournemouth 

Leeson,  Wareham 

Hinton  Mar  tell,  \\'imborne,  and 
Woodlands,  Cranborne 


li^ 


Skpte.mulr   15T11. 

Thompson,  Dr.  Ruberls 
Colfox,  J.  A. 
Burt,  George 
Sanctuary,  Rev.  C.  Lloyd 


Monkclicslcr,  Buurncmouth 

Brklport 

Swanage 

West  Fordin'^ton,  Dorchester 


February  9TH,   1887. 

Wilhanis,  Rev.  J.  L.,  R.D.      Canford  ^'icarage,  Wimborne 
Bankes,  Albert,  Esq.  Wolfeton  House,  Dorchester 


kcods  anb  Stoan  iEatk0, 


By  J.  O.  MANSEL-PLEYDELL,  Esq.,  F.L.S.,  F.G.S. 

(Bead  at  Ahhotshury  Sept.  I5tk,  1886.; 


HE  Abbotsbury  decoy  has  a  special  interest,  as  it 
is  the  only  one  in  the  county  ;  for  the  Morden 
decoy  has  been  disused  for  some  years,  and  is 
now  only  known  as  a  favourite  meet  of  the  South 
Dorset  Hounds.  The  adjoining  swannery  is  of 
still  greater  interest.  Nowhere  else  in  the 
United  Kingdom  is  there  so  countless  a  number 
of  these  Royol  birds  to  be  seen  floating  on  the 
calm  surface  of  so  large  a  piece  of  water,  basking  in  the 
sun,  preening  their  feathers  on  the  shore,  or  with  measured 
strokes  of  wing  following  each  other  in  short  flights  to  and 
fro.  Our  Lord-Lieutenant,  the  Earl  of  Ilchester,  is  the 
owner  of  these  two  county  rarities.  Decoys  in  their  present 
form  were  not  in  use  much  until  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century  ;  before  that  period  they  were  merely  nets  enclosing  a 
piece  of  water,  converging  to  a  point  in  the  shape  of  a  V  with  a 
connected  bag — tunnel-net — at  the  extremity,  into  which  the 
birds  were  finally  driven  ;  these  could  only  be  used  when  the 
wild  fowl  w^ere  in  moult  and  the  young  birds  unfledged,  and 
incapable  of  flight.  Sir  R.  Payne  Gallwey  gives  the  derivation  of 
decoy  to  a  Dutch  compound  word  endekooy,   duck-cage.       The 


2  DECOYS    AND    SWAN    MARKS. 

Dutcli  were  the  inventors  of  the  system  now  in  general  use, 
and  was  introduced  from  Holland  into  England  about  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  physical  features 
of  that  country,  its  sea-bord  boundaries,  its  gulfs  and  inlets, 
its  shallows  between  Groningen  and  Friesland,  have  ever 
been  the  favourite  resort  of  wild  fowl.  By  this  new  system, 
which  is  more  elaborate  and  complicated  than  the  old  one,  the 
birds  were  enticed,  not  driven,  into  the  netted  enclosure.  Driving 
by  boats  and  men  to  a  converging  point  was  probably  in  use  as 
early  as  King  John's  reign. 

We  find  decoys  mentioned  as  having  given  cause  for  litigation  as 
early  as  1280,  and  in  1432  we  read  of  a  mob  armed  with  swords  and 
sticks  and  taking  six  hundred  wild  fowl  out  of  the  abbot's  decoy 
at  Crowland  Monastery,  Lincolnshire,  "  infringing  the  rights  of 
private  piroperty."  The  wholesale  destruction  of  wild  fowl 
attracted  the  notice  of  Parliament  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
the  Eighth.  By  25  Henry  VIIL,  c.  11,  entitled  "An  Act  to 
avoid  destroying  of  Wild  Fowl,"  after  reciting  "  that  whereas 
divers  persons  next  inhabiting  in  the  countries  and  places  where 
wild  fowl  have  been  accustomed  to  breed,  have  in  the  summer 
season,  at  such  time  as  the  old  fowl  be  moulted  and  not  reple- 
nished with  feathers  to  fly,  nor  the  young  fowl  fully  feathered, 
have  by  certain  nets,  engines,  and  policies  yearly  taken  a  great 
number  of  fowl,  in  such  wise  that  the  brood  of  wild  fowl  is  almost 
thereby  wasted  and  consumed,  and  daily  is  likely  more  and 
more  to  waste  and  consume,  if  remedy  be  not  provided  :  Be  it 
enacted,  that  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  person  to  take  any  such 
wild  fowl  with  nets  between  the  1st  of  May  and  the  31st  of  August, 
&c., under  a  penalty  of  a  year's  imprisonment  and  a  fine  of  fourpence 
for  each  fowl."  The  Act  protected  their  eggs  as  well  as  those 
of  the  crane,  bustard,  bittour  (bittern),  heron,  and  shovelard  ; 
for  the  two  former  the  penalty  was  20  pence  for  each  bird,  and 
for  the  last  two,  eight-pence,  besides  a  year's  imprisonment  for 
both  classes.  The  crane  and  bustard  have  both  ceased  to  breed 
in  Great  Britain,  and  very  rarely   visit  our   shores ;  the  bittern 


DECOYS    AND    SWAN    MARKS.  3 

and  shoveller  are  more  frequent  visitors,  but  rarely  breed  with 
US.  There  have  been  instances  of  the  shoveller  breeding 
in  Dorset,  Kent,  Norfolk,  Hertford,  Cambridge,  Huntingdon, 
and  Yorkshire,  and  the  bittern's  nest  is  occasionally  found 
in  some  of  our  largest  marshes,  esjDecially  in  Scotland  and 
Ireland.  The  Act  of  Henry  VIII.  exempts  crows,  choughs  (jack- 
daws), ravens,  and  buzzards,  and  their  eggs,  as  "  not  comestible 
or  used  to  be  eaten."  This  Act  was  repealed  by  3  and  4  Ed.  VI., 
c.  7,  on  the  grounds  that  the  markets  were  then  less  supplied 
with  wild  fowl  than  before  the  passing  of  the  Act,  and 
"  benefit  was  thereby  taken  away  from  the  poor  people 
that  were  wont  to  live  by  their  skill  in  taking  of  the  said 
fowl,  whereby  they  were  wont  at  that  time  to  sustain  themselves, 
with  their  poor  households,  to  the  great  saving  of  other  kinds  of 
victual,  of  which  aid  they  are  now  destitute."  Another  Act, 
9  Anne,  c.  25,  s.  4,  similar  in  its  object,  after  reciting  "  that  a 
great  number  of  wild  fowl  of  several  kinds  are  destroyed  by  the 
pernicious  practice  of  driving  and  taking  them  by  hayes,  tunnels, 
and  other  nets  in  the  fens,  lakes,  and  broadwaters,  where  fowl 
resort  at  their  moulting  season,  to  the  great  damage  and  decay  of 
the  breed  of  wild  fowl,  it  enacts  that  "  if  any  person  makes  use  of 
hayes,  tunnels,  and  other  nets  between  the  1st  of  July  and  the 
1st  of  September  to  take  any  wild  fowl  shall  on  conviction  forfeit 
five  shillings  for  each  bird." 

It  will  be  observed  this  Act  was  less  draconic  than  that  of 
Henry  VIII.  ;  the  year's  imprisonment  is  omitted,  and  only  a  fine 
imposed,  subject  to  a  levy  of  distress.  Willoughby  in  his 
"  Ornithologia"  (1676)  speaks  of  the  destruction  of  wild  fowl 
during  the  moulting  season  in  Lincolnshire,  Cambridgeshire,  and 
Norfolk,  and  gives  a  detailed  account  of  the  mode  of  capture, 
by  the  original  V  shaped  enclosure  and  tunnel-net,  men, 
and  boats ;  and  describes  the  slaughter  of  4,000  wild  fowl  at 
one  drive.  He  speaks  of  a  Dutch  decoy  or  Dutch-kay  as  a  new 
artifice  by  which  wild  fowl  are  enticed,  instead  of  being  driven. 
A  rough  line  sketch  of  a  deco}^  with  three  pipes  accompanies  the 


4  DECOYS    AND    SWAN    MARKS. 

description.  As  Willoughby  makes  no  mention  of  a  dog,  which  is 
now  generally  used,  it  may  be  presumed  its  services  were  not 
employed  at  this  early  stage  of  improved  decoys,  and  that  the 
birds  were  allured  simply  by  food  and  by  tame  ducks.  Stukeley  in 
his  "  Itinerarium  Curiosum"  (1776)  gives  a  detailed  account 
of  a  decoy  with  five  pipes  at  Holbeck,  Lincolnshire,  wdiich  is 
precisely  similar  to  those  now  in  use,  except  that  the  pipes  have  an 
angular  instead  of  a  curved  bend.  The  object,  however,  is  the 
same — namely,  to  render  the  pipe  at  its  posterior  end  and  the 
tunnel-net  invisible  at  the  mouth.  Pennant  (1776)  speaks  of  31,000 
ducks,  teals,  and  widgeons,  which  had  been  sold  in  London  from 
ten  decoys  near  Wainfleet,  Lincolnshire,  on  one  occasion.  Daniel 
also  in  his  "  Rural  Sports"  (1 802)  gives  a  description  of  decoys  which 
prevailed  in  his  time.  He  says  that  2,646  "  mallards"  were 
taken  in  ten  days  at  Spalding,  in  Lincolnshire.  Mr.  Howard 
Saunders  describes,  in  a  most  interesting  and  exhaustive  account 
of  English  decoys,  the  remarkable  change  of  plumage  the 
male  of  the  wild  duck  undergoes  at  the  close  of  the  breeding 
season,  commencing  about  the  24th  of  May,  when  the  breast  and 
back  first  show  the  appearance  of  a  change  ;  on  the  23rd  of  June 
the  green  feathers  of  the  head  and  neck  disappear,  and  by  the 
6th  of  July  its  plumage  resembles  that  of  the  female,  only 
somewhat  darker.  Willoughby  says  the  moult  of  the  male  takes 
place  about  a  month  before  that  of  the  female — an  important 
provision  of  nature  for  the  protection  of  the  young  birds,  which 
are  incapable  of  flight  until  towards  the  end  of  June. 

A  decoy  consists  of  a  sheet  of  water  in  a  quiet  and  secluded 
spot  surrounded  by  trees  and  shrubs,  from  which  radiate  curved 
pipes  or  ditches,  varying  in  number  from  two  to  eight ;  these  are 
covered  with  a  net  suj^ported  by  bowed  sticks  or  rods, 
about  15  feet  high  at  first,  and  gradually  diminishing  towards 
the  end,  to  which  the  tunnel  net  is  attached,  and  which 
is  removed  w^hen  the  wild  fowl  are  driven  into  it.  Screens 
in  echelon,  overlapping  each  other,  are  placed  near  the  edge 
of  the    bank   to    enable   the  decoyman  to    follow    the    ducks  up 


DECOYS  AND  SWAN  MARKS.  O 

the  pipe.  The  spaces  bettv^een  these  overlapping  screens  are 
united  by  a  lower  screen  of  two  and  a-half  feet  high,  over  which  a 
dog  is  trained  to  pass  so  as  to  bring  it  to  the  brink  of  the  bank 
and  in  sight  of  the  ducks  ;  he  then  jumps  over  the  next  low  screen 
and  passes  behind  the  high  screen  No.  2,  and  so  on.  As  soon  as 
the  ducks  catch  sight  of  the  dog  they  invariably  move  towards  it 
— an  impulse  shared  by  the  family  of  Anatidee.  The  attraction  a 
dog  has  to  a  flock  of  farmyard  ducks  in  a  pond  is  familiar  to 
every  observer.  See  how  they  will  turn  towards  and  approach 
the  dog  with  apparent  fearlessness,  as  if  moved  by  one  spirit,  and 
how  hurriedly  they  will  decamp  if  it  shows  any  disposition  to  join 
them.  This  inquisitiveness,  defiance,  or  whatever  motive  actuates 
the  tame  ducks,  is  shared  by  the  wild  duck  and  made  use  of  by 
the  ingenuity  of  man  for  its  destruction. 

To  work  a  decoy  successfully,  the  decoyraan  has  to 
use  great  caution ;  he  must  choose  the  pipe  at  which  the 
wind  blows  from  the  tunnel-net  towards  the  curve  of  the  pipe, 
otherwise  the  ducks  will  not  enter  it,  as  their  sense  of  smell 
is  very  keen.  When  using  the  dog  the  decojmiau  has  to 
take  care  that  the  ducks  are  below  the  pipe,  that  is  to  say 
on  the  lower  or  pond  side.  A  dog  is  of  no  use  during  a  frost, 
in  which  case  the  ducks  can  only  be  enticed  by  food,  tame 
ducks,  and  the  mouths  of  the  pipes  free  of  ice  ;  a  dog  is  most 
essential  however,  when  the  decoy  is  near  the  coast,  and  where 
marshes  and  water  meadows  are  some  distance  off.  A  wild 
duck  has  no  inducement  to  accompany  the  tame  ducks  up 
the  pipes  for  the  food  supplied  by  the  decoyman  unless  it  is 
hungry,  and  can  only  be  enticed  by  the  dog,  which  is  usually 
chosen  for  its  red  colour  and  bushy  tail,  resembling  a  fox,  which, 
as  is  well  known,  makes  a  decoy  one  of  its  favourite  resorts. 

There  are  and  always  have  been  more  decoys  in  Norfolk, 
Lincolnshire,  and  Essex  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  United 
Kingdom  ;  whose  physical  features  are  more  favourable  to  wild 
fowl-life  than  those  of  any  other  district  of  equal  area  in  Great 
Britain.     Sir  R.  Payne  Gallwey  enumerates  373  decoys   in  Great 


6  DECOYS    AND    SWAN    MARKS. 

Britain,  of  which  no  less  than  81  are  relegated  to   these    three 
counties ;  of  these  nine  only  are  now  in  use. 

The  limited  number  of  ducks  taken  annually  at  the 
Abbotsbury  decoy  may  to  a  great  extent  be  attributable 
to  its  proximity  to  so  large  an  expanse  of  water  as  the 
Fleet,  supplying  an  unlimited  amount  of  food,  and  un- 
molested by  gunners.  The  surroundings  of  the  Abbotsbury 
decoy  (which  has  four  pipes)  seem  to  invite  the  visit  of  every 
duck  as  it  passes  over  the  peaceful  solitude  of  this  charming  nook 
of  old  Dorset.  The  Morden  decoy  has  been  disused  since  1856, 
but  when  in  use  upwards  of  7,000  wild  fowl  have  been  taken  in 
one  season  ;  it  is  surrounded  by  a  wild  tract  of  moorland,  and  is 
about  four  acres  in  extent,  of  which  the  pond  occupies  half;  the 
rest  is  planted  with  oak,  birch,  willow,  and  alder.  It  has  four 
pipes.  The  Abbotsbury  decoy  is  of  great  antiquity,  and  was  probably 
established  long  before  the  Reformation,  at  the  time  w^lien  the  lands 
to  which  it  is  attached  belonged  to  the  abbots  of  the  monastery, 
who  were  the  owners  also  of  the  splendid  swannery,  and  who  enjoyed 
the  special  privilege  granted  by  the  Crown  to  take  within  certain 
limits  all  swans  not  marked  with  the  licensed  swan-marks  cut  in 
the  upper  mandible  and  registered  by  the  Royal  swanherd,  who 
kept  a  book  of  swan-marks,  and  no  swan-marks  were  permitted  to 
interfere  with  old  ones,  and  no  swanherd  could  affix  a  mark  except 
in  the  presence  of  the  king's  swanherd  or  deputy.  The  sign  of 
the  two-necked  swan  is  a  corruption  of  the  swan  with  two  nicks,  or 
marks  on  the  bill. 

The  following  note  on  swan-marks  appeared  in  the  Athenceum 
of  18th  August,  1877 : — "  The  manuscript  department  of  theBritish 
Museum  has  lately  acquired  for  the  Egerton  library  two  interesting 
manuscripts  ilhistrating  the  marking  of  swans.  The  first  is  a  small 
quarto-paper  book  of  89  folios,  written  apparently  in  a  hand  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  It  commences  with  an  alphabetical  list  of 
the  owners  of  the  marks,  among  w^hom  appear  the  King  and 
Queen,  the  Dukes  of  Norfolk,  Suftblk,  and  Richmond,  Earls  of 
Huntingdon,  Essex,  Oxford,  Sussex,  Surrey,  and  Leicester,  with 


DECOYS    AND    SWAN    MARKS.  7 

a  large  number  of  noble  and  private  owners,  amounting  in  the 
aggregate  to  several  hundreds.  The  diagrams  of  the  marks 
follow,  arranged  in  double  columns,  of  six  marks  each  to  a  page. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  owners  have  two  marks,  and  now  and 
then  three  are  attributed  to  the  same  possessor.  Although  the 
collection  is  a  compilation  of  the  time  already  referred  to,  it 
evidently  incorporates  some  older  w^ork  of  the  same  nature,  for 
among  the  names  of  Swan-owners  occur  the  Prior  of  Spalding  and 
the  Abbot  of  Peterborough.  The  volume  is  inscribed  with  the 
autograph  of  Samuel  Knight,  a  former  owner  of  the  book.  The 
other  manuscript  contains  38  folios  with  double  columns  of  six 
marks  each  on  either  side,  making  a  total  of  about  800  marks, 
some  of  the  spaces  having  been  left  unappropriated.  From  the 
commencing  mark  beiug  attributed  to  I.  E.,  which  in  the  previous 
mark  is  given  to  '  The  Kinge,'  there  is  little  difficulty  in  fixing  the 
date  of  the  production  of  the  book.  These  two  manuscripts  are 
evidently  copies  of  an  older  work.  In  the  Harley  MS.  of  the 
British  Museum  there  is  a  memorandum  of  "  A  Commission 
directed  to  all  Shireffes,  Eschetours,  Baillieftes,  Constables, 
Swanneherdes,  and  all  hauyuo^  the  Rule  of  fresh  Ryuers  and 
waters  in  Somersetshire,  especially  in  the  freshe  waters  or  Ryuers 
of  Merkemere,  Cotmere,  &c.,  that  the  King  hath  given  all  Swaunes 
in  the  said  waters  apperteyning  to  the  Marques  Dorset  and  Sir 
Giles  Dawbeney  no  we  in  the  Kinge's  handes  by  reason  of  their 
forfaictures,  to  ray  lord  priue  scale  creuen  at  Westmr.  on  ix.  day  of 
May  anno  ijdo."  The  date  of  this  early  note  is  probably  1485. 
Another  entitled  '^  A  book  of  the  marks  of  swans,  wdth  the  names 
of  the  gentlemen  who  have  a  right  to  make  use  of  them."  It  is 
on  vellum,  with  an  alphabet  of  names  prepared,  and  a  large  series 
of  marks  appear.  It  appears  to  have  been  written  in  the  15th 
century,  but  has  several  additions  of  a  later  period.  The  two 
swords  which  are  given  as  a  King's  mark  in  the  two  first  MSS. 
here  figure  as  that  of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster,  a  title  which  merged 
into  the  Crown  in  1399.  There  is  another  fine  large  MS.  quarto 
in  vellum,  of  28  folios,  with  15  marks  on  either  side  of  the  leaf. 


8  DECOYS    AND    SWAN    MARKS. 

The  two  marks  of  the  King  are  here  styled — the  first  "  for  the 
Crown"  being  a  rude  representation  of  that  emblem,  the  second 
or  Lancaster  mark  "  for  the  Sworde."  There  is  an  index  at  the 
end  of  this  manuscript,  and  at  the  beginning  some  curious  notes 
of  swans  that  "  I  have  marked,"  "  Swans  sould  this  yeare  of  our 
lor  1628,"  and  "  The  order  for  swans,  a  collection  of  rules  and 
observances  with  regard  to  the  keeping  and  marking  of  these 
birds,  with  the  penalties  for  infringement."  Another  vellum  MS., 
octavo  size,  apparently  of  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  ;  the  King 
here  has  three  marks  allotted  to  his  swans.  Some  remarks  by 
Sir  J.  Banks  upon  the  age  of  the  book  are  prefixed.  Another  MS. 
entitled  "  The  orders  for  swanne  Bots  by  the  statutes,  and  by  the 
auncient  orders  and  customs  used  in  the  Realm  of  England,"  a 
vellum  roll  of  the  sixteenth  century,  followed  by  swan-marks  used 
b}"  the  proprietors  of  lands  on  the  rivers  Yare  and  Waveney,  co. 
Norfolk.  Some  of  these  are  drawn  vertically  instead  of  on  the 
more  usual  horizontal  plan,  and  the  greater  number  are  rudely 
painted  in  red  and  black  pigments.  At  folio  80  of  another  MS. 
(Lansdowne  118)  there  is  an  entry  in  the  handwriting  of  William 
Cecil,  Lord  Burghley,  of  "  Swannes  marked  ye  xii.  June,  7  of 
Ed.  6,  1553."  Harley  MS.  4116  gives  at  p.  403  a  curious  note 
respecting  the  transfer  of  a  swan-mark  in  1662.  Some  further 
illustrations  of  this  peculiar  custom  may  be  seen  by  reference  to 
the  Classed  Catalogue  of  manuscripts  in  the  British  Museum,  and 
a  careful  collation  of  marks  with  a  view  to  publication  would 
reward  the  student  of  English  manners  and  customs." 


Shurlcs  11.  in  '^otBzt 


By  J.   S.   UDAL,   F.R.    Hist.    Soc.    (of  the 
Inner   Temple). 


FEW  years  ago  there  was  an  interesting  dis- 
cussion in  the  pages  of  "  Notes  and  Queries"*  as 
to  what  old  houses  now  exist  in  the  country  that 
formed  hiding-places  for  Charles  II.  between  the 
battle  of  Worcester  (3rd  September,  1G51)  and 
the  time  when  the  king  at  last  effected  his  escape 
from  Brighthelmstone  on  the  15th  of  the  following  October. 

At  that  time  I  put  forward  the  claims  of  the  old  Manor  House 
at  Pilsdon  to  rank  as  one  of  those  entitled  to  the  honourable 
distinction  of  having  sheltered  the  Royal  fugitive,  basing  the 
claim  upon  the  tradition  I  had  heard  that  the  King  had  paid  a  visit 
to  the  old  house,  at  that  time  the  property  of  those  staunch 
royalists,  the  Wyndhams. 

A  year  or  so  afterwards,  my  claim  for  Pilsdon  having  been 
challenged  by  a  correspondent  in  "  Notes  and  Queries,"  I  went 
more  deeply  into  the  question  of  Charles  II.'s  wanderings  in 
Dorsetshire,  and,  after  consulting  the  principal  authorities  upon 
the  subject,  I  was  constrained  to  admit  that  the  claim  I  had  put 
forth  rested  upon  tradition  only,  though  I  expressed  a  hope  at 
the  time  that  I  had  shown  (for  the  reasons  given  in  my  paper)  a 


6th  series,  vols.  v.  and 


viii, — passim. 


10  CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET. 

higher  aud  more  natural  probability  of  tradition  in  this  case 
being  founded  on  fact  than  was  the  case  in  many  other  similar 
claims  put  forward  on  behalf  of  our  old  houses. 

Believing  as  I  do  that  the  interest  taken  in  what  the  late 
Bishop  of  Llandaff*  terms  "  by  far  the  most  romantic  piece  of 
English  history  we  possess,"  is  still  as  great,  and  that  the  desire 
to  know  as  much  as  possible  of  what  actually  did  happen  during 
those  wonderful  wanderings  is  as  keen  now,  as  was  ever  the  loyalty 
of  our  Dorset  forefathers  to  preserve  the  Koyal  subject  of  them, 
I  have  ventured  to  take  my  former  paper  in  "  Notes  and 
Queries"t  as  the  basis  of  my  present  one,  and  to  put  before  my 
readers  in  addition  as  much  more  of  detail  and  circumstance  as 
may  be  fitting  to,  and  appreciated  by,  a  Dorset  public.  I  cannot 
make  the  same  complaint  as  Lord  Clarendon,  when  he  wrote, J  "it 
is  a  great  pity  there  was  never  a  journal  made  of  that  miraculous 
deliverance  in  which  there  might  be  seen  so  many  visible 
impressions  of  the  immediate  hand  of  God,"  for  there  are  several 
works  of  authority  to  which  the  student  of  these  days  might  turn 
for  information. 

Besides  the  King's  own  account  of  his  wanderings  dictated  by 
him  to  Samuel  Pepys,  the  great  diarist,  in  October  1G80,  and 
printed  originally  by  Lord  Hailes,  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago, 
from  the  authentic  MSS.  in  the  library  of  Magdalen  College, 
Cambridge,  we  have  a  work  called  "  Boscobel,"  by  Thomas 
Blount,  a  Catholic  lawyer,  and  (like  myself)  a  member  of  the 
Inner  Temple,  which  was  published  in  two  parts.  The  first  part, 
containing  an  account  of  the  King's  wanderings  as  far  as  Bentley, 
was  published  soon  after  the  Restoration  aud  dedicated  to  the 
King  ;  the  second  part,  continuing  the  account  from  Bentley  until 
the  King's  escape  from  Brighthelmstone,  did  not  appear  until 
many  years  subsequently,  when  it  was  jDublished  conjointly  with 
the  "Claustrum  Regale  Reseratum,"  or  "The  King's  Concealment 

*  In  a  letter  to  ]SIr.  J.  Hughes  in  1827. 

t  Gth  series,  viii.,  329. 

X  13th  book  of  "  History  of  Rebellion." 


CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET.  11 

at  Trent,"  by  Mrs.  Anne  Wyndham  (either  the  wife  or  sister  of 
Colonel  F.  Wyndham),  which  gave  a  detailed  acccunt  of  Charles's 
sojourn  at  Trent  House,  and  was  published  originally  in  1681, 
which  was  probably  the  date  when  Blount's  second  part  was 
published.*  In  addition  there  are  the  extracts  from  Lord 
Clarendon's  History  of  the  Eehellion,  and  Captain  EUesdon's 
memoir  to  be  found  in  the  folio  edition  of  the  Clarendon  Papers. 
These  authorities  are  mentioned  in  the  second  volume  of 
Hutchins's  History  of  Dorset  (third  edition),  and  are  published 
in  detail  by  Mr.  J.  Hughes  in  his  Boscohel  Tracts,  the  first 
edition  of  which  was  published  about  1830  and  the  last  in  1857. 
Mr.  Hughes,  in  the  introduction  to  this  last  edition,  speaks  of  the 
second  part  of  "  Boscobel"  as  being  more  scarce  than  the  first,  and 
the  various  editions  that  were  published  of  it  as  being  not 
altogether  trustworthy.  The  edition  he  himself  adopted  was  a 
duplicate  of  the  copy  in  the  Ashmolean  Museum  at  Oxford, 
published  in  1725  ;  but,  through  the  kindness  of  a  friend  in  my 
neighbourhood,  a  copy  of  the  fourth  edition,  dated  1725 — not  the 
same  as  the  one  in  the  Ashmolean  Museum,  as  the  title  pages  are 
different — has  been  lent  to  me,  which,  beyond  including  a  frontis- 
piece portrait  of  the  King,  and  two  very  interesting  woodcuts  of 
the  ground  plot  of  the  city  of  Worcester  and  of  Boscobel  House 
(showing  the  wood  and  the  Royal  Oak),  contains  a  "  supplement 
to  the  whole,"  giving  a  short  recapitulation  of  the  most  memorable 
transactions  in  England  till  the  Restoration. 

It  will  be  obvious  that  the  above  authorities,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Ellesdon  memoir,  treat  generally  of  the  whole  of  the  King's 
wanderings,  and  I  propose,  therefore,  to  use  them  only  so  far  as 
they  relate  to  the  King's  wanderings  in  Dorset,  and  to  confine  the 
limits  of  my  paper  to  the  essentially  Dorset  portion  of  them,  from 
the  time  when  the  King  left  Trent  with  the  intention  of  escaping 

*  Since  reading  this  paper  before  the  Field  Chib  at  Pilsdon,  the  Rev.  J. 
H.  Ward,  of  Gussage  St.  Michael,  has  informed  me  that  he  believes  there 
was  a  quarto  edition  of  the  Claustrum  B.  H.  published  in  1667.  If  this  be 
so,  the  publication  in  1681  was  probably  in  conjunction  with  the  comple- 
tion of  the  second  part  of  Blount's  Boscobel. 


12  CHARLES    II.    IX    DORSET. 

from  Charmouth,  and   his  return  there  after  the  failure  of  that 
attempt. 

Before  I  revert  to  the  King's  arrival  at  Charmouth  (where  he 
first  appears  upon  Dorset  ground),  I  will  shortly  allude  to  the 
various  places  (an  excellent  chart  of  which  is  given  in  Mr. 
Hughes's  book)  at  which  he  stayed  in  his  memorable  flight  after 
the  battle  of  Worcester,  the  fatal  result  of  which,  and  the 
dispersal  of  the  Scottish  forces,  u^Don  which  he  principally  relied 
to  wrest  his  father's  crown  from  the  hands  of  the  Parliament,  left 
him  no  other  hope  than  the  bare  preservation  of  his  life.  Charles, 
having  abandoned  his  original  idea  of  escaping  to  London,  and 
unwilling  to  trust  himself  with  his  lukewarm  Scottish  allies  in 
their  endeavour  to  return  to  Scotland,  made  an  ineffectual 
attempt  to  cross  the  Severn,  in  order  to  reach  some  Welsh  port 
from  which  he  might  gain  the  French  coast.  This  led  to  the 
Royal  visits  to  Whiteladies  and  Boscobel  (both  the  property  of  the 
Giflfard  family),  to  Mr.  Wolfe's  house  at  Madeley ;  to  Mr. 
Whitgreave's,  at  Moseley ;  and  to  Colonel  Lane's,  at  Bentiey.  It 
was  at  Bentiey  that  Charles  determined  to  make  for  the  west  of 
England,  and  trusted  that  either  from  Bristol  or  one  of  the 
southern  ports  he  might  secure  a  passage  to  France.  Here,  then, 
on  September  10th,  the  King,  in  the  character  of  a  serving  man 
to  the  heroic  Jane  Lane  (Colonel  Lane's  sister),  who  rode  with 
him  upon  a  double  horse,  commenced  that  memorable  ride,  which, 
through  Stratford-on-Avon,  Long  Marston,  Cirencester,  Abbot's 
Leigh,  and  Castle  Cary,  ended  for  the  time  at  Colonel  Francis 
Wyndham's  house  at  Trent,  on  the  borders  of  Somerset  and 
Dorset.  With  Trent,  then,  which  was  reached  on  Wednesday, 
September  17th,  the  interest  of  my  Dorset  readers  may  be  said 
to  commence,  for  it  was  here  that  the  idea  was  fir^t  suggested 
that  Charles  should  make  his  escape  from  the  Dorset  coast.  To 
thid  intent  Colonel  Wyndham  was  despatched  to  Melbury,  in 
Dorsetshire,  the  seat  of  Sir  John  Strangways,  to  see  if  either  he 
or  his  two  sons  (who  had  both  been  colonels  in  Charles  I.'s 
service)  could  be  of  any  assistance  in  procuring  a  vessel  eitlier  at 


CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET.  13 

Weymouth,  Poole,  or  Lyme.  This  assistance  the  colonel  was 
unable  to  obtain,  but,  what  was  probably  the  next  best  thing  he 
could  do  under  the  circumstances,  brought  back  a  considerable 
sum  of  money  for  the  use  of  the  King.  "  All  other  plans  for 
His  Majesty's  escape  by  sea  having  miscarried,  Colonel  Wyndham 
acquainted  the  King  that  he  formerly  knew  one  Captain  William 
Ellesdon,  of  Lyme,  and  his  brother  John,  who  by  means  of 
Colonel  BuUen  Reymes,  of  Waddon,  brother-in-law  to  Wyndham, 
had  carried  over  Sir  John  Berkeley  ;  and  proceeded  to  Lyme  to 
consult  Captain  Ellesdon,  committing,  however,  at  first  no  more 
than  the  name  of  Lord  Wilmot  as  the  person  in  danger.  Ellesdon 
cordially  undertook  to  assist,  and  according!}^  bargained  with 
Stephen  Limbry,  the  master  of  a  coasting  vessel  and  a  tenant  of 
his  own,  that  the  latter  should  for  the  sum  of  £60,  to  be  paid  on 
the  certified  safe  delivery  of  his  passengers,  convey  a  party  of 
three  or  four  royalist  gentlemen  by  night  from  Charmouth  into 
France."  Thus  far  Hutchins.  Ellesdon,  in  his  letter  to  Lord 
Clarendon,  says  that  the  party  were  to  be  described  to  the  seamen 
as  a  Mr.  Payne  (Lord  Wilmot),  a  broken  merchant,  flying  from 
his  creditors,  with  one  servant  (tl.e  King)  accompanying  him. 
^' The  conditions  of  the  agreement  were  that  before  the  two-and- 
twentieth  day  of  that  instant,  September,  Limbry  should  bring 
his  vessel  into  Charmouth  Koad,  and  on  the  said  two-and- 
twentieth,  in  the  night,  should  receive  the  colonel  and  his 
company  into  his  longboat  from  the  beach  near  Charmouth,  from 
thence  carry  them  to  his  ship,  and  so  land  them  safe  in  France."* 
The  tide  not  serving  before  eleven  or  twelve  at  nighty  it  was 
necessary  that  private  rooms  should  be  secured  at  Charmouth 
to  avoid  suspicion,  and,  remembering  that  the  day  appointed  for 
the  King's  embarking  was  Lyme  fair,  lest  the  inn  at  Charmouth 
might  be  filled  with  other  guests,  Henry  Peters  (the  trusty  valet 
of  Colonel  Wyndham)  was  sent  with  instructions  to  Charmouth  ; 
and  by  an  earnest  in  money  and  a  few  glasses  of  wine  succeeded 
in  engaging  the  hostess  of  the  little  inn  to  promise  the  two  best 
*  **  ClaiTstrum  Regale  Reseratum." 


14  CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET. 

rooms  in  the  inn  to  a  runaway  bridal  party  from  Devonshire,  he 
telHng  her  that  there  was  a  young  man  to  come  thither  the  next 
Monday  that  had  stolen  a  gentlewoman  to  marry  her,  and  (fearing 
lest  they  should  be  followed  and  hindered)  that  he  desired  to 
have  the  house  and  stables  at  liberty  to  depart  at  whatever  hour 
of  the  night  he  should  think  fittest.  All  precautions  being  now 
taken,  the  eventful  morning  of  Monday,  the  22nd  of  September, 
arrived,  and  the  Royal  party  proceeded  from  Trent  to  Charmouth, 
the  King  attended  by  Colonel  Wyndham  as  his  guide,  and  riding 
double  before  Mrs.  Juliana  Coningsby  (Lady  Wyndham's  niece), 
whose  services  were  probably  necessary  to  personate  the  supposed 
Devonshire  bride.  Lord  Wilmot  and  Peters  accompanied  them 
at  a  convenient  distance  to  avoid  suspicion.  History  is  silent 
as  to  the  route  to  Charmouth  taken  by  the  royal  party,  but  it 
may  not  probably  be  far  removed  from  that  given  by  the  late 
Harrison  Ainsworth  in  his  novel  called  "  Boscobel,"  which,  though 
a  work  of  fiction,  has  for  its  basis  a  considerable  amount  of 
historical  truth — the  author  being  well  acquainted  with  the 
Boscobel  Tracts — and  the  novel  itself,  in  fact,  being  dedicated  to 
Mr.  Hughes.  The  novelist  makes  them  take  for  a  time  the 
Valley  of  the  Yeo,  and  then,  heading  more  to  the  south,  they 
approached  Pilsdon  and  Lewesdon  Hills.  In  fact,  he  says,  "  the 
road  led  them  over  Pillesdon  Pen,  and  they  then  descended  into 
the  valley  in  which  stood  Pillesdon,  the  residence  of  Sir  Hugh 
AVyndham,  the  colonel's  uncle,  but  they  did  not  go  near  the 
mansion."  In  all  probability  they  came  down  the  Vale  of 
Marshwood — at  that  time,  as  now,  a  secluded  and  sparsely  pojDU- 
lated  district,  which  a  century  and  a  quarter  later  called  forth 
from  Hutchins  the  remai'k  that  "  few  gentry  ever  resided  in  this 
tract," — for  they  met  Ellesdon,  as  previously  arranged,  at  a  lonely 
house  belonging  to  his  father,  situated  about  a  mile  and  a-half 
from  Charmouth,  among  the  hills  to  the  north.  At  nightfall  the 
Royal  party  moved  on  to  Charmouth,  where  Ellesdon  took  his 
leave  in  the  full  confidence  that  everything  had  been  satisfactorily 
arranged,     "  About  an  hour  after  came  Limbry  to  the  inn,  and 


CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET.  15 

assured  the  colonel  all  things  were  prepared,  and  that  about 
midnight  his  longboat  should  wait  at  the  place  appointed.  The 
set  hour  drawing  nigh,  the  colonel,  with  Peters,  went  to  the 
seaside  (leaving  His  Majesty  and  Lord  Wilmot  in  a  posture  to 
come  away  upon  call),  where  they  remained  all  night ;  but  seeing 
no  longboat,  neither  hearing  any  message  from  the  master  of  the 
ship,  at  the  break  of  day  the  colonel  returns  to  the  inn  and 
beseeches  the  King  and  Lord  Wilmot  to  haste  from  thence.  His 
Majesty  was  entreated,  but  Lord  Wilmot  was  desirous  to  stay 
behind  a  little,  promising  to  follow  the  King  to  Bridport,  where 
His  Majesty  intended  to  make  a  halt  for  him.  When  the  King 
was  gone,  the  Lord  Wilmot  sent  Peters  into  Lyme  to  demand  of 
Captain  EUesdon  the  reason  why  Limbry  broke  his  promise  and 
forfeited  his  word.  He  seemed  much  surprised  w^ith  this  message, 
and  said  he  knew  no  reason,  except  it  being  fair  day  the  seamen 
were  drunk  in  taking  their  farewell,  and  withal  advised  his 
lordship  to  be  gone,  because  his  stay  there  could  not  be  safe."* 
What  really  seems  to  have  happened  was  this,  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  account  given  by  Limbry  himself : — That  he  had  put  forth 
his  ship  beyond  the  Cob's-mouth  into  Charmouth  Road  on  the 
night  of  the  22nd  as  arranged,  where  the  seamen  were  all  ready 
in  her  waiting  his  coming  ;  that  he  went  to  his  house  about  ten 
that  night  for  linen  to  carry  with  him,  and  was  unexpectedly 
locked  into  a  chamber  by  his  wife,  to  whom  he  had  a  little  before 
revealed  his  intended  voyage  with  some  passengers  into  France, 
for  whose  transportation,  at  his  return,  he  was  to  receive  a 
considerable  sum  of  money  from  Captain  Ellesdon.  The  woman, 
it  seems,  who  had  been  to  the  fair,  was  frightened  into  a  panic  by 
that  dreadful  proclamation  of  the  10th  of  September,  set  out  by 
the  men  of  Westminster,  and  published  that  day  at  Lyme.  In  this 
a  heavy  penalty  was  thundered  out  against  all  who  should  conceal 
the  King  or  any  of  his  party  who  were  at  Worcester  fight,  and  a 
reward  of  a  thousand  pounds  promised  to  any  that  should  betray 
him.  She,  apprehending  the  jDersons  her  husband  engaged  to 
*  "  Claustrum  Regale  Reseratum," 


16  CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET. 

carry  over  to  be  Royalists,  resolved  to  secure  him  from  danger  by 
making  him  a  prisoner  in  his  own  chamber.  All  the  persuasions 
he  used  for  his  liberty  were  in  vain  ;  for  the  more  he  entreated 
the  more  her  violent  passion  increased,  breaking  forth  into  such 
clamours  and  lamentations  that  he  feared,  if  he  should  any  longer 
contend,  both  himself  and  the  gentlemen  he  promised  to  transport 
would,  to  use  the  words  of  Mrs.  Anne  Wyndham,  be  cast  away 
in  this  storm  without  ever  going  to  sea.  Here  the  master  showed 
his  wisdom  not  a  little  by  his  peaceable  behaviour,  for  had  he 
striven  in  the  least  it  is  more  than  probable  His  Majesty  and  his 
attendants  had  been  suddenly  seized  upon  in  the  inn.  On  leaving 
Charmouth  early  in  the  morning  of  the  23rd  September  the  King 
seems  to  have  taken  the  direct  road  to  Bridport,  distant  some  six 
miles,  riding  on  with  Mistress  Coningsby  and  Colonel  Wyndham. 
Harrison  Ainsworth  gives  in  his  "  Boscobel"  a  graphic  description 
of  the  journey  from  Charmouth  to  Bridport,  and,  though  in  a  work 
of  fiction,  a  perfectly  correct  account  of  the  route  they  must  have 
passed  over  on  that  journey,  an  account  which  no  one  who  did 
not  know  that  part  of  the  country  well  could  have  written.  The 
Royal  party  must  have  toiled  up  Stonebarrow-hill,  on  through 
Morecomblake,  and  we  can  picture  them  whilst  halting  to  allow 
time  for  Wilmot  and  Peters  to  overtake  them,  admiring  the 
lovely  view  the  wide  stretching  Yale  of  Marshwood  afforded  them 
on  the  left,  and  the  glorious  gorse-and-heather-covered  Golden 
Cap — (a  magnificent  headland  overhanging  the  sea,  said  to  be  the 
highest  coast  point  between  Dover  and  the  Land's  End) — on  the 
right.  Again,  having  descended  that  long  and  terribly  steej)  hill 
into  Chideock,  we  can  see  them  pausing  once  more  on  the  brow  of 
the  last  hill  before  coming  into  Bridport — a  vantage  spot  from 
w^hich  a  most  delightful  peep  of  the  peaceful  and  smiling  village 
of  Symondsbury,  nestling  at  the  foot  of  Colmer's  picturesque 
cone,  lies  open  on  the  left.  Another  mile  and  they  approach  the 
outskirts  of  Bridport.  At  this  time,  perhaps,  the  most  alarming 
crisis  of  the  King's  fate  was  impending.  The  port  of  Lyme  (we 
learn  from  Mr.  Hughes's  narrative)  swarmed  with  persons  drawn 


CHARLES    II.    m    DORSET. 


thither  by  the  fair,  and  the  coast  was  beleaguered  by  a  detach- 
ment of  Republicans,  prepared  to  embark  in  the  expedition 
destined  to  reduce  Guernsey  and  Jersey,  whose  headquarters  were 
at  Bridport  when  Charles  arrived.  Here  Colonel  Wyndham,  who 
began  to  despair  of  the  safety  of  his  charge,  asked  the  King 
doubtingly  what  they  must  now  do.  Unwilling  to  abandon 
AVilmot,  with  whom  he  had  appointed  a  meeting  in  the  town, 
Charles,  with  prompt  decision,  rode  into  the  yard  of  the  principal 
inn  of  Bridport,  the  George — a  site  now^  covered  by  the  premises  of 
Messrs.  Beach  and  Co.,  chemists,  which  to  this  day  have  an 
inscription  commemorative  of  the  event — pushing  his  way  with 
the  horses  among  the  crowd  of  surly  troopers  who  obstructed 
the  entrance  to  the  stable.  Having,  like  a  practised  serving-man, 
made  good  his  point,  at  the  expense  of  some  rough  language  from 
the  soldiers,  the  King  was  somewhat  startled  by  the  observation 
of  the  ostler  that  "  surely  he  had  seen  his  face  before."  Main- 
taining his  countenance  perfectly,  he  drew  from  the  man  that  he 
had  lived  at  an  inn  at  Exeter,  close  to  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Potter, 
who  had  in  fact  entertained  part  of  the  Royal  staff  during  the 
civil  wars.  "Friend,"  said  Charles,  "you  must  have  certainly 
seen  me  at  Mr.  Potter's,  for  I  served  him  above  a  year."  The 
ostler,  perfectly  recognising  this  statement,  parted  from  him  with 
a  mutual  promise  that  they  would  drink  a  pot  of  beer  together  on 
the  young  man's  return,  and  Charles,  after  talking  with  equal 
freedom  to  the  troopers,  joined  his  friends  on  pretence  of  waiting 
on  them  at  dinner.  After  they  had  dined  Lord  Wilmot  came 
riding  up  the  street  with  Peters,  and,  catching  sight  of  the  party 
at  the  window  proceeded  to  the  other  inn,  whence  he  despatched 
Peters  to  appoint  a  meeting  out  of  the  town  and  hasten  their 
departure.  Fearing  pursuit  from  Charmouth,  which  in  fact  was 
already  on  foot,  the  Royal  party,  now  joined  by  Wilmot  and 
Peters,  stayed  no  long  time  in  Bridport,  but,  if  we  may  believe 
the  historical  accounts,  pushed  straight  through  the  town,  as  if 
to  reach  Dorchester,  distant  some  15  or  16  miles,  then,  whether  by 
accident,  or,  intending,  it  may  be,  to  return  once  more  to  Trent, 


18  CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET. 

turned  off  to  the  loft  from  the  Dorcbester-road  when  a  mile  or 
two  out  from  Bridport,  and  reached  the  little  village  of  Broad- 
winsor,  about  six  or  seven  miles  distant.  In  the  meantime  (to 
nse  the  words  of  Mr.  Hughes)  a  dangerous  miscliief  had  been 
brooding  in  their  rear.  The  ostler  at  the  inn  at  Charmouth,  an 
old  Republican  soldier,  had  drawn  suspicious  conclusions  from 
observing  the  horses  kept  saddled  in  the  stables  all  the  previous 
night,  as  well  as  from  the  frequent  visits  of  Colonel  Wyndham 
and  Peters  to  the  seashore.  After  communicating  his  thoughts 
to  his  mistress,  who  checked  him  sharply  for  his  officiousness,  he 
took  Lord  Wilmot's  horse,  which  had  cast  a  shoe,  to  the  neigh- 
bouring' forge.  Hammet,  the  blacksmith,  a  shrewd  artisan, 
instantly  remarked  "  This  horse  has  but  three  shoes,  and  they 
were  all  set  in  different  counties,  and  one  in  Worcestershire."  On 
the  departure  of  the  King  the  ostler  lost  no  time  in  seekinc^  to 
communicate  this  hint  and  his  own  comments  to  Bartholomew 
Wesley,  the  Puritan  minister  of  the  place  (the  grandfather,  it  is  said, 
of  the  famous  John  Wesley),  whom  he  found  engaged  in  family 
worship.  This  caused  some  delay,  but  "  learning,  however,  after- 
wards, the  state  of  facts  either  from  Hammet  or  the  ostler,  the 
preacher  made  all  speed  to  the  inn,  preparing  in  his  mind  the 
most  successful  mode  of  entrapping  the  hostess  into  a  confession. 
'  Wh}^  how  now,  Margaret,'  quoth  he,  '  you  are  a  maid  of  honour.' 
'  What  mean  you  by  that,  Mr.  Parson  X  rejoined  Margaret,  tartly. 
'  Why,  Charles  Stuart  lay  last  night  at  your  house  and  kissed  you 
at  his  departure,  so  that  you  now  cannot  but  be  a  maid  of 
honour.' "  The  woman  then  (says  EUesdon)  began  to  be  very 
angry,  and  told  him  he  was  a  scurvy-eonditioned  Uian  to  go  about 
to  bring  her  and  her  house  into  trouble.  "  But,"  said  she,  "  if  I 
thought  it  was  the  King,  as  you  say  it  was,  I  should  think  tlie 
better  of  my  lips  all  the  days  of  my  life ;  so,  Mr.  Parson,  get  you 
out  of  my  house,  or  I'll  get  tliose  who  shall  kick  you  out." 
Digesting  this  rebuff  as  he  might,  the  minister  accompanied  the 
ostler  before  a  magistrate  (said  to  be  Mr.  Butler,  of  Commer), 
who,  not    seeing,  or  choosing   not    to  see,    any  call    for  his  own 


CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET.  19 

interference,  treated  the  affair  lightly.  But  Captain  ^lacy,  the 
Republican  officer  commanding  the  nearest  picket,  equipped  his 
troop  as  soon  as  the  tidings  reached  him  and  gallopped  off  on 
the  London-road  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  Ere,  however,  they 
came  in  sight,  the  Royal  party,  httle  knowing  the  jeopardy  from 
which  they  were  escaping,  had  taken  the  road  to  Yeovil,  and, 
while  Macy  and  his  men  pushed  on  furiously  in  the  direction  of 
Dorchester,  reached  without  molestation  a  viHage  called  Broad- 
winsor,  as  I  have  before  mentioned.  Arriving  at  Broadwinsor  the 
fugitives  repaired  to  the  George  (at  that  time,  Mr.  Hughes  says, 
called  the  Castle),  the  only  inn  in  the  place,  kept  by  one  Rice 
Jones,  formerly  known  to  Colonel  \V3a1dham,  and  a  lodging  was 
procured  for  the  party  in  the  upper  story  for  the  sake  of  greater 
caution.  (Curiously  enough  I  have  in  my  possession  a  seven- 
teenth century  farthing  token  of  Broadwinsor,  dated  1667, 
belongiuo-  to  one  Alice  Jones.  Could  she  have  been  the  wife  of 
the  loyal  host  of  the  George,  but  then,  may  be,  a  widow,  from 
the  circumstances  of  her  initials  only  appearing  on  the  token  % 
This  is,  I  believe,  the  only  token  of  Broadwinsor  known  to  exist.) 
Before  the  party  had  been  long  in  the  house  about  40  soldiers 
on  their  way  to  Jersey  came  in  unexpectedly  to  be  billeted 
there  for  the  night.  The  confusion  which  ensued  in  the  narrov>^ 
kitchen  was  presently  worse  confounded  by  the  screams  of  one  of 
the  female  camp  followers,  who  was  suddenly  taken  in  labour, 
and  by  the  squabble  which  presently  issued  between  the  troopers 
and  the  parish  officers,  "who  came  down  to  resist  this  unwelcome 
addition  to  their  population.  The  greater  part  of  the  night  was 
consumed  in  this  brawl,  which,  though  it  effectually  deprived  the 
King  of  rest,  tended  to  his  security  by  occupying  the  attention  of 
the  soldiers  till  the  time  for  marching  had  arrived.  It  was  here, 
in  all  probability,  finding  the  neighbourhood  full  of  soldiers — 
drawn  together  no  doubt  towards  Weymouth  with  the  object  of 
joining  in  the  long-talked-of  expedition  from  that  place  against 
the  loyal  Channel  Islands — that  Charles  and  his  party  gave  up  all 
further  idea  of  attempting  to   escape  to  France  from  the  Dorset 


20  CHARLES    II.    IX    DORSET. 

coast,  and,  if  they  had  not  already  made  up  their  minds,  at  all 
events  confirmed  their  intention  of  returning  once  more  to  Trent 
for  shelter  until  some  means  of  escape  might  offer  from  some 
Sussex  seaport.  It  was  now,  if  at  all,  that  Pilsdon,  I  think,  must 
have  been  visited.  It  was  the  home  of  Sir  Hugh  Wyndham, 
uncle  of  Colonel  Wyndham,  the  companion  of  Charles's  flight;  it 
was  near  Broadwindsor,  and  was,  moreover,  an  out-of-the-way 
secluded  abode.  That  such  an  idea  was  entertained  at  that  time 
is  extremely  probable,  and  it  may  be,  as  Ainsworth  has  it,  that 
"  Colonel  Wyndham  would  have  proposed  Pillesdon  as  a  retreat, 
but  he  said  the  house  w^ould  surely  be  searched  now,  so  Charles 
said  he  would  not  go  to  Pillesdon,  but  return  to  Trent."  That 
such  a  course  was  considered  by  Charles's  friends  to  be  in  the 
highest  degree  probable,  we  know  from  the  fact  that  Captain 
Ellesdon,  when  he  learnt  of  the  failure  of  the  attempt  to  cross 
the  Channel  from  Charmouth,  "  came  to  Pillesdon  and  enquired 
of  Sir  Hugh  and  his  lady  for  the  King  and  Colonel,  confidently 
affirming  that  they  must  needs  be  there."  That  such  a  course 
would  have  been  extremely  hazardous  we  know,  too,  because  "  at 
this  juncture  the  report  of  the  King's  being  at  Charmouth  was 
grown  so  common  that  the  soldiers  lying  in  those  parts  searched 
the  houses  of  several  gentlemen  who  w^ere  accounted  Ptoyalist, 
thinking  to  surprise  him  ;  amongst  which  Pilisdon  (the  house  of 
Sir  Hugh  Wyndham,  uncle  to  Colonel  Francis  Wyndham)  was 
twice  rifled.  They  took  the  old  baronet,  his  lady,  daughters,  and 
whole  family  and  set  a  guard  upon  them  in  the  hall  whilst  they 
examined  every  corner,  not  sparing  either  trunk  or  box.  Then 
taking  a  particular  view  of  their  prisoners  they  seized  a  lovely 
young  lady,  saying  she  was  the  King  disguised  in  woman's 
apparel.  At  length,  being  convinced  of  their  gross  and  rude 
mistake,  they  desisted  from  offering  any  further  violence  to  that 
flimily."'^     There    is    about    half-a-mile    from    the    old    house   at 

*  This  graphic  description  by  Mrs.  Anne  Wyndham  refers  no  doubt  to 
what  took  place  at  Pilsdon  during  the  second  of  these  domiciliary  visits. 
The.//)-s^  took  place  probably  about  a  couple  of  months  earlier,  in  pursuance 
of  an  order  of  the  Council  of  State  to  Colonel  Heane  or  Hayne,  who  had 


CHARLES    II.    IN    DoRyET.  21 

Pilsdou  a  long  narrow  copse  of  about  ten  or  twelve  acres  in 
extent  called  King's  Moor  (or  More)  Copse.  It  adjoins  Laverstock 
Farm,  and  lies  on  the  road  from  Broadwindsor  to  Pilsdon.  Tradi- 
tion says  that  in  this  copse  the  King  lay  hid,  from  which  circum- 
stance it  is  said  to  have  derived  its  name.  It  would  not  have 
been  the  first  time  that  Charles  had  taken  to  a  wood  in  times  of 
danger,  and  the  truth  of  this  part  of  the  tradition,  at  all  events, 
w^as  always  accepted  as  an  undoubted  fact  by  a  late  tenant  of  the 
farm  whom  I  well  knew,  and  as  such  he  received  it.  It  is 
somewhat  of  a  curious  coincidence  that  Ainsworth,  who  in  his 
story  of  the  course  the  King  took  after  reaching  Bridport,  shows 
a  wide  divergence  from  that  generally  accepted — an  intentional 
divergence,  perhaps,  to  show  off  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
district — states  that  on  approaching  Winterborne  Abbas  ''  the 
Boyal  party  descried  their  pursuers  and  hid  themselves  in  a  copse 
till  they  passed."  Perhaps  he  may  have  heard  the  tradition  in 
the  same  form  that  I  did.  As  I  have  said  before,  the  authorita- 
tive accounts  of  the  King's  wanderings  hardly  support  the 
tradition  that  the  King  visited  Pilsdon,  for  they  show  that  on  the 
evening  of  the  very  day  he  left  Broadwindsor,  September  2ith,  he 
reached  Trent  again,  which  would  leave  very  little  time  for  any 
concealment  at  Pilsdon,  when  one  considers  the  distance  to  be 
traversed.  The  silence  of  the  King  himself  on  this  subject  when 
dictating  the  account  of  his  wanderings  to  Pepys,  the  absence  of 
any  mention  of  the  fact  to  be  found  in  the  circumstantial  and 

charge  of  the  Parliamentary  troops  in  that  district.  A  verbatim  copy  of 
this  order  has,  through  the  kindness  of  Rev.  J.  H.  Ward,  of  Gussage  St. 
Michael,  been  placed  in  my  hands.     It  runs  as  follows  : — 

Whitehall 

Council  of  State  to  Colonel  Heane 

July  28,  1651 

Being  informed  that  there 

has  been  some  design  lately 

carried  on  in  Lady  Windham's 

House  in  Dorset  against  the  peace 

And  that  some  persons  may 

be  privately  lodged  there,  who 

may  justly  be  suspected 

of  carrying  on  the  said  design 

We  desire  you  to  repair  to 

the  said  House. 


22  CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET. 

detailed  narratives  given  by  Blount  in  his  "  Boscobel,"  by  Captain 
EUesdon  in  his  letter  to  Lord  Clarendon,  and  by  Mrs.  Anne 
Wyndhani  in  her  tract  '''  Claustrum  Regale  Reseratum,"  to  say 
nothing  of  the  well  recognised  danger  that  must  have  attended 
his  concealment  in  a  house  belonging  to  so  well  known  a  Royalist 
as  Sir  Hugh  Wyndham,  all  tend  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  I 
am  afraid  that  Pilsdon,  like  many  other  claimants  to  the  honour 
of  having  entertained  or  sheltered  the  King,  must  be  content  to 
rest  its  claim  (as  I  have  said  before)  upon  tradition  only.  The 
old  manor-house,  now  but  a  farmhouse,  with  its  fine  old  mullioned 
windows,  and  well  cut  label  over  the  entrance  door,  still  maintains 
a  dignified  appearance  in  its  quiet  retirement,  though  shorn  of 
much  of  its  beauty  and  size,  and  I  do  not  know  at  the  present 
moment  a  house  better  adapted  for  a  similar  purpose.  At  a 
distance  from  anything  that  can  be  called  a  road,  it  is  fairly 
inaccessible  at  the  best  of  times,  as  I  have  known  to  my  cost ; 
whilst  what  it  really  may  be  in  bad  weather,  let  those  who  w^ere 
imprisoned  in  it  during  the  fearful  snow-storm  of  January  18th, 
1881,  say  how  many  days  passed  before  any  food,  beyond  what 
happened  to  be  in  the  house  at  the  time,  was  able  to  reach  the 
beleaguered  garrison. 

It  has  occurred  to  me  that  it  would  be  very  interesting  could 
we  know  the  present  condition  or  fate  of  such  of  the  old  houses 
as  did  actually  conceal  the  King,  an  attempt  to  show  which  was 
actually  made  by  Mr.  Hughes  in  his  Boscobel  Tracts.  But 
as  that  was  now  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  and  there  have  been 
changes  in  some  of  them  since  then,  I  may  be  pardoned  if  I 
shortly  state  (with  regard  to  such  of  them  as  have  formed  part  of 
the  subject  of  my  paper)  what  condition  Mr.  Hughes  found  them 
in  at  the  time  of  the  publication  of  the  first  edition  of  his  book 
(1830),  and  the  state  that  a  tour  recently  undertaken  by  myself 
has  shown  them  to  be  in  now. 

I  will  begin  with  Trent,  because  though  not  actually  in  Dorset- 
shire, though  on  the  immediate  borders,  it  formed  the  starting 
point  whence  the  wanderings  in  Dorset  commenced,  and  the  goal 


CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET.  23 

to  which  the  abortive  result  of  those  wanderings  necessitated  a 
return.  Mr.  Hughes,  in  the  Boscohel  Tracts  (Ed.  1857,  p. 
103),  gives  a  very  good  engraving  of  Trent  House,  and  describes 
the  mansion  as  consisting  of  two  different  parts.  "  The  front, 
commonly  selected  as  a  point  of  view,  is  a  heavy  structure, 
erected  since  the  Restoration ;  the  back  part  looking  into  the 
farmyard,  and  looking  out  on  a  range  of  massive  old  barns  and 
stabling,  contains  the  important  features  which  the  engraving- 
represented.  Over  the  projecting  penthouse,  into  which  the 
kitchen  door  opens,  are  the  windows  of  the  bedchamber  which 
Lady  Wyndham  gave  up  to  the  King's  use.  This  room  evidently 
was  once  connected  with  a  smaller  apartment  in  the  projecting 
wing  marked  by  the  massive  stone  window,  of  the  shape  and  size 
which  proves  it  a  hiding-place,  and  furnished  with  a  double  floor. 
The  situation  of  the  latter  is  shown  by  a  small  garret  window, 
now  boarded  up,  which  furnished  it  with  light  and  air ;  and  it 
probably  communicated  with  a  large  dilapidated  brew-house 
beneath,  from  which  the  curious  traveller  must  crawl  up  to  it  by 
a  ladder,  to  the  great  disarrangement  of  farming  utensils  and 
roosting  hens,  as  well  as  peril  to  his  own  clothes.  The  kitchen  is 
spacious  and  the  fireplace  baronial  in  its  dimensions  ;  as  might 
therefore  be  expected,  the  farmer's  wife  points  to  the  identical 
spot  where  the  King  sat  and  turned  the  spit."  Here  I  may 
mention  that  the  incident  of  the  spit,  or  rather  jack,  did  not 
happen  at  Trent,  as  of  course  Mr.  Hughes  knew,  but  at 
Mr.  Tombs's  house  at  Long  Marston,  near  Stratford-on-Avon, 
a  house  of  which  Mr.  Hughes  gives  no  description,  though 
it  is  still  in  existence,  for  I  went  over  it  only  last  month. 
It  boasts  of  a  large  stone  chimney-stack,  and,  though  there 
are  more  recent  additions  to  it,  the  greater  part  of  the 
building  seems  to  be  the  same  as  it  might  well  have  been  two 
hundred  years  ago.  The  old  kitchen  (where  the  jack  is  still 
religiously  kept,  secured  in  a  glass  case  fastened  on  a  beam,  in  a 
corner  of  the  ceiling  nearest  to  the  large  open  fireplace)  is  now 
apparently  used  as  a  cider  cellar. 


24  CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET. 

I  stayed  a  night  recently  at  Trent  Manor,  and  through  the 
courtesy  of  my  friend,  ^vho  had  lately  taken  the  house,  I  was 
enabled  to  go  all  over  it.  It  has  certninly  been  much  altered 
since  Mr.  Hughes  wrote,  and  the  restoration  and  extensive 
additions  to  the  building  have  robbed  it,  to  my  mind,  of  a  great 
deal  of  interest  from  an  antiquarian  point  of  view.  The  garden 
wall  at  the  back  has  been  rebuilt  and  thrown  back  ;  the  pent- 
house too  is  gone  ;  but  the  small  apartment  in  the  projecting 
wing  which  formed  the  King's  hiding-place  is  still  there,  though  I 
saw  no  signs  of  a  ladder  or  roosting  hens.  There  is  still  Lady 
Anne  Wyndham's  bedchamber,  externally  at  least  restored,  and 
no  longer  over  the  kitchen,  but  the  dining-room,  into  which  the 
kitchen  has  been  converted.  The  huge  fireplace,  though  moder- 
nised, is  there ;  whilst  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  a  good  deal  of 
the  panelling  and  beams  that  still  keep  their  place  in  Lady  Anne's 
room  (of  which  Ainsforth  gives  a  fairly  trustworthy  engraving  in 
his  novel)  are  not  17th  century  w^ork,  to  say  the  least.  The 
King's  quarters  is  the  only  part  not  restored,  and  no  doubt 
designedly  so,  and,  seen  fi'om  the  back,  present  still  an  interesting 
and  antiquated  appearance,  whilst  the  front  of  the  house  has  been 
considerably  enlarged  in  restoration. 

The  quaint  and  beautiful  little  church  immediately  adjoining, 
wherein  lie  the  monuments  of  the  Wyndham  family  and  its 
alliances,  is  well  worthy  of  a  visit. 

With  regard  to  the  old  inn  at  Charmouth,  Mr.  Hughes  remarks 
(in  1830)  : — "  It  is  still  in  existence,  bearing  marks  of  undoubted 
antiquity,  and,  though  no  longer  an  inn,  is  not  likely  to  have 
been  substituted  by  village  traditiou  for  the  right  place."  He 
obtained  some  further  information  from  a  lady  correspondent,  who 
says  : — "  The  chimney  at  the  east  end  of  the  house  is  immensely 
wide,  and  projects  some  feet  into  the  upper  room,  causing  a  little 
recess,  or  very  confined  apartment,  in  which  is  a  small  window. 
This  place  is  called  the  '  King's  hiding-hole'  by  the  people  of  the 
house,  though  a  place  that  looks  into  the  street  is  not  very  likely 
to  have  been  used  as  a  place  of  concealment."     This  part  of  the 


CHARLES    II.    IN'    DORSET.  2o 

tradition  Mr.  Hughes  very  justly  appears  to  regard  as  apocryphal, 
and  that  it  was  more  likely  such  fabrications  were  constructed 
during  the  King's  popularity  for  obvious  reasons. 

When  I  saw  the  old  house  a  week  or  two  ago  it  presented  much 
the  same  appearance  as  it  might  have  done  in  1830,  and  is  now, 
and  has  long  been,  the  residence  of  the  Nonconformist  minister  at 
Charmouth,  and  adjoins  the  chapel.  It  is  now  divided  into  two 
dwellings,  in  the  lower  one  of  which  is  the  chimney  in  question, 
though  not  now  an  open  one  in  its  entirety.  On  entering  it 
through  a  cupboard  door  at  the  side  one  could  move  freely  about 
in  it.  The  occupant  of  the  cottage  told  me  that  her  husband's 
grandfather  remembered  when  they  used  to  roast  an  ox  there ; 
and  well  they  might,  for  it  is  certainly  "  immensely  wide."  There 
is  an  old  stone  doorway,  with  remains  of  large  iron  staples  and 
hinges,  and  holes  where  apparently  bars  had  once  been  fixed.  My 
informant  confided  to  me  that  Charles  hid  himself  in  the  chimney 
for  eight  hours,  and  that  the  bars  were  used  to  prevent  the  door 
being  forced  whilst  the  King  was  there.  With  regard  to  this  I 
am  of  Mr.  Hughes'  opinion.  From  the  garden  at  the  back  the 
huge  stone  chimney-stack  stands  out  conspicuous,  and  is  the  most 
antique  feature  in  the  whole  building.  The  only  interesting- 
feature  in  the  higher  dwelling,  wherein  lives  the  Nonconformist 
minister,  is  the  ceiling  of  one  of  the  ground  floor  rooms,  which  is 
divided  into  squares  by  massive  beams  of  oak,  with  some  good 
carving  upon  them,  intersecting  it.  These  I  was  given  to  under- 
stand had,  until  recently,  been  plastered  up,  and  were  only 
discovered  whilst  some  repairs  to  the  ceiling  were  being  done.  It 
struck  me  at  the  time  that  if  the  plaster  were  removed  from  the 
passage  ceiling  it  would  very  likely  be  found  that  the  beams  were 
carried  over  it  also  in  the  same  way. 

Mr.  Hughes  says  nothing  of  the  old  "  George  Inn"  at  Bridport. 
The  premises  of  Messrs.  Beach  and  Co.,  chemists,  situated  almost 
at  the  junction  of  East  and  West  streets,  now  occupy  the  site  of 
the  old  "  George,"  and  the  shop,  over  which  run  several  old  oak 
beams  supporting  the  low  ceiling,  no  doubt  formed  part  of  the  old 


26  CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET. 

hostelry.  There  are  undoubted  traces  of  a  large  court-yard 
behind,  and  space  for  abundant  stabling,  whilst  part  of  the  old 
stone-tiled  roof  remains,  and  seems  to  have  formed  a  covering  for 
several  dwellings  in  more  recent  times.  In  a  room  at  the  back  of 
the  shop  is  preserved  a  large  oil  painting,  which  has  been  there  as 
long  as  the  present  occupant,  and  his  father  before  him,  can 
remember.  It  is  scvid  to  have  been  given  by  the  King  to  the 
landlady  in  166G — the  date  upon  the  canvas — and  is  stated  to 
represent  Queen  Henrietta  Maria,  another  lady,  and  three  children. 
Why  the  King  should  have  granted  this  distinction  to  a  landlady 
in  whose  house  he  stayed  but  a  very  few  hours,  and  who  (if  there 
were  such  a  person)  must  have  been  absolutely  ignorant  of  his 
presence,  I  cannot  say.  The  story  must  go  for  what  it  is  worth. 
There  is,  besides,  what  appears  to  be  a  portrait  of  the  King 
himself,  but  not  improbably  a  prior  occupant  of  the  premises  has 
brought  that  there,  for  there  is  no  tradition  here  that  this  (a  much 
move  likely  subject  than  the  other)  was  ever  given  to  the  landlady 
in  question.  The  front  of  the  house  now  bears  this  inscription  :  — 
"  Tradition  says  that  Charles  II.  hid  himself  here  in  1651  ;"  but 
not  so  very  many  weeks  ago  I  think  I  remember  the  date  put 
up  w^as  166G,  the  date  of  the  picture  may  be,  but  nevertheless 
an  entirely  erroneous  one. 

"  The  George  Inn,  at  Broadwindsor,"  says  Mr.  Hughes,  writing- 
in  1830,  ''was  pulled  down  and  rebuilt  about  ten  years  ago." 
That  would  be  between  sixty  nnd  seventy  years  from  now. 

He  appears  to  have  had  a  communication  from  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Dowland  (the  then  Vicar  of  Broadwindsor),  who  had  sent  him  the 
substance  of  the  village  traditions.  "  The  inn,"  he  says,  "  after 
the  Restoration  changed  its  name  from  the  '  Castle'  to  the 
'  George,'  as  was  natural  enough."  Why  natural  ?  There  was  no 
occasion  to  have  done  that  before  the  House  of  Hanover  came  to 
the  throne,  when  w^e  might  expect  to  find  it  (as  we  do)  called  the 
"  George,"  in  the  second  part  of  Blount's  "  Boscobel,"  which  was 
not  published  until  1725  (temp.  George  II.).  The  jDresent 
landlord  of  the  George  told  me  very  recently  that  he  distinctly 


CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET.  27 

remembered  many  years  ago  the  inn  had  a  painted  signboard  of 
"  George  and  the  Dragon."  That  looks  as  if  it  were  more 
probably  named  after  the  national  saint — and  not  king — George. 

Mr.  Hughes  goes  on  to  say  (on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Dowland) 
that  a  "  hiding-place  in  the  roof  was  also  shown,  communicating 
with  the  top  of  the  stairs  through  a  passage  masked  by  a  sliding 
panel,  which  was  asserted  to  have  been  the  King's  hiding-place," 
and  gives  it  as  his  opinion  "that  it  was  subsequently  made  by 
some  shrewd  publican,  possibly  by  honest  Rice  Jones  himself. 
There  exists  still  a  piece  of  an  old  bedstead  reported  to  have  been 
presented  by  the  King  to  Jones  after  his  restoration,  which  is 
standing  as  part  of  an  old  summer-house.  '  It  was  of  extremely 
massive  oak,'  says  Mr.  Dowland,  '  having  the  insignia  of  royalty 
beautifully  carved,  fluted,  and  gilded.'  " 

Whether  there  be  any  truth  in  this  I  do  not  know,  but  I  have  in 
my  possession  two  old  oak  and  handsomely  carved  bed-posts, 
(which  I  purchased  a  few  years  ago  from  Mr.  Ewens,  of  Crewkerne, 
to  whose  ancestors  the  George  Inn  at  one  time  belonged),  which 
were  said  to  have  formed  part  of  the  bedstead  which  Charles  II. 
used  the  night  he  stayed  at  Broad^vindsor.  This  bedstead  was 
removed  from  the  inn,  (probably  when  it  was  pulled  down  and 
rebuilt),  and  taken  to  pieces,  one  member  of  the  family  taking 
the  tester,  and  another,  or  others,  the  bed-posts.  The  tester  is 
now  in  the  possession  of  a  member  of  the  f\imily,  and  the  two 
posts  I  now  possess  were  placed  in  a  cottage  at  Mill  Lane,  Broad- 
wind  sor,  which  also  belonged  to  the  same  family,  where  they  were 
scorched  and  charred  whilst  doing  duty  as  supports  to  a  chimney 
corner,  until,  I  believe,  the  cottage  was  either  burnt  or  pulled 
down.  To  this  duty  I  have  again  relegated  them,  for  now, 
thoroughly  scraped  and  cleaned,  they  form  two  excellent  columns 
or  supports  to  an  oak  mantel-piece  in  my  own  library  at  Symonds- 
bury.  At  the  present  time  there  seems  to  be  no  trace  of  the  old 
George,  except  in  the  name  ;  nor  was  I  able  to  extract  any 
further  information  or  traditions  about  it  during  an  interview^  I 
had  with  one  of  Broadwindsor's  oldest  inhabitants. 


28 


CHARLES    II.    IN    DORSET. 


So  true  is  it  that  when  an  old  place  goes  its  old  associations 
soon  follow  it.  Yet  let  but  the  old  building  remain,  though  only 
in  ruins,  the  old  traditions  that  have  clustered  round  it,  (may  be 
for  centuries),  will  haunt  it  still ;  and,  though  sometimes  too 
impenetrably  shrouded  in  an  atmosphere  of  myth  and  super- 
stition, yet  not  infrequently  will  afford  to  a  painstaking  and 
intelligent  search  those  few  grains  of  historical  truth  that  well 
repay  the  annalist  or  the  antiquary  for  his  labour  of  love. 


J.  S.   Udal. 


The  Manor  House,  Symondsbury,  Bridport, 
September,  1885. 


^hc  Jlncicnt  ConncctionlbctiDCcn  Cranborne 
anil  ^ctohcsbuvD. 


By   T.    W.    W.    SMART,    M.D. 


HE  ancient  relationship  between'  the  Abbeys  of 
Cranborne  and  Tewkesbury  gives  us  here  an 
interest  in  that  rich  monastic  institution  which 
sprung  up  in  the  Severn  Valley  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Lords  of  the  Honour  of  Glouces- 
ter, in  whose  vast  domains  both  these  abbeys 
w^ere  included.  It  will  probably  be  remembered  that  the  Abbey 
of  Cranborne  was  founded  some  time  about  a.d.  980,  in  the  reign 
of  King  Ethelred  H.  This  appears  by  a  particular  account  of  the 
transaction  recorded  in  a  valuable  document — the  Chronicle  of 
Tewkesbury,  which  is  preserved  in  the  Monasticon  Anglicanum.  It 
is,  of  course,  in  Latin,  the  translation  of  which  reads  as  follows  : — 
"  About  the  year  of  Grace  930,  in  the  reign  of  the  first  and 
famous  King  Athelstan,  there  lived  a  noble  knight  named  Aylward 
Sneaw  (or  Snow),  so  called  from  his  fair  complexion,  a  descendant 
of  the  illustrious  family  of  King  Edward  the  Elder.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  bravery,  distinction,  and  spotless  integrity.  Being 
mindful  of  his  death,  he  founded  a  small  monastery  for  himself 
and  his  wife  Elgiva,  in  the  time  of  King  Ethelred  and  St. 
Dunstan,  in  honour  of  God,  our  I>ord  Jesus  Christ,  and  His 
mother,  and  of  St.   Bartholomew,  in  his  demesne  at  Cranborne, 


30  CRANBORNE    AND    TEWKESBURY, 

and  endowed  it  with  lands  and  estates.  Having  gathered  there 
some  brethren  under  an  x\bbot,  who  should  strictly  obey  the  rule 
of  our  holy  Father  St.  Benedict,  he  made  the  Priory  of  Tewkes- 
bury, of  which  he  was  the  patron,  entirely  subordinate  to  the 
Church  of  Cranborne.  These  things  were  transacted  about  the 
year  9S0.  Aylward,  the  first  lord,  having  departed  this  life,  was 
honourably  buried  in  the  church  which  he  had  founded,  and  his 
son  Algar,  with  his  wife  Algiva,  were  his  heirs.  To  Algar  suc- 
ceeded Brihtric,  both  of  them  good  representatives  of  the  faith 
and  nobility  of  their  ancestors,  and,  bemg  actuated  with  a  like 
spirit,  they  completed  the  vow  of  their  parents  by  enlarging  with 
suitable  magnificence  the  church  they  had  begun  to  build. 

"In  the  year  1102  Robert  FitzHamon,  under  the  influence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  resolved,  at  the  entreaty  of  his  good  wife  Sybil, 
and  Gerald,  abbot  of  Cranborne,  that  the  Church  of  Tewkesbury 
should  be  rebuilt  to  the  honour  of  God  and  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
and  he  endowed  it  with  rents,  lands,  and  large  estates.  And 
forasmuch  as  that  spot  seemed  to  be  much  superior  to  the 
monastery  of  Cranborne,  in  respect  to  fertility  of  soil  and  plea- 
santness of  situation,  he  translated  the  brethren,  with  their  Abbot 
Gerald  and  certain  estates,  to  Tewkesbury,  in  the  year  of  Grace 
before  mentioned,  leaving  here  a  prior  and  two  brethren  for  the 
sake  of  preserving  the  founder's  memory  to  posterity ;  so, 
changing  the  Abbey  of  Cranborne  into  a  priory,  he  made  it 
subordinate  to  the  Abbey  of  Tewkesbury,  and  raised  the  Priory  of 
Tewkesbury  with  great  splendour  to  the  dignity  of  an  abbey."  * 

In  the  course  of  a  brief  comment  I  have  to  make  on  this 
important  record,  I  beg,  in  the  first  place,  to  invite  attention  to 
Aylward's  name  of  Sneaw  or  Snow.  He  is  elsewhere  called  Meaw 
or  Meavves,  as  were  also  his  son  Algar  and  his  grandson  Brihtric. 
The  discrepancy  is  so  striking  as  to  suggest  whether  Sneaw  can 
be  his  correct  appellation,  or  whetlier  these  names  be  not  a 
corruption  due  to  the  carelessTiess  or  ignorance  of  translators  or 
transcribers.  There  is  a  St.  Meaux  in  Normandy,  a  Meux  or 
*   Dugdale's  Mouast.  Anglic,  vol.   1,  p.  153,  first  edition. 


CRANBORNE    AND    TEWKESBURY.  31 

Meaux  in  Yorkshire,  and  a  De  Meaux  or  St.  Mawes  in  Cornwall, 
all  of  them  monastic  sites ;  and  it  is  probable,  I  think,  that 
Aylward,  who  was  unquestionably  of  Royal  Saxon  lineage,  may 
have  had  some  early  connection  with  either  Cornwall  or  Yorkshire. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  we  know  nothing  of  him  beyond  this  brief  but 
laudable  account  m  the  Chronicle  of  Tewkesbury.  He  seems  to 
have  been  an  early  Lord  of  the  Honour  of  Gloucester,  which 
would  give  him  the  patronage  of  the  Church  of  Tewkesbury.  He 
appears  to  have  been  buried  in  the  Church  of  Cranborne,  which 
he  had  founded,  and  which,  after  his  death,  was  enlarged  and 
beautified  by  the  filial  piety  of  his  son  and  grandson,  the  last  of 
this  Saxon  line.  From  Domesday  Book  we  learn  that  the  Church 
of  St.  Mary  at  Cranborne  held  land  in  Gillingham,  Boveridge, 
Monkton  Up-Wimborne,  Levetesford  (Eastworth  ?),  Langford 
(Stratton,  near  Dorchester),  Tarrant  Monkton,  Orchard,  and  at 
Damerham,  in  Wilts.  The  whole  annual  value  amounts  to  about 
500  shillings,  which  might  be  reckoned  at  least  £s^^  ^^  o^^ 
money,  probably  more.  These  lands  and  estates  were  most 
probably  of  Aylward's  original  grant,  and  were,  of  course,  trans- 
ferred to  Tewkesbury  by  the  subsequent  grant  of  FitzHamon.   * 

Soon  after  the  usurpation  of  the  lands  and  estates  of  Brihtric 
by  William  the  Conqueror,  to  which  act  he  is  said  to  have  been 
incited  by  his  wife  Matilda,  in  revenge  for  the  slight  which  she 
had  received  from  Brihtric  when  he  visited  the  court  of  her  father, 
Baldwin,  Earl  of  Flanders,  to  whom  he  was  sent  as  ambassador  by 
Edward  Confessor,  followed  by  his  cruel  death,  a.d.  1070,  the 
palmy  days  of  the  Abbey  of  Cranborne  departed  after  the  short 
reign  of  about  120  years  ;  its  prosperity  faded,  and  its  glory  under 
Saxon  nursing-fathers  suffered  an  eclipse  from  which  it  never 
again  emerged.  I  must  confess  that  I  never  contemplate  this 
change  without  a  feeling  of  sadness  and  regret. 

The  principal  agent  in  this  transaction  was  Robert  FitzHamon, 
a  Norman  nobleman  of  very  great  wealth   and  power,  cousin  of 

*  Hutchins  gives  more  details  of  the  property  of  this  Abbey,  confirmed 
by  grants  of  Henry  I.  and  Roger  Bishop  of  Sarum,  a.d.  1109. 


32  CRANBORNE    AND    TEWKESBURY. 

William  Rufus,  who  conferred  on  him  the  Lordship  of  the  Honour 
of  Gloucester,  of  which  Brihtric  had  been  cruelly  deprived,  in 
reward  for  his  service  in  the  conquest  of  Glamorganshire.  Of 
course  he  could  do  what  he  pleased  with  his  own,  and  now  both 
Cranborne  and  Tewkesbury  were  under  his  patronage.  And  now 
we  may  see,  I  think,  the  power  of  priestly  influence  w^hich  the 
Abbot  of  Cranborne  exercised  over  the  piety  of  Sybil,  FitzHamon's 
wife,  to  persuade  him  to  rebuild  and  re-endow  the  neglected 
Abbey  of  Tewkesbury,  said  to  have  been  originally  founded  in 
A.D.  715.  This  abbot,  Gerald  de  Brienne,  a  K'orman  monk, 
probably  owned  no  lively  affection  for  this  Saxon  foundation  at 
Cranborne,  and  preferred  the  prospect  of  an  institution  under  the 
Norman  dynasty,  for  the  ostensible  reason  stated  in  the  record. 
The  translation  of  the  brethren  to  their  new  abode  took  place  in 
A.D.  1 102.  There  w^ere  57  of  them.  Two  only,  with  a  prior,  were 
left  behind  at  Cranborne  to  preserve  the  semblance  of  a  religious 
house  and  to  carry  on  the  service  of  the  parish  church.  We  trust 
that  the  Abbot  Gerald  and  his  57  brethren  had  no  occasion  to 
look  back  with  unavailing  regret  on  the  luxurious  repasts  afforded 
by  the  Cranborne  Chase  venison  which  they  had  left  behind, 
consoled  by  the  fact  that  it  was  now  replaced  by  the  dainty 
produce  of  the  Severn  fishery,  far  superior  to  that  of  the  humble 
Crane  stream  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed.  They  had, 
indeed,  no  reason  to  regret  the  change,  now  located  as  they  were 
in  a  rich  and  beautiful  valley,  more  attractive  lo  them  than  the 
bleak  downs  and  woods  and  moors  of  Dorset,  and  not  far  distant 
from  one  of  the  chief  residential  strongholds  of  their  powerful 
patron  the  Earl  of  Gloucester. 

But  there  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men,  and  so  in  the  course  of 
a  few  centuries  the  time  arrived  when  it  was  very  low  water  at 
Tewkesbury,  so  low  that  this  once  flourishing  abbey  was  left  high 
and  dry  by  the  receding  waves,  in  the  sense  of  the  loss  of  all  its 
wealth,  dignity,  and  splendour,  and  thus  robbed,  despoiled,  and 
forsaken,  it  stood  amidst  its  losses  and  its  ruin,  a  proud  memorial 
of  the    days    when  lords  and  mitred   priests   worshipped   within 


CRANBORNE    AND    TEWKESBURY.  33 

its  walls  and  left  them  the  legacy  of  their  honoured  dust  ! 
As  in  all  historical  notices  freedom  from  error  should  be  the 
writer's  special  care,  I  cannot  overlook  a  passage  in  Mr.  Blunt's 
History  of  Tewkesbury  Abbey,  quoted  by  Dr.  Harman,  D.D.,  in 
some  very  excellent  papers  entitled  "  Historical  Memories," 
pubUshed  by  him  in  the  "  Antiquary."  Mr.  Blunt  is  therein 
quoted  as  to  Brihtric,  the  last  of  the  Saxon  line,  stating  him  to 
have  been  "  seized  in  his  chapel  at  Hanley,  about  three  miles  from 
Cranborne  Abbey  (where  he  had,  perhaps,  fled  for  sanctuary),  on 
the  very  day  of  her  (Queen  Matilda's)  coronation,  and  had  him 
conveyed,  a  prisoner,  to  Winchester,  &c."  Now  I  wish  to  point 
out  that  there  is  absolutely  no  authority  for  this  statement,  and  it 
illustrates  the  mode  in  which  errors  are  invented  and  repeated 
and  received  without  any  suspicion  of  their  want  ot  truth.  All 
we  know  of  this  part  of  the  history  is  contained  in  the  Chronicle 
of  Tewkesbury,  which  runs  thus — "  He  caused  him  (Brihtric)  to 
be  seized  in  his  Manor  of  Hanley  and  to  be  taken  to  Winchester, 
where  he  died  and  was  buried,  leaving  no  issue."  The  manor 
only  of  Hanley  is  mentioned,  not  a  word  about  "  chapel"  or 
"  coronation."  Old  Leland's  version  differs  again,  who  says— 
"  He  put  hym  (Brihtric)  yn  the  castelle  of  Hanley  beside  Sares- 
burye,  where  he  died."  Such,  unfortunately,  is  the  way  in  which 
history,  as  it  is  called,  is  too  often  written,  and  it  becomes  very 
necessary,  if  we  are  at  all  curious,  to  refer  when  we  can  to  the 
fountain  head,  for  the  rills  w^hich  flow  from  it  are  often  turbid  and 
distort  the  truth.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  Manor  of  Handley 
(not  Hanley),  in  Dorset,  "  beside  Saresburye,"  was  one  of  the  440 
manors  which  belonged  to  the  Honour  of  Glo'ster,  held  by 
Brihtric ;  but  the  Manor  of  Hanley  Castle,  in  Worcestershire,  was 
unquestionably  one  of  those  manors.  It  was  one  of  the  chief 
Baronial  Castles  of  the  Honour,  and  it  was  there,  without  doubt, 
in  his  own  manor  and  casde  where  Brihtric  was  seized  and  thence 
taken  to  Winchester,  the  capital  of  the  West  Saxons,  where  he 
died  in  prison,  and  where  he  was  also  buried,  the  victim,  as  it  is 
said,  of  a  woman's  revenge. 


34  CRANBORNE    AND    TEWKESBURY. 

When  the  chancel  of  Cranborne  Church  was  rebuilt  by  the 
Marquis  of  Salisbury,  in  1S75,  ^^"'^  workmen  discovered,  in 
demolishing  the  wall,  several  fragments  of  the  efifigy  of  a  knight 
sculptured  in  Purbeck  marble,  broken  up  and  utilised  in  building 
the  wall  along  with  flints  and  rubble.  It  is  clearly  shown  that  the 
figure  was  habited  in  armour  of  ring-mail,  and  parts  of  it  showed 
traces  of  gilding  and  colouring.  This  mutilation  of  an  ancient 
and  costly  monument  must  be  referred  to  a  previous  rebuilding  of 
the  chancel,  which  is  believed  to  have  taken  place  in  the  early 
part  of  the  15th  century,  under  the  auspices  of  Thomas  Paiker, 
i8th  Abbot  of  Tewkesbury.  His  monogram,  ''T.P.,"  in  Old 
English  letters,  was  formerly  to  be  seen  carved  in  stone  on  the 
cornice  above  the  exterior  of  the  east  window,  and  it  may  still  be 
seen  on  the  frieze  of  the  pulpit,  which  is  a  good  specimen  of  oak 
carving  of  the  15th  century.  But,  as  regards  this  monument,  it  is 
not  at  all  obvious  to  what  date  or  personage  it  may  be  safely 
assigned.  None  of  the  ancient  Lords  of  the  Manor,  with  the 
exception  of  Aylward,  so  far  as  we  know,  was  buried  in  this 
church.  The  De  Clares  were  buried  at  Tewkesbury.  In  specu- 
lating on  this  question,  at  first  sight  it  seems  feasible  that  it  might 
be  the  effigy  of  Aylward,  the  founder  of  our  abbey,  but  I  am  not 
sure  that  there  exist  any  examples  of  knights  in  ring-armour, 
sculptured  on  tombs,  so  early  as  of  the  first  half  of  the  nth 
century.  Of  the  12th  they  may  be  found,  of  the  13th  they  are 
not  uncommon.  I  should  be  inclined  to  refer  the  monument  in 
question  to  this  era,  for  the  reason  that  it  may  have  been  placed 
in  this  church  by  Robert,  Consul  or  Earl  of  Glo'ster,  the  illegi- 
timate son  of  King  Henry  I.,  whose  marriage  with  Mabel,  eldest 
of  the  four  daughters,  co-heiresses  of  Robert  FitzHamon,  brought 
him  great  wealth  and  the  grant  of  the  Honour  of  Gloucester. 

Perhaps  I  may  be  allowed  to  digress  a  little  here  to  give  the 
account  of  this  lady's  espousals,  which  is  very  quaintly  told  by 
Robert  of  Glo'ster,  the  rhyming  monk.  The  narrative  thus  runs  : 
"  When  the  King  made  the  proposal  that  she  should  marry  his 
son  she  was  against  it,  and  long  withstood  it,  and  when  the  King 


1413057 


CRANBORNE    AND    TEWKESBURY.  35 

often  solicited  her,  she  at  Last  answered  h"ke  a  good  and  courteous 
maiden — '  Sir,'  said  she,  '  I  see  plainly  that  your  heart  is  set  on 
me  more  for  the  sake  of  my  inheritance  than  of  myself;  having 
such  an  inheritance  as  I  have,  it  would  be  dishonourable  to  me  to 
have  a  lord  who  had  not  two  names.  My  father's  name  was  Sir 
Robert  le  FitzHayme,  and  that  inheritance  ought  not  to  be  any 
man's  that  was  not  of  his  rank,  therefore,  for  God's  love,  let  me 
have  no  man  for  a  husband  who  has  not  two  names  whereby  he 
may  be  known.'  '  Damsel,'  quoth  the  King,  '  thou  sayest  well  in 
this  case  ;  thy  father's  name  was  Robert  le  FitzHayme,  and  I 
will  take  care  that  my  son  shall  have  one  as  fair,  for  his  name 
shall  be  Sir  Robert  Fitz  le  Roy.'  '  Sir,'  said  the  maiden,  '  that  is 
a  fair  name  and  of  great  repute  as  long  as  he  shall  live,  but  what 
shall  his  son  be  called,  or  any  other  of  his  descendants  ?  Unless 
care  be  taken  of  that  also  they  may  soon  come  to  have  no  name  !' 
The  King  perceived  that  the  maiden  said  nothing  unreasonable, 
and,  knowing  that  Gloucester  was  the  chief  part  of  her  heritage — 
^  Damsel,'  said  he,  '  thy  lord  shall  have  a  fair  unobjectionable 
name  for  himself  and  his  heirs  ;  his  name  shall  be  Robert  Earl  of 
Gloucester,  and  he  and  his  heirs  shall  be  Earls  of  Gloucester.' 
'  Sir,'  quoth  the  maiden,  '  then  I  like  this  well ;  on  these  terms  I 
consent  that  all  my  land  shall  be  his.' "  * 

And  thus  this  important  matter  was  happily  settled  to  the  lady's 
satisfaction,  and,  no  doubt,  to  the  gentleman's  also.  FitzHamon 
died  A.D.  1 107,  two  years  before  the  marriage.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  the  building  of  Tewkesbury  Abbey  was  unfinished,  so 
that  his  remains  were  deposited  there  in  a  temporary  vault,  from 
which  they  were  subsequently  removed  to  a  more  eligible  position 
in  the  church,  and  it  was  reserved  for  Abbot  Parker,  towards  the 
end  of  the  14th  or  the  beginning  of  the  15th  century,  to  erect  a 
sumptuous  monument  over  his  tomb.  This  must  have  taken 
place  at  about  the  time  of  the  rebuilding  of  our  chancel  by  the 
same  worthy  abbot,  and  we  may  not  unreasonably  conjecture,  if 

*  Seyer's  History  of  Bristol,  vol.  1,  p.  353.  The  rhyming  monk's  un- 
couth language  is  transferred  into  modern  English. 


3G  CRANBORNE    AND    TEWKESBURY. 

this  were  the  effigy  of  FitzHamon,  that  after  the  lapse  of  three 
centuries,  when  masses  for  the  repose  of  his  soul  were  no  longer 
heard  in  this  church,  and  the  monument  itself  become  old  and 
unvalued,  it  was  ordered  to  be  broken  up.  It  had  outlived  the 
memory  of  the  age.  It  was  ever  the  custom  to  erect  honorary 
monuments  or  cenotaphs  to  celebrated  personages  who  were 
interred  in  distant  places.  For  instance.  Dr.  Harman  tells  us 
that  the  fragment  of  a  monument  to  this  very  Robert  Fitz  le  Roy, 
Earl  of  Gloucester,  was  found  beneath  the  altar  in  Tewkesbury, 
and  we  know  that  his  body  was  interred  before  the  High  Altar  in 
the  Priory  Church  of  St.  James',  Bristol,  where  stood  at  that  time 
the  Chief  Castle  of  the  Honour  of  Gloucester,  and  that  priory  was 
fated,  like  that  of  Cranborne,  to  be  affiliated  to  the  Abbey  of 
Tewkesbury.     [Seyer's  History  of  Bristol.] 

It  is  not  possible  to  point  out  the  site  of  the  Abbey  of  Cran- 
borne with  certainty ;  the  priory  that  succeeded  it  probably  stood 
on  part  of  its  site.  The  priory  stood  on  the  south  side  of  the 
church,  on  land  that  now  forms  part  of  the  vicarage  garden.  It 
was  pulled  down  in  a.d.  1703,  having  been  until  then  inhabited 
as  a  dwelling-house.  [The  Church  Register.]  Large  stones,  as 
of  a  foundation,  have  been  dug  up  in  the  adjoining  churchyard. 

The  parish  church  shows  remains  of  Norman  work,  notably  in 
the  north  porch,  which  may  possibly  be  a  relic  of  the  abbey  ;  but 
there  is  also  evidence  of  the  church  having  been  rebuilt  in  the 
early  English  era,  which  may  be  referred  to  a.d.  1250.  [Dugdale's 
Monasticon.]  This  date  corresponds  with  the  time  when  Gilbert 
de  Clare,  second  Earl  of  Clare,  Gloucester,  and  Hertford,  was  a 
minor  in  the  wardship  of  King  Henry  III.  He  died  in  1262; 
his  body  was  buried  at  Tewkesbury,  his  heart  at  Tunbridge,  and 
his  bowels  at  Canterbury,  in  obedience  to  custom.  This  powerful 
Baron  may  have  rebuilt  our  church  and  placed  therein  the 
honorary  and  costly  memorial  to  the  memory  of  his  great  ancestor, 
FitzHamon. 

We  will  now  pause  and  look  back  upon  the  centuries  that  are 


CRANBORNE    AND    TEWKESBURY. 


37 


gone,  and  contemplate  the  vicissitudes  that  have  befallen  both 
churches  during  that  long  and  eventful  period  ;  it  may  be  with 
somewhat  of  regret  for  the  past,  but  assuredly  with  more  of 
thankfulness  for  the  present,  though  the  feeling  be  not  unalloyed 
with  somewhat  of  distrust  of  the  future.  But  now  we  may  turn 
our  gaze  on  Tewkesbury,  and  rejoice  that  the  once  proud  abbey, 
doomed  to  neglect,  has  been  restored,  in  this  nineteenth  century* 
to  a  large  measure  of  that  architectural  beauty  and  that  structural 
stability  which  were  her  portion  in  the  sunshine  of  her  olden  days, 
and  then  with  humbler  pride  we  may  turn  our  sight  on  our  own 
fine  old  parish  church,  which  has  lifted  up  her  head  through  the 
liberality  of  her  noble  patron  and  the  help  and  sympathy  of  many 
other  friends.  And  now  we  can  unite  with  our  ancient  rival  in 
the  closer  connection  of  Christian  brotherhood.  And  if,  in 
looking  to  the  future,  we  should  see  from  time  to  time  dark  clouds 
rising  on  our  horizon,  threatening  to  sweep  away  our  most 
cherished  and  time-honoured  institutions,  we  trust  that  the  whirl- 
wind, if  it  come,  will  howl  around  these  walls  in  vain,  and  that 
the  churches  of  our  forefathers  will  withstand  the  shock,  and 
remain,  even  to  the  consummation  of  time,  the  monuments  of  our 
national  faith  and  guardians  of  our  homes  ! 

August  17th,  1886.  T.  W.  W.  S. 


Jlbbotsbun)  J^bbcD^ 


By  H.  J.  MOULE,  M.A. 

(Read  at  Ahhotshury  Sept.  Ibth,  1886.J 


N  the  "  Historia  Longobardica,  Aurea  dicta 
Legenda/'  many  a  legend  begins  with  "  De 
nominis  interpretatione,"  and  most  astounding 
studies  in  etymology  follow.  Well,  what  here 
at  Abbotsbury  de  nominis  interpretatione  ?  There 
was  no  i\bbey,  therefore  no  Abbot,  here  till  1044 ; 
so  at  first  sight  the  name  Abbotsbury  would  seem 
to  be  as  recent  as  that  date.  Yet  the  name  may  have  arisen 
earlier,  for  before  that  date  Abbotsbury  is  said  to  have  belonged 
to  Glastonbury  Abbey.  Its  primeval  name,  if  it  had  a  totally 
different  one,  seems  lost.  I  find  nothing  of  it  in  Hutchins  or 
Coker.  Is  it  possible,  however  (I  don't  say  probable  by  any 
means),  that  Abbotsbury  is  a  corruption  merely,  not  a  total  change, 
of  name  ?  Coker  seems  to  have  read  the  register  of  the 
monastery.  In  it  a  church  was  affirmed  to  have  been  built  ''  in 
the  verie  Infancie  of  Christianitie  amongst  the  Britains,"  by 
Bertufus,  a  holy  priest.  To  him  St.  Peter  often  appeared — 
granted  him  an  autograph  charter — consecrated  the  church — and 
*'  professeth  to  have  given  it  to  name  Abodesbyry."  "  We  are  not 
obliged  to  believe  legends,"  said  a  Roman  Catholic  priest  to  me 
no  very  long  time  ago.  But  we  must  believe  that  they  were 
concocted,  if  not  with  verity,  at  least  with  verisimiUtude.     And  it 


abbotsbury  abbey.  39 

would  be  a  clumsy  thing  to  make  St.  Peter  call  a  place  Abbotstury 
in  (say)  the  5th  century  when  there  was  to  be  no  Abbot  there 
until  the  eleventh,  and  apparently  no  connection  with  Glastonbury 
Abbey  in  the  time  of  Bertufus,  or  presumably  for  long  after.  So 
may  not  Abodesbyry  be  the  original  form,  whether  it  means  a 
naval  station,  as  some  say,  or  something  more  likely  to  apply  to 
the  spot  ?  And  may  not  Abbotsbury  be  a  subsequent  corruption, 
importing  into  the  name  a  then  famihar  significance  ? 

But  to  go  on  with  what,  of  course,  must  be  a  bare  outline  of  the 
history  of  the  place.  The  next  thing  known  of  Abbotsbury  is 
that  it  was  a  rural  retreat  of  the  Saxon  kings.  On  King  Knut 
winning  the  realm,  he  gave  xA.bbotsbury,  Portisham,  and  Helton  to 
Ore,  his  house-carle.  Ore,  or  Orcy,  and  his  wife  Thole,  eponymos 
of  Tolpuddle,  dedicated  their  Abbotsbury  and  other  property  to 
found  a  fraternity  of  secular  canons  in  1026.  This  was  in 
connection  with  the  long  ruined  primitive  Celtic  Church  of  St. 
Peter.  It  is  to  be  supposed  that  Ore  restored  this  church  and 
erected  some  sort  of  dwellings  for  the  canons.  But  in  1044, 
furnished  with  a  charter  from  King  Edward  the  Confessor,  and 
probably  too  with  authority  from  the  Church  powers,  he  took  the 
whole  foundation  again  into  hand.  He  expelled  the  canons, 
"  built  a  faire  monasterie,  and  stored  it  with  Benedictine  Monks 
from  Cermill  Abbie."  This,  I  suppose,  is  a  slip  of  Coker's  for 
Cernel,  which  is  Cerne  Abbas.  Ore,  and  also  his  Rouennaise 
wife,  the  heroine  Thole  (as  Dugdale  calls  her),  w^re  buried  in  the 
new  Abbey  Church.  At  the  dissolution  the  bones  appear  to  have 
been  removed  to  the  parish  church  "  inclosed  in  a  daintie  marbill 
coffin,  which  I  have  often  scene,"  says  Coker.  From  Hutchins  it 
appears  that  this  coffin  is  at  this  moment  buried  near  the  north 
end  of  the  Holy  Table.  After  founding  the  Abbey,  Ore  also 
established  at  Abbotsbury  a  guild  or  lay-fraternity  in  honour  of 
God  and  St.  Peter,  wdth  a  Guildhall,  and  with  a  very  remarkable 
code  of  rules,  which  is  written  in  Hutchins  in  Saxon,  English,  and 
Latin. 

I  do  not  know  that  there  is  anything  that  need  be  said  about 


40  ABBOTSBURY    ABBEY. 

the  Story  of  the  Abbey  down  to  the  dissolution.  In  those  long 
years  the  possessions  of  the  Abbey  increased,  comprising  at 
length  2  2  manors,  besides  other  profits  and  privileges.  These 
consisted  of  lands,  rectories,  advowsons,  and  pensions.  The 
Abbey  lands  in  Abbotsbury  alone  amounted  to  more  than  2,000 
acres.  Yet  the  revenue  was  the  lowest,  as  the  Abbey  was  the  most 
recent,  among  all  the  Benedictine  houses  in  Dorset.  At  the 
dissolution  the  value  was  put  down  at  only  about  ;!{^4oo  a  year. 
But  this  must  have  been  vastly  too  low.  After  the  dissolution 
the  buildings  and  (I  think)  only  tlie  Abbotsbury  land  were 
granted  to  the  Strangways  family,  and  less  than  100  years 
later  their  income  therefrom  was  estimated  at  ;!^8oo  per  annum. 
The  Strangways  family  altered  or  rebuilt  part  of  the  Abbey 
buildings  for  a  mansion.  In  1644  this  was  besieged,  taken,  and 
"  burnt  to  the  ground"  by  Sir  A.  A.  Cooper  for  the  Parliament. 

Such  is  a  faint,  scratchy,  outline  of  the  story  of  old  Abbotsbury 
Abbey,  the  fragments  of  the  buildings  of  which  we  must  now 
hasten  to  consider.  First,  though,  I  would  add  a  word  of  surprise 
that  there  seems  no  record  of  the  Abbey  being  wasted  by  Corsairs. 
It  would  seem  to  be  especially  exposed  to  them ;  and  Coker  says 
of  two  places  quite  near — Berwick  and  Bexington — that  the 
"  owners  were  heretofore  much  pestered  with  the  French  Pyrates." 

Now,  then,  we  turn  to  the  remnants  of  the  great  group  of 
buildings  which  in  varying  style  adorned  and  dignified  this  pleasant 
valley,  and  against  the  warm  tones  of  which  the  black  Benedictine 
vesture  must  have  shown  solemnly  and  well  as  the  fathers  walked 
the  cloister,  or  filed  up  the  church,  or  sat  in  the  refectory,  or 
passed  out  to  say  mass  in  St.  Catharine's  of  the  hill. 

The  last  great  monastery-site  visited  by  the  Club  was  Bindon. 
Attention  may  for  a  moment  be  drawn  to  the  very  striking 
difference  in  almost  every  point  between  the  two.  Bindon  is 
hardly  raised  above  the  level  of  the  Frome,  and  was  surely 
liable  to  be  flooded  in  old  times  of  presumably  greater  rain-fall. 
Abbotsbury,  lying  low  indeed  as  regards  the  considerable  hills 
encircling  it,  and  not  destitute  of   water-streams,  is  wholly  free 


ABBOTSBURY    ABBEY.  41 

from  the  somewhat  aguish  suspicions  of  Bindon.  Other  natural 
contrasts  might  be  named,  but  I  am  just  now  thinking  of  different 
ones.  The  misplaced  diligence  of  the  neighbours  of  Bindon  has 
almost  reduced  it  to  the  doom  of  ancient  Jerusalem — not  one 
stone  on  another.  Here  at  Abbotsbury,  on  the  contrary,  we  by 
no  means  have  to  call  wholly  on  our  theoretical  knowledge  of 
mediaeval  architecture,  and  on  our  creative  fancy,  for  a  presentment 
of  the  Abbey.  Here  we  have  at  least  fragments,  upstanding 
to  the  eye,  to  help  our  fancy.  No  man  can  look  at  Abbotsbury 
barn  without  a  vision,  if  dim  yet  grand,  of  Abbotsbury  Abbey 
Church  and  Abbotsbury  cloister,  and  chapter-house  and  refectory, 
and  all  the  rest  of  it.  Yes,  we  can  recall  into  momentary 
existence  Abbotsbury  Monastery  ever  so  much  better  than  Bindon. 

But  there  is  another  contrast  just  the  other  way.  Bindon  walls 
are  gone.  x\bbotsbury  walls  in  part  are  standing.  But  Bindon 
foundations  can  be  almost  completely  traced.  Now,  at  Abbotsbury 
it  is  quite  impossible  to  decide  by  actual,  existing,  visible  founda- 
tions anything  like  a  complete  plan. 

The  buildings  remaining  are  the  great  barn,  a  portion  of  an 
important  edifice  a  little  north  of  its  west  extremity,  the  east  wall 
of  the  farmhouse-garden,  and  a  stable  attached  to  it.  All  these 
are  on  a  lower  level  than  the  sort  of  plateau  on  which  the  Abbey 
Church  and  its  surroundings  stood,  and  my  impression  is — I  don't 
in  the  least  insist  on  it — my  impression  that  like  the  barn  these 
two  other  masses  of  building  were  for  purposes  of  less  dignity 
than  those  on  the  plateau.  These  latter— this  upper  group  in 
position  and  dignity — are  "  the  old  Pynion  end,"  so-called  locally, 
a  building  south-east  of  the  parish  church  and  now  a  workshop  and 
stable,  an  isolated  archway,  remnants  of  the  gatehouse  arch,  and 
last  and  chiefest  some  recovered  bases  of  the  Abbey  Church  north 
wall.     Let  us  consider  this  upper  group  first. 

I  believe  that  it  is  to  a  request  or  suggestion  of  the  late  vicar, 
the  Rev.  G.  H.  Penny,  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  partial 
uncovering  of  the  base  of  that  wall,  on  which  is  built  the  south  wall 
of  the  parish  churchyard.     We  can  see  the  lower  courses  of  five 


42  ABBOTSBURY    ABBEY. 

bays  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  wall  of  the  north  nave  aisle.  We 
see  the  cheeks  of  five  windows,  with  dropped  sills  for  benches, 
and  bases  of  vaulting,  or,  at  least,  roof  shafts.  These  appear  to  be 
15th  century,  third  pointed  work.  The  tile  pavement,  too,  remains 
in  part,  at  least,  under  some  inches  of  earth.  What  I  have  seen 
appears  to  be  of  plain  tiles.  Then  there  is  the  base  of  the 
corresponding  part  of  the  western  portion  of  the  nave  visible. 
There  are  bases  only  of  smaller,  subordinate  vaulting  shafts,  of 
the  13th  or  14th  century. 

Now,  how  far  can  we  trace  the  rest  of  the  plan  of  the  chuich? 
Little  enough  as  far  as  the  look  of  the  ground  is  concerned — in 
midday  light  at  least.  I  greatly  regret  that  I  have  not  been  able 
to  study  the  spot  in  a  low  but  strong  light.  Then  is  the  time  to 
see  the  slight  inequalities  which  sometimes  enable  us  to  trace  old 
foundations.  But  a  careful  inspection  in  even  a  high  light  has 
helped  a  little,  and  not  a  little  assistance  has  been  derived 
from  the  late  vicar's  notes,  most  kindly  lent  to  me  by  Mrs. 
Penny.  These  notes  record  the  results  of  excavations  made 
in  1870,  before  the  visit  of  the  Arch^ological  Association.  It 
appears  that  the  nave  was  192ft.  long  and  54ft.  wide,  and  that  the 
choir  was  27ft.  wide,  length  unknown.  There  is  no  sign  of  transepts. 
There  seems  to  have  been  a  chapel,  perhaps  the  Strangways 
chantry,  opening  from  the  N.E.  part  of  the  nave.  We  may 
conjecture  that  the  i3>^ft.  narrowing  of  the  chancel  on  each  side, 
as  compared  with  the  total  width  of  the  nave,  represents  the 
width  of  the  north  and  south  aisles  of  the  latter.  Mr.  Penny 
shows  foundations  of  two  buttresses  of  pretty  bold  projection — 
perhaps  enough  to  allow  us  to  imagine  them  to  have  carried  flying 
buttresses  and  therefore  a  vaulted  roof.*  But  this  is  mere 
speculation.  I  think  that  what  I  have  said  tells  us  all  we  actually 
know  about  the  Abbey  Church,  except  that  signs  of  a  south  door 
towards  the  east  end  of  the  nave  have  been  detected. 

*  On  the  north  wall  of  the  church5\ard  is  a  base  of  a  respond  of  several 
shafts  of  first  pointed  date,  which  certainly  implies  a  groined  roof  ;  and,  of 
course,  can  belong  only  to  the  Abbey  Church. 


ABBOTSBURY    ABBEY.  43 

With  this  certainty  as  to  the  general  site  of  the  Abbey  Church  on 
the  northern  extremity  of  the  Convent  precinct,  and  the  certainty  as 
to  the  vast  existing  barn  on  the  southern  boundary  thereof,  our 
certainties  as  to  the  buildings  unfortunately  come  to  an  end.  And 
we  cannot  call  to  our  aid  argument  from  the  normal  Benedictine 
plan,  which,  Liibke  says,  was  to  group  the  buildings  round  the 
church.  Here  that  could  not  be,  the  Church,  as  we  have  seen, 
being  at  the  very  northern  edge  of  the  precinct.  I  may  remind 
you  that  the  refectory  at  Benedictine  I^Iilton  is  north  of  the  church, 
and  so  are  the  remaining  buildings  at  Benedictine  Sherborne. 
Here  at  Abbotsbury  all  has  to  be  looked  for  south  of  the  church. 
It  seems  to  me  just  possible  to  trace  a  square  of  about  65ft.  each 
way  south  of  the  western  half  of  the  nave,  which  may  be  the  area 
of  the  cloisters.  It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  with  this  idea  the 
isolated  remaining  archway  forming  part  of  a  demolished  enclosing 
wall.  But  I  don't  think  we  need  reconcile  it,  for  I  consider  that 
arch  to  have  belonged  not  to  the  Abbey  at  all,  but  to  be  part  of 
the  precinct  of  the  later  Strangways  house. 

Now,  to  speak  of  the  "  Pynion  end,"  the  high  fragment  with 
ivy  on  it.  In  Buck's  view,  dated  1733,  this  gable  has  fragments 
of  the  side  walls  attached  to  it,  and  a  two-light  second-pointed 
window  in  each,  with  a  low  arch  showing  below  that  on  the  south 
side ;  and,  indeed^  the  sill  of  the  south  window  and  a  springer  of 
the  arch  below  it  yet  remain.  From  the  look  of  these  upper 
windows,  and  from  the  chimney  and  fireplace  on  a  level  with  them, 
I  conjecture  that  this  was  the  refectory  with  cellars  or  storehouses, 
and  possibly  the  kitchen,  below.  There  is  a  sign  of  a  ledge  or 
set-back  in  the  walls  below  the  window.  This  might  have  carried 
beams  for  the  refectory  floor.  There  is  a  curious  Httle  stone, 
panelled  in  an  odd  way,  in  the  chimney  back. 

The  dwelling  of  the  monks  would  be  adjoining  the  church,  the 
refectory,  and  the  cloisters,  and  I  imagine  it  to  have  been  on  the 
east  side  of  the  cloister  square.  Possibly  the  abbot's  lodging  was 
on  the  south  side  of  the  same,  reaching  to  the  steep  descent  to 
the  pond.     Of  this  upper  group  of  buildings,  spoken  of  a  little 


44  ABBOTSBURY    ABBEY. 

way  back,  we  have  still  to  consider  only  the  last,  that  now  used  as 
a  stable  and  workshop.  It  has  been  a  building  of  dignity  and 
importance,  judging  by  the  excellent  second  pointed  two-light 
window,  arched,  with  a  six  cusped  light  in  the  head,  in  the  north 
wall.  Adjoining  is  a  square-head  window,  of  same  date,  and  also 
good ;  and  in  the  east  gable  there  is  a  very  queer  Httle  window, 
only  a  yard  each  way.  It  is  square-headed,  without  hood 
moulding,  or  any  reveal.  It  contains  eight  tiny  lights  in  two 
ranks,  each  light  arched  and  trefoiled  at  top.  To  my  eye  it  seems 
a  very  curious  window,  and  probably  of  the  14th  century. 

Now,  what  was  this  building  ?  It  stands  in  a  position  suitable  for 
the  chapter  house,  and  I  venture  to  suggest  that  use."^  It  was  a  not 
uncommon  thing,  to  say  the  least,  to  have  an  altar  in  the  chapter 
house  ;  and  that  curious  little  window,  facing  east,  may  possibly 
have  had  the  altar  below  it,  or  perhaps  forming  its  sill.  But  1  am 
ashamed  to  wander  in  this  wilderness  of  conjecture;  and  in  now 
taking  up  the  buildings  below  the  plateau  above  spoken  of,  vague 
conjecture  still  surrounds  us. 

I  dismiss  the  traditionary  assignments  of  the  dormitory, 
brewhouse,  and  malthouse,  believing  the  two  latter  to  be  most 
likely  parts  of  the  monastery  converted  to  those  uses  in 
Strangways'  times,  and  the  first  to  be  unlikely,  to  say  the  least  of 
it,  from  the  distance  of  any  of  these  buildings  from  the  church. 
To  begin  with  the  dairyhouse.  The  large  blocked-up  arch  in  it 
suggests  that  it  was  the  gatehouse  of  the  Abbot's  garden  at  the 
back  of  it.  I  cannot  indeed  see  or  hear  anything  about  a 
corresponding  arch  on  the  west  side  of  the  house,  to  prove  a 
thoroughfare,  but  that  seems  to  have  been  altered  and  added  to. 
If  a  gatehouse,  it  might  be  the  dwelling  of  a  lay  brother  in  charge 
of  the  14  acre  garden — the  best  bit  of  land  in  Dorset,  I  have 
heard — and  of  the  fish  pond  supposed  to  have  been  there.  The 
lay  brother   kept    grand    fires,  judging  by  the  great   chimney  in 

*  This  is  disputed  by  a  geutleman  who  thinks  that  the  building  in 
question  was  the  Abbot's  house.  It  is  very  jpossible.  If  so  the  chapter 
house  may  have  been  on  the  east  of  the  cloisters,  and  the  monks'  dwelling 
on  the  south  of  them. 


ABBOTSBURY    ABBEY.  45 

what  is  now  the  milkhouse.  Then  what  of  the  building  by  the 
farmhouse,  consisting  now  of  a  stable  and  the  garden  wall  at  right 
angles  to  it  ?  The  remaining  work  looks  somewhat  like  part  of 
two  sides  of  a  quadrangle.*  Now,  I  am  ignorant  of  the  general 
position  and  nature  of  the  dwelling  of  the  lay  brothers  of  a 
Monastery.  But  in  one  where,  as  probably  here,  much  land  was 
kept  in  hand,  the  lay  brothers  must  have  been  pretty  numerous,  for 
I  presume  most  of  the  farm  work  was  done  by  them.  Can  this 
supposed  quadrangle,  adjoining  probably  the  great  barton,  have 
been  the  lay  brothers'  abode  ?  Or,  again,  it  might  be  that  and 
stables  combined. 

I  said  that  probably  much  of  the  Abbey  lands,  within  easy 
reach,  was  kept  in  hand.  I  judge  by  the  stupendous  barn,  to 
which  we  now  come  in  our  survey.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that 
that  enormous  building  was  required  only  for  tithe  corn  and 
perhaps  rent  corn.  It  is,  and  always  has  been,  in  two  divisions. 
May  not  one  be  for  the  corn  received  as  above,  and  the  other  for 
j-he  home  estate  corn  ?  But  let  us  think  a  moment  not  of  the 
uses  but  of  the  structure  of  this  282  foot  barn.  Ashlar  without, 
ashlar  within,  of  most  seemly  and  noble  15th  century  style,  with 
the  north  porch  and  the  west  gable  specially  admirable  features, 
well  would  it  be  if  all  our  churches  were  half  as  well  designed  and 
carried  out.  The  buttressing  of  the  west  gable  is  a  very  bold  and 
clever  bit  of  architecture,  the  crenellated  heads  of  the  corner 
buttresses  and  the  niche  crowning  the  centre  Qne  giving  a  finished 
and  artistic  air  to  the  whole,  quite  wonderful  in  a  barn.  We  may 
notice  the  same  style  partly  reproduced  in  the  gable  of  the  dairy 
house  and  in  the  ivied  "  Pynion  end."  I  think  Irom  the 
considerable  rebuilding  of  the  top  of  the  north  wall  of  the  western 
barn — that  now  in  use — that  there  was  a  time  when  it  could  not 
and  did  not  therefore  carry  a  roof  Probably  this  was  after  the 
spoil  of  the  monastery  at  the  dissolution.     For  I  put  down  the 

*  It  is  very  difficult  to  understand  the  eastern  face  of  the  garden  wall. 
The  windows  suggest  two  stories,  but  no  signs  of  flooring  arrangements  can 
be  detected. 


46  ABBOTSEURY    ABBEY. 

present  roof,  with  its  quasi  hammer-beam,  but  not  very  old  looking 
framing,  to  be  of  the  17th  century  only,  and  |  robably  always 
thatched  as  now,  whereas  I  cannot  but  believe  that  such  grand 
walls  originally  carried  a  noble  massive  roof,  with  most  likely 
stone  tiles— such  a  roof  as  that  of  the  majestic  Cerne  Abbas 
barn.  Further,  I  venture  to  think  that  the  barn  was  parapeted 
all  round,  the  parapet  carried  on  corbels  and  with  rain-holes 
in  the  parapet.  The  south  wall  shows  signs  of  this.  Before 
quitting  the  barn  I  may  say  that,  while  I  think  the  roof  only  200 
to  300  years  old,  the  beams  upholding  the  upper  floor  in  the  north 
porch  may  be  original,  and  just  possibly  the  two  or  three  vastly 
long  ones  reaching  right  across  the  barn.  The  north  doors  are  by 
no  means  new — perhaps  as  old  a>  the  roof  On  the  oak  door  bar 
there  is  a  cutting  of  the  date  1730.  I  cannot  see  how  waggons 
got  easy  exit  or  entrance  at  the  south  doors,  the  steep  land  rises 
so  close  to  them.  I  think,  indeed,  the  disused  mill  race  there  to 
be  a  modern  intmsion,  but  even  allowing  for  this  there  seems  but 
little  room. 

As  no  remark  seems  called  for  respecting  the  all  but  demolished 
gatehouse,  the  supposed  scene  of  the  starving  to  death  of  the  last 
Abbot,  we  now  pass  on  to  by  many  degrees  the  most  noteworthy 
building  belonging  to  Abbotsbury  Abbey.  This,  of  course,  is  St. 
Catharine's  Chapel,  intended,  it  is  believed,  both  as  a  seamark 
and  beacon  tower,  and  as  a  chantry  for  sailors.  Chapels  with 
this  dedication  to  St.  Catharine  are  often  on  hills — for  instance, 
the  little  one  at  Milton  Abbas.  Why  was  this  ?  Mr.  Hills, 
secretary  of  the  British  Archaeological  Association,  when  they  met 
here  in  187 1,  threw  out  this  suggestion.  Catharine  is  from 
KaeapSs,  pure,  as  every  one  knows.  Might  the  high  situation  for 
her  chapels  be  chosen  with  an  idea  of  placing  them  in  air  of 
congenial  purity  ?  Again,  another  idea  is  that  lofty  sites  were 
chosen  because  of  a  mountain  coming  into  the  legend  of  St. 
Catharine's  death,  when  she  was  borne  of  angels  to  Mount  Sinai. 
But,  for  whatever  reason  so  placed,  here  we  have  a  grandly 
situated  St.  Catharine's,  and  well  worthy  of  its  heavenward,  airy 


ABBOTSBURY    ABBEY.  47 

site.  From  appearance,  and  I  think  from  tradition,  the  track  to 
the  chapel  from  the  monastery  seems  to  have  taken  a  reach 
through  or  more  Hkely  north  of  the  Abbey  garden,  and  then  a 
contrary  reach  south-west,  skirting  the  north  end  of  the  many 
landchets  which  so  remarkably  cover  the  east  side  of  the  hill. 

Now,  as  to  the  building.  Set  up  there,  buffeted  by  all  the  blasts 
of  heaven,  specially  by  the  unbroken  force  of  the  tearing  sou'westers, 
no  common  building  could  stand  for  long.  And  it  is  no  common 
building  that  was  placed  there  in  the  first  half  of  the  15th  century 
and  stands  bravely  up,  roof  and  all,  now  in  the  evening  of  the 
19th.  Yes,  there  is  the  roof;  that  is  the  wonder.  Fergusson  is 
severe  on  the  imperfections  of  most  roofs,  ancient,  mediaeval,  and 
modern.  They  mostly  consist  in  part  of  wood.  A  glorious 
vaulted  church,  like  Westminster,  let  alone  as  St.  Catharine's  was 
for  ages,  would  shortly  fall  to  pieces.  The  outer  lead  and  wood 
roof  is  perishable  and  would  not  long  keep  off  rains,  and,  worse 
still,  frosts,  from  the  thin  film  of  stone  forming  the  groined  inner 
roof  This  would  then  perish  lamentably.  Not  so  with  what  he 
calls  a  genuine  roof — a  really  imperishable  one — stone  without, 
stone  within,  stone  all  through.  Such  are  rare  in  these  islands, 
and  rarest  of  all,  I  fear,  in  England.  I  myself  have  seen  only 
four — two  in  Scotland  (Roslyn  and  Borthwick),  two  in  England  (our 
Dorset  St.  Aldhelm's  and  our  Dorset  St.  Catharine's  here).  How 
splendidly  this  last  is  planned  for  its  situation.  How  splendidly 
was  the  plan  carried  out !  Go  within.  How  splendidly  there, 
too,  has  solid  simplicity  been  glorified  with  admirable  detail  in 
that  roof.  I  may  be  wrong,  but  I  think  that  this  style  of  detail 
for  a  roof — bold  vaulting  ribs  richly  bossed  where  ridge  and  purline 
ribs  intersect  them,  and  each  recess  so  formed  simply  panelled, 
like  three  blank  foliated  window  lights — I  think  this  style  a  very 
rare  one.  All  the  rest  of  the  chapel  harmonises  perfectly  with  the 
imperishable  looking,  yet  not  cumbrous,  roof  The  parapet 
surrounding  it,  with  the  bold  spots  of  shadow  formed  by  the  rain- 
holes,  the  beacon  turret,  the  massive  buttresses  crowned  with 
crenellated  cresting  instead  of  pinnacles— the  porches  so  enduring 


48  ABBOTSBURY    ABBEY. 

looking — all  are  in  absolute  concord,  and  combine  into  as  perfect 
a  mediaeval  building  of  its  kind  and  for  its  purpose  as  can  easily 
be  found  anywhere.*  I  have  only  to  add  firstly  that,  while  every- 
thing else  inside  and  outside  stamps  St.  Catharine's  as  of  the  15th 
century,  the  piscina  rather  looks  as  if  of  the  14th ;  and,  secondly, 
that  the  projection  of  some  of  the  upper  courses  of  the  turret  is 
to  me  a  puzzle.  It  does  not  appear  to  show  inside.  It  obviously 
is  not  an  accident,  and  yet  there  seems  no  reason  or  use  for  it. 

I  am  ashamed  of  this  tame  sketch  of  St.  Catharine's.  Every 
Dorset  man  with  the  least  glow  of  admiration  for  our  old  world 
betters  in  design  and  in  work — every  such  Dorset  man  must 
have  a  real  affection  for  this  our  old  county's  triumph  of  head 
craft  and  handicraft.  But  I  am  here  to  read  a  paper,  not  to  make 
an  oration,  if  I  could  even.  And  while  expressing  shame,  let  me 
apologize  for  my  string  of  conjectures  throughout  this  paper.  I 
might  be  a  very  Yankee  for  guessing.  But  let  me  end  at  least 
with  a  certainty.  There  certainly  was  an  amazing  plenty  of 
of  art,  energy,  and  money  in  Abbotsbury  Abbey  in  the  14th 
and  15th  centuries.  All  we  see  dates  from  that  epoch.  Nay,  St. 
Catharine's,  the  Barn,  the  Pynion  end,  and  the  dairy  house  gable 
are  all  identical  in  style  and  must  have  been  built  within  a  very 
few  years  of  each  other.  What  a  vast  cost !  But  we  know  that 
the  Benedictines  did,  as  the  ages  went  on,  heap  up  riches.  Some 
contrast  between  Benedict  unseen,  lost  to  the  knowledge  of  men, 
hidden  in  a  drear  cave  in  the  wild  waste  of  Subiaco,  that  he  might 
be  alone  with  God,  on  one  side ;  and,  on  the  other  side,  his 
Benedictines  800  years  after,  pulling  down  their  barns  here  to 
build  greater — with  their  redundant  money — for  their  unmeasured 
corn.  Well  for  the  Benedictines,  though,  if  the  annals  of  Bene- 
dictine St.  Albans,  for  instance,  told  of  the  order  no  worse  things 
than  that  here,  in  this  fair  Dorset  Vale,  the  Abbotsbury  fathers 
reared  up  stately  seemly  building  after  building,  of  the  mellow  ochry 
ashlar,  to  glow  in  the  evening  suns  of  half  a  millennium. 

*  The  three  wishing  holes,  one  for  the  knee,  two  for  the  hands,  should 
he  noted.     They  are  in  the  east  jamb  of  the  south  doorway. 


Proc.  DoTSef.   N.H.  &  A.F.  Cbxh.Yvl .  VIII .  Fl  .  I. 


-m 


^;-x:y^ 


;<:t^:*>>>;*.v>  *;*>>!*>,+>>:*>>;<^ 


ffjlM^'- 


\    r^ 


^'\^ 


Rev. 7/. Barnes   Pkolc  .  Mirvtem  Bros.litlx 

Churclh  of  •S':  'Jolin  Baptist  .  Bere  Regi^  .    InjUrwr,  Lcckxrig  JVe»?t  . 


§zxz  ^zqxB. 


By   the    Rev.    J.    P.    LANGFORD    (Vicar). 

(Bead  at  Bere  Regis,  August  \^tli,  1885 J 


Plate  I. 

DO  not  intend  to  lay  before  the  Field  Club  to-day 
any  discoveries  of  my  own  or  any  original  theory 
upon  the  history  and  antiquities  of  Bere.  In 
drawing  up  this  sketch  of  Bere  and  its  church 
I  have  but  used  the  material  which  others  have 
collected,  and  invite  discussion  from  those  far 
more  qualified  than  I  am  to  give  an  opinion  on  some  controverted 
topics.  Let  us  begin  w4th  the  name  Bere  Begis.  Here,  at  once, 
we  are  on  disputed  ground.  Is  there  any  connection  between 
Bere  and  yonder  brewery  ?  Was  the  writer  of  the  article  in  the 
Saturday  Review,  July  24,  1880,  serious  when  he  tells  the  story 
that  King  John  was  so  delighted  w^ith  the  beverage  that  was 
set  before  him  that  he  decreed  that  the  town  should  ever  bear 
the  name  of  Beer,  with  the  addition  of  Regis,  in  token  of  his 
Royal  approbation  ?  A  total  abstainer  may  be  allowed  to  prefer 
a  watery  derivation  equally  improbable — that  connects  it  with 
"Beer,"  the  Hebrew  for  well,  and  ascribes  to  Phoenician  merchants 
those  west  country  Beres,  Beer,  near  Seaton,  Bere  Ferris,  Beer 
Hackett,  Bere  Crocombe.  Far  more  probable  is  Mr.  Taylor's 
supposition  that  the  word  is  of  Scandinavian  origin,  signifying  a 
cluster  of  buildings  or  a  farmstead,  and  akin   to    the  old   form 


50  BERE    REGIS. 

"  byr,"  the  same  as  the  Icelandic  "  boer,"  a  farm,  which  still 
survives  in  the  "  cow  byres"  of  Scotland  and  the  northern 
counties  of  England,  and  I  suppose  connected  with  "  borough," 
"  bury,"  and  Danish  "  by." 

The  last  edition  of  Hutchins'  Dorset  derives  it  from  a  word 
denoting  low,  scrubby  wood,  such  as  once  covered  the  whole 
district,  and  of  which  we  have  a  remnant  in  that  lovely  bit  of 
wood  and  the  old  boundary  oak  by  which  your  secretary  proposes 
to  take  3^ou  to  his  own  parish  of  Bloxworth.  I  only  wish  that  one 
venerable  member  of  this  Field  Club  (Rev.  W.  Barnes)  were  pre- 
sent to-day  to  support  this  view,  which  I  believe  is  his.  Eegis  : 
*'  Under  what  king?"  Bere  is  said  to  touch  national  history  at  three 
periods—  Saxon,  Norman,  Tudor — and  in  the  touch  we  approach  to 
Royalty.  True,  our  Royal  connections  are  not  very  reputable, 
but  still  it  is  not  every  parish  that  can  boast  a  Royal  connection. 
The  earliest  recorded  instance  of  Royal  presence  is  when  Elfrida, 
the  murderess  of  Edward  the  Martyr,  fled  from  Corfe  Gate,  the 
scene  of  the  murder,  to  this  Ro3^al  residence,  where  she  could 
remain  in  retirement  and  avoid  suspicion.  Here  we  may  place  the 
scene  of  that  beating  of  the  young  King,  her  ten  year  old  boy, 
Ethelred,  with  big  wax  candles,  there  being  no  stick  at  hand, 
when  the  poor  boy  wept  for  the  death  of  his  brother  who  had 
given  him  the  throne.  Wherefore,  writes  the  chronicler, 
"  Ethelred  ever  hated  wax  candles,  and  would  have  none  burnt 
before  him  all  the  days  of  his  life." 

Our  next  Royal  resident  is  less  mythical  but  scarcely  less 
repulsive;  no  less  than  15  visits  are  recorded  of  King  John. 
After  having  landed  at  Studland  on  the  abandonment  of  the 
proposed  invasion  of  Normandy  in  1205,  he  came  on  to  Bere, 
where,  in  a  letter  dated  May  25th,  in  a  very  unusual  fit  of  piety, 
he  ordered  his  bailiff  to  cause  a  fair  crucifix  to  be  set  up  "  in  our 
chapel  at  Bere."  The  kitchen  which  he  had  erected  for  his 
service  at  Bere  in  1207  is  perhaps  more  consistent  with  his 
character,  and  still  more  the  exaction  of  the  thirteenth  on  all 
movables,   from    laymen  and  clergymen  alike,  which   was    to  be 


BERE    REGIS.  51 

paid  (,£20,000)  into  our  chamber  at  Bere.  Now,  I  should  be  very- 
glad  to  have  the  opinion  of  archa3ologists  on  this  point — what  is 
the  date  of  the  earliest  work  of  the  south  aisle  and  arcade  1  Is  it 
contemporary  with  King  John  1  And  does  the  architecture 
(excellent  specimen  as  it  is  of  the  transition  from  Norman  to 
Early  English,  with  early  pointed  arches  on  heavy  Norman 
pillars,  with  Norman  dog-tooth  moulding)  coincide  in  date  with 
the  reign  of  John  1  If  so,  may  we  not  suppose  that  that  super- 
stitious monarch  may  have  tried  to  salve  his  conscience  by 
devoting  some  part  of  the  £20,000,  his  original  exaction,  to  the 
service  of  God  in  the  building  of  this  church  ?  In  connection 
with  the  early  part  of  tlie  church  let  me  call  your  attention  to 
the  carving  of  the  Norman  columns.  At  one  corner  of  a  capital 
you  w  ill  find  a  head  crowned  and  bearded.  Is  it  King  John  ]  A 
Koyal  head  in  such  a  position  seems  to  hint  a  Royal  benefactor. 
But  the  head  is  in  curious  company.  Next  to  it  is  a  scene  from 
old  sports,  bear  baiting  ;  on  the  other  side  grotesque  heads  ;  a 
man  holds  his  mouth  open  with  both  hands,  another  hides  his 
eyes  with  his  hands.  I  ti'ied  to  identify  the  King's  head  by 
comparison  with  coins,  but  was  told  at  the  British  Museum  that 
the  Royal  heads  on  early  coins  were  not  representations  of  indi- 
viduals, but  that  the  head  on  the  c  nns  of  John  was  identical  with 
that  of  earlier  kings,  so  the  only  way  in  which  I  had  hoped  to 
recognise  the  Royal  head  has  failed. 

With  King  John  Royal  residency  ceases,  and  the  manor  passed 
in  1269  to  the  Abbess  of  Tarent ;  with  it  "  a  fair,  a  market,  a  free 
warren,  and  the  whole  forest  of  Bere."  Here  at  Bere  were  many 
of  the  abbesses  buried.  Possibly  those  crosses  built  into  the 
walls  of  the  porch  are  of  that  date  (late  13th  century),  and  I  am 
told  that  the  walls  of  the  south  aisle  are  built  upon  the  old  grave 
stones  of  the  abbesses  of  Tarent.  The  last  abbess,  Margaret 
Russell,  desired  by  her  will  (1567)  to  be  buried  in  Bere  Church. 
Most  of  the  church,  as  we  see  it  now,  must  have  been  erected 
during  its  connection  with  the  Abbey  of  Tarent  in  the  14th  and 
15th  centuries.     The  architectural  features,  though  they  offer  a 


52  BERE    REGIS. 

good  study  of  the  a-radual  change  of  style  from  Early  English  to 
Decorated  and  Perpendicular,^  are  not  sufficiently  striking  to  call 
for  special  notice  in  this  short  sketch.  But  the  glory  of  the 
church  is  the  nave  roof,  which  tradition  assigns  to  Cardinal 
Moretou,  who  was  born,  his  history  says,  "  not  ffar  from  a 
certaine  towne  called  Beere,"  and  was  attainted  after  his  flight 
from  the  Battle  of  Towton  as  "John  Moreton,  late  parson  of 
Blokes  worth,  in  the  shire  of  Dorset."  He  probably  placed  this 
roof  in  his  old  parish  church  when  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  for 
the  shield  in  the  centre  of  the  roof  bears  the  arms  of  Moreton 
quartered  with  those  of  the  see  of  Canterbury ;  the  apostle 
opposite  to  the  shield  wears  a  Cardinal's  hat,  and  may,  perhaps, 
represent  the  Cardinal  ;  and  a  further  connection  is  proved  by  his 
will,  in  which  he  leaves  money  for  a  priest  to  say  mass  in  Bere 
Church  for  his  soul  and  those  of  his  family.  Here,  then,  is  the 
third  touch  of  history.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Cardinal 
Moreton  caused  a  cessation  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses  by  promoting 
the  marriage  of  Henry  VII.  and  Elizabeth  of  York  ;  you  may 
look,  not  in  vain,  for  the  Tudor  Rose,  the  result  of  that  union. 

The   roof,    which    had    fallen    into    bad    repair,    was  carefully 

restored    ten    years    ago,    the    carved    work    made    good    where 

decayed,  the   quaint  old  hammer-beam  figures  repaired,  and  the 

various  beams  and  carvings  coloured,  according  to  the  old  prece 

dent    still    remaining   upon    the   wood.     The    huge   head   in  the 

centre,    which  even  a  reverent   affection  for  the  church  cannot 

commend,   is  supposed  to  be  that  of  John  the   Baptist,  though 

little  like  our  idea  of  the  ascetic  preacher  in  the  wilderness. 

J I  Tradition,  which  Hutchins  follows,  named  the   twelve  figures 

■    "^^:f^Sf  ''^A^'^   after   the   Twelve  Apostles,  but   the   tradition   has   been  rudely 

i^^L^iti"  shaken  by  the   late  Mr.  Street,   backed  by  the  Rev.    S.  Baring 

^kl'      ^  ^''        Gould,  who  is  the  greatest  authority  on  these  matters  living  ;  for 

T .  ( Ji  )  •  they  point  out  that  one  figure  certainly  is  in  deacon's  dress,  and 

^  therefore  could  be  none  other  than  S.  Stephen,  S.  Lawrence,  and 

St.  Vincent. 

But  time  presses,  and  I  must  hasten  to  call  your  attention  to 


BERE    REGIS.  53 

such  smaller  details  as  might  be  overlooked.  Among  the  monu- 
ments, the  nameless,  brassless  tombs  of  the  Turbervilles  in  the 
south  aisle,  whose  arms  still  brighten  the  windows  above,  whose 
bones  lie  in  the  vault  below.  Near  them  are  two  very  good  ogee 
foliated  arches,  covering  nameless  altar  tombs  ;  of  one,  which 
appears  to  have  been  cut  away  for  a  doorway,  this  legend  has 
been  told  me.  Some  former  Lord  of  the  Manor,  I  suppose  a 
Turberville,  quarrelled  with  the  then  parson,  and  vowed  he  would 
never  enter  the  old  church  doors.  Happily,  as  in  many  such 
foolish  quarrels,  time  removed  the  discord,  but  the  squire  cut  a 
new  door  into  the  church,  to  the  keeping  of  his  word  and  the 
disfigurement  of  the  aisle.  Notice  the  Skerne  monument  in  the 
chancel  bearing  the  arms  of  Castile  and  Aragon  ;  the  Skernes 
were  an  old  Spanish  family,  still  represented  in  this  country  by 
the  Skrines  of  Warleigh  and  Claverton,  near  Bath.  Read  the 
quaint  old  rhyme  and  contrast  it  with  the  fulsome  praise  and 
pedantic  Latin  of  the  Loupe  brass  by  the  north  door,  if  you  can 
translate  it,  for  I  think  it  defies  translation,  and  then  glance  at 
that  briefest  of  all  epitaphs  in  the  vestry,  dear  for  old  associations 
to  Balliol  men,  '"  Verbum  non  amplius  Fisher."  Glance  down  at 
the  wood  work,  new  and  old,  the  old  seat  ends  dated  1547 
opposite  the  porch  door,  and  the  old  Jacobean  panels  in  the 
vestry ;  the  beautiful  new  work  is  by  Harry  Hems,  copied  from 
some  of  the  best  designs  in  West  Country  churches.  Even  the 
tiling  is  worth  your  notice ;  one  large  tile  used  in  the  porch  and 
chancel,  bearing  the  three  Plantagenet  leopards,  is  copied  from 
old  tiles  found  in  Bindon  Abbey ;  smaller  tiles  with  shields  of  two 
patterns  were  copied  from  old  tiles  found  in  this  church,  and  I 
think  you  will  admire  the  simplicity  and  character  of  our 
"  native"  pattern. 

And  last,  let  the  windows,  filled  with  beautiful  modern  glass 
by  Hardman,  the  magnificent  gift  of  Mrs.  Lloyd  Egginton,  who 
had  restored  chancel  and  south  aisle  at  her  own  cost,  preach  to 
you  the  Life  of  Christ  and  man's  redemption  ;  or  if  in  this  excite- 
ment of  a  gathering  of  friends  there  is  little  time  or  calm  for  sucli^ 


54  BERE    REGIS. 

subjects,  come  here  by  yourselves  some  quiet  day  and  listen  to 
their  silent  story  ;  they  will  sjDeak  to  you  in  tones  of  greater 
beauty  and  more  moving  power  than  even  the  preacher's  living 
word.  And  I  think  that  you  will  not  regret  to  spend  a  quiet  half- 
hour  in  God's  House  amid  memorials  of  those  who  in  past  and 
present  centuries  have  lived  up  to  the  words,  "  Lord,  I  have 
loved  the  habitation  of  Thy  house  and  the  place  where  Thine 
honour  dwelleth."  I  had  best  conclude  with  a  quotation  from  a 
sketch  by  Canon  Yenables,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  much  that 
I  have  said  to-day — "It  would  be  a  happy  thing  if  every 
restoration  of  a  church  had  been  as  conscientious  and  as  well 
considered  as  that  of  Bere.  No  antient  feature  has  been 
sacrificed,  no  new^  work  needlessly  introduced.  It  may  be  called 
a  model  restoration,  reflecting  the  gi'eatest  credit  on  the  architect 
who  drew  the  plans,  the  late  much  lamented  Mr.  George  E.  Street, 
Pv.A.,  on  the  builder,  and  still  more  on  the  late  vicar,  the  Rev. 
Francis  AV^aiTe,  now  vicar  of  Melksham,  by  whose  energy  and 
refined  taste  the  undertaking  was  set  on  foot  and  brought  to  a 
successful  issue,  and  to  whose  liberality  the  completeness  and 
beauty  of  the  work  is  in  no  small  degree  due." 


fr;iM-^-.        w 


Proc  Dorsd  X H  A-  AF  Huh   Vol  Mil  PI  li 


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By   the    Rev.    O.    P.    CAMBRIDGE,    M.A. 


Plate  II.     Figs.  A,  B,  C,  D. 

HE  past  year  (1886)  was  a  remarkably  barren  one 
in  respect  to  Lepidoptera ;  chiefly  so,  I  imagine, 
owing  to  the  excessive  cold  and  wet  of  the  month 
of  May,  Just  at  that  period  the  larvae  which 
should  produce  the  summer  and  autumn  insects 
would  be  in  a  young  and  tender  state,  and 
peculiarly  liable  to  destruction  from  any  unusual  inclemency  of 
weather.  Lyccena  argiades  (Pall),  the  great  catch  of  1885,  did 
not  turn  up  at  all  in  1886,  although  several  nets  were  at  work  for 
it  during  a  good  part  of  the  month  of  August ;  in  fact,  the  common 
blue  butterfly — L.  icarus — was  comparatively  scarce.  Our  work 
for  L.  argiades,  however,  was  not  entirely  fruitless,  as  it  led  to  the 
discovery  of  PteropJiorus  paludum  (Zeller),  one  of  the  curious 
group  of  //7^;;/^-moths,  on  a  piece  of  boggy  ground  on  Bloxworth 
Heath ;  and  also  of  CEnectra  pilleria7ia  (Schiff)  a  rare  and  local 
moth  of  the  large  well-marked  group  of  Tortrices  or  leaf-rollers. 
Mr.  Eustace  Bankes  has  also  kindly  communicated  to  me  the 
discovery  by  the  Rev.  C.  Digby,  at  Portland,  in  1884-85,  of  the 
larvae  (from  which  the  perfect  insects  were  afterwards  bred),  of  a 


56  RARE    AND    LOCAL    LEPIDOPTERA. 

small  moth  new  to  Britain,  and  perhaps  also  new  to  science.  It 
is  one  of  a  large  group  of,  mostly,  minute  moths,  remarkable  for 
the  curious  forms  of  the  cases  in  which  the  larvae  live ;  at  present 
it  is  supposed  to  be  Cokophora  fiavaginella  (Lienig)  ;  but  its 
proper  identification  has  not  yet  been  satisfactorily  determined. 
A  short  description  of  these  insects,  with  one  or  two  remarks 
upon  them,  will,  perhaps,  with  the  figures  now  exhibited,  make 
this  brief  notice  worth  insertion  in  our  next  vol.  of  Proceedings. 

CENECTRA  PILLERIANA  (SCHIFF).  (PI.  II.,  figs.  B,  C,  D.) 
,,  „  Stainton's  Manual,  II.,  p.  197. 

Width  of  the  upperwings,  8  lines.  The  general  form  and 
appearance  cannot  be  better  given  than  in  the  accompanying 
figures. 

The  colour  of  the  upper  wings  is,  in  the  types  from  Ventnor, 
ochreous  crossed  by  two  more  or  less  distinctly  defined,  but 
irregular  oblique  brownish  markings  ;  the  outer  extremities,  as  well 
as  a  small  marking  near  the  base  on  the  inner  margin,  are  also 
brownish.  These  markings  are  more  or  less  formed  by  fine 
irregular  lines.  The  general  hue  of  the  heath  form  is  dull 
brownish  ochreous,  tinged  with  olive  (PI.  II.,  fig.  B)  ;  the 
characteristic  darker  markings  being  often  very  indistinct,  and  in 
some  examples  quite  obsolete.  Another,  found  in  saltmarshes  in 
a  neighbouring  county,  is  of  a  glossy  reddish-ochreous  ferrugineous 
hue,  with  darker  markings — the  female,  however,  being  uni- 
colorous.  The  hinder  wings  are  more  or  less  dark  brownish,  and 
unicolorous. 

(Enectra  pilleriana  occurs  on  several  boggy  parts  of  Bloxworth 
Heath.  On  one  of  them  it  was  found  in  tolerable  abundance  during 
the  month  of  August.  The  only  previous  recorded  occurrence  of 
it  here  was  in  1862,  when  several  were  taken  by  myself  and 
Mr.  Frederick  Bond.  Excepting  one  of  these  examples  (Fig.  C), 
which  is  of  a  yellowish  intermediate  colouring,  slightly  tinged  with 
red,  all  the  heath  specimens  are  of  the  uniform  dull  greyish  olive 
hue  above  described,  and  contrast  very  strikingly  with  a  handsome 


RARE  AND  LOCAL  LEPIDOPTERA.  57 

variety  met  with  in  some  numbers  in  saltmarshes  in  a  neighbouring 
county,  as  above  mentioned.  The  forewings  of  the  male  of  this 
variety  are  glossy  reddish  ochreous,  with  ferrugineous  markings 
(Fig.  D),  while  those  of  the  female  are  unicolorous,  glossy,  dark 
ferrugineous.  So  striking  is  the  contrast  between  these  two 
varieties,  that  the  almost  unicolorous  heath  forms  at  first  raised 
some  doubts  in  the  minds  of  more  than  one  of  our  best  entomo- 
logists as  to  their  specific  identity.  There  seems  no  doubt  that 
the  two  forms  differ  only  in  coloration.  The  heath  variety, 
however,  appears  to  be  rather  smaller  than  that  found  in  the 
saltmarshes.  It  has  occurred  also  on  a  boggy  spot  near  Studland, 
where  the  larvae  were  found  by  the  Rev.  Charles  Digby,  in  1886, 
feeding  on  the  Bog-Asphodel,  but  it  is  known  to  feed  also  on 
many  other  plants,  among  them  being  the  stinking  iris,  marjoram, 
and  knap-weed.  Mr.  Digby  had  met  with  the  perfect  insect  in 
1885,  as  well  as  once  previously. 

The  perfect  insect  may  easily  be  known  from  all  its  congener^) 
by  the  length  of  the  palpi,  which  are  porrected  like  those  of  the 
genus  Crambus,  and  are  about  three  times  the  length  of  the  head. 
I  have,  since  writing  the  above,  seen  examples  from  Ventnor  (Isle 
of  Wight) ;  these  are  intermediate  between  the  ordinary  heath 
and  saltmarsh  forms,  and  may  be  taken  as  typical. 

PTEROPHORUS  PALUDUM  (ZELLER).     (PL  II.,  fig.  A.) 

„         id.  Isis,  1839,  p.  277,  and  1841,  p.  866. 

„         Stainton's  Supplementary   Cat.    of    Brit.    Tinese   and 

Pterophoridse,  185 1.     p.  13. 
„         id.  Cat.  Micr  :  Lep.  Brit.  Mus,  p.  179. 
,,         id.  Manual,  II.,  p.  445. 
„         Westwood.     Wood's  Index  Entomologicus.     New  Ed. 

1854.     p.  281.     pi.  59.     fig  1862. 

„         C.  G.  Barrett.   Ent.  IVIonth.   Mag.  ;  vol.  5,  for  1868-69. 

The  width  of  the  upper  wings,  which  are  cleft  at  the  extremity, 

through  half  their  length,  into  two  lobes,  is  6  J  lines.     Their  colour 

is  greyish  brown,  tinged  with  chocolate.     Each  lobe  has  one  or 


58  RARE  AND  LOCAL  LEPIDOPTERA. 

two  oblique  white  markings.  A  conspicuous  one  on  the  lower 
lobe  is  formed  by  the  long  white  fringe  near  the  extremity  on  the 
lower  margin  ;  and  is  brought  into  relief  by  a  black  dash  on  its 
inner  side.  There  are  also  one  or  two  other  black  dashes,  and 
some  black  points,  formed  by  minute  black  scales  on  these  lobes, 
giving  that  part  a  prettily  variegated  appearance  The  lower 
wings  are  three-lobed,  unicolorous,  and  destitute  of  any  black 
scales.  The  body  is  similar  in  colour  to  the  wings,  and  variegated 
with  chocolate  and  white.  The  legs  are  greyish  brown,  the  ex- 
tremities annulated  with  darker  and  white,  and  furnished  with  long 
blackish  and  white  spurs. 

This  pretty  and  fragile  little  insect  was  found  from  August  23rd 
to  September  4th.  We  were  returning  home,  wearied  with  a  long 
afternoon's  fruitless  search  for  Lyccena  argiades,  and  slowly  tramping 
through  a  bog,  often  over  ankle  deep  in  water,  when  my  son 
x\rthur  called  my  attention  to  a  little  plume  moth,  which  he 
thought  to  be  Fterophoriis  hipundidactyliis  —  -3^  very  common 
species  of  this  group  ;  before  I  could  get  to  the  spot,  however,  it 
had  disappeared.  Soon  another  was  seen  and  captured,  when  a 
single  glance  told  me  I  had  never  seen  the  species  before.  A 
close  search  followed,  and  several  more  were  netted  before  dark- 
ness came  on.  A  reference  to  our  books  and  collections  on 
reaching  home  informed  us  of  the  value  of  our  find ;  and,  almost 
every  succeeding  evening,  at  all  fitting  in  point  of  weather,  found 
some  or  other  of  us  slowly  and  stedfastly  working  the  bog  until 
the  whole  brood  was  out  and  over.  So  far  as  our  experience  goes, 
it  scarcely  ever  moves  of  its  own  accord  until  about  half-an  hour, 
or  often  less,  before  sunset,  and  for  a  very  short  time  after; 
indeed,  of  its  own  accord  it  was  seldom  seen  flying,  generally  not 
flying  until  disturbed,  when  it  would  flitter  up  gnat-like  among  the 
bog  grass  and  rushes,  and  jerkily  fly  off  for,  at  most,  a  few  yards, 
settling  again  on  a  blade  of  grass  with  its  two  long-spurred  hind 
legs  stuck  out,  one  on  each  side,  in  a  very  characteristic  way.  On 
some  evenings  it  would  not  fly  at  all ;  the  most  favourable  kind 
of  evening  appeared  to  be  a  quiet,  dewy,  damp  one,  after  a  bright 


RARE    AND    LOCAL    LEPIDOPTERA.  59 

hot  day.  The  food  plant  of  the  larvae  does  not  yet  appear  to 
have  been  anywhere  discovered.  This  is  a  point  we  hope  to  clear 
up  some  day  if  the  moth  should  again  occur  as  it  did  last  year. 
In  England  it  was  first  discovered,  but  not  abundantly,  in  the  year 
1850,  by  a  professional  collector  named  Stretten,  in  Holme  Fen, 
Huntingdonshire,  and  was  also  found  at  Whittlesea,  Cambridge- 
shire. In  1869 — (Ent  Month  Mag,  vol.  5) — it  was  taken 
sparingly  at  Haslemere,  by  Mr.  C.  G.  Barrett.  Mr.  Bond  thinks 
it  was  also  found  in  Norfolk  some  years  ago  by  a  professional 
collector  named  Winter.  I  understand  that  it  was  found  some 
years  ago  near  Crewe,  by  a  Mr.  W.  Thompson,  from  1850  to 
i860 — and  about  30  years  ago  in  the  Fens,  by  Peter  Bouchard.* 
These  are  the  only  occurrences  I  can  ascertain  anything  about 
until  our  meeting  with  it  in  this  county  last  year.  I  should 
mention,  however,  that  in  the  same  month  (August)  last  year,  Mr. 
Digby  also  met  with  several  examples  in  a  swamp  near  Studland. 
It  is  not  included  in  Mr.  South's  able  papers  on  the  British 
species  of  this  group,  published  in  recent  volumes  of  the 
"  Entomologist." 

COLEOPHORA   FLAVAGINELLA    (LIENIG). 

Perfect  ifiseci ;  width  of  forewings,  7  lines.  The  forewings  are 
ochreous,  dusted  over  with  grey  scales,  and  with  scarcely  any 
indications  of  darker  longitudinal  streaks.  The  costa  is  narrowly 
whitish  to  beyond  the  middle ;  the  fringes  are  ochreous,  and  the 
antennae  white  annulated  with  dark  brown.  The  hinder  wings 
are  unicolorous  grey  fringed  with  ochreous  grey. 

Until  the  specialists,  who  are  still  in  conference  on  the  question 
of  the  specific  identity  of  this  plainly  coloured  little  moth,  have 
finished  their  labours,  we  must  still  reckon  it  under  the  name 
above  given.  The  larva  makes  for  itself  a  smooth,  greyish, 
ochreous  case,  with  dark  brown  longitudinal  stripes,  and  feeds  in 

*  Mr.  Eustace  Bankes  tells  me  that  since  the  above  was  written  he  has 
found  a  reference  to  a  single  sjjecimen  of  this  insect  having  been  taken  by 
Mr.  C.  G.  Barrett  in  the  month  of  June,  1865,  in  Woolmer  Forest. — 
Ent  :  Month.  Mag.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  263. 


60  RARE    AND    LOCAL    LEPIDOPTERA. 

September  and  October  on  the  seeds  of  Suceda  maritwia,  and 
when  full  fed  attaches  itself  to  the  stems  of  its  food-plant  and  there 
hybernates ;  in  the  spring  it  again  shews  signs  of  activity,  wandering 
about  restlessly  until  a  convenient  place  is  found  for  the  attach- 
ment of  its  case,  in  which  it  passes  into  the  pupa  state.  The 
duration  of  this  state  is  very  short,  and  the  perfect  insect  appears 
in  June  and  July. 

This  species  was  discovered  in  the  larva  state  by  Mr.  Digby 
and  Mr.  Bankes  on  the  Chesil  Beach,  Portland,  in  the  autumn  of 
1884,  and  from  some  of  these  larvae,  which  are  greatly  subject  to 
the  attacks  of  ichneumon  flies,  the  perfect  insects  were  bred 
for  the  first  time  by  Mr.  Bankes  in  the  June  and  July  following.  In 
the  same  year  the  insect  was  also  found  by  Mr.  W.  H.  B,  Fletcher, 
in  Sussex.  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Bankes  for  the  above  facts,  and 
I  understand  that  he  believes  it  has  also  been  found  in  Essex.  It 
ranks  therefore  as  yet  among  our  most  local  species. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  PLATE  II. 

Fig.  A. — Pterophorus  paludum. 

a.  Natural  size. 

Fig.  B. — CEnedra  pilleriana.     Ordinary  heath  variety. 

b.  Natural  size. 

Fig.  C. — Ditto,  ditto.  A  rare  variety  found  on  the  heath, 
intermediate  in  colour  between  A  and  D  (the 
red  saltmarsh  form). 

c.  Natural  size. 

Fig.  D. — Ditto,  ditto.     Red  variety  from  the  saltmarshes. 

d.  Natural  size. 

Fig.  E. — Labidura  riparia  (Great  earwig),  female. 

e'.  Natural  size.     e.  Forceps  of  male. 
Fig.  F. — Forficula    auricular ia    (common    earwig),    forceps    of 
male. 

/.  Forceps  of  female. 


®n  the  ^reat  giirtoig, 

Lahidura  riparia  (Pallas). 


By   R.    B.    KEMP-WELCH,    Esq. 


£th 


Plate  II.     Fig.  E. 

N  recording  the  capture  of  this  rare  insect  on  the 
Dorset  coast,  I  fondly  hoped  that  it  was  the  first 
time  of  its  occurrence  in  our  county  ;  but  have 
since  been  informed  by  an  eminent  authority 
that  he  thinks,  although  not  positive  on  the 
subject,  that  one  had  previously  been  taken  in 
the  Isle  of  Portland.  My  specimen  is,  at  any 
rate,  authentic  as  a  county  representative,  having  been  taken 
on  the  beach  under  Branksome  Park,  some  two  miles  westward  from 
Bournemouth,  on  the  27th  of  May,  1886,  by  Mr.  E.  Lovett,  of 
Croydon,  and  by  him  kindly  presented  to  me.  From  the  paucity 
of  students  of  Orthoptera,  I  have  experienced  considerable  difficulty 
in  ascertaining  the  number  of  occurrences  of  this  insect  in  England  ; 
but,  as  far  as  at  present  discoverable,  they  seem  to  be  very  few. 
The  first  recorded  capture  was  by  the  Rev.  W.  Bingley,  in  1808,  of 
one  on  the  beach  "  near  Christchurch."  Mr.  C.  W.  Dale,  of 
Glanville's  Wootton,  has,  I  believe,  in  his  possession  two 
specimens  taken  many  years  ago  on  the  shore  between  Bourne- 
mouth and  Christchurch,  but  the  exact  date  of  capture  is  not 
known.     The  late  Mr.  T.  P,  Dossetor  informed  me  that,  about 


62  THE    GREAT    EARWIG. 

1858,  he  also  took  one  on  the  shore,  close  to  Hengistbury  Head. 
Mr.  E.  Saunders  found  one  "  on  the  shore  at  Bournemouth  nearly 
20  years  ago."  The  Rev.  J.  G.  Wood,  in  his  "  Insects  at  Home," 
mentions  one  being  taken,  also  on  the  beach,  at  Folkestone,  but 
gives  no  date.  In  the  British  Museum  (British  collection)  there 
are,  I  am  informed,  six  specimens — three  from  Stephens'  collec- 
tion, two  unlabelled,  and  one  referred  to  in  the  old  catalogue  of 
the  Museum  (prior  to  1838)  as  from  "  the  Hampshire  coast,"  and 
placed  there  by  Dr.  Leach.  Whether  or  not  this  last  was  the 
original  Bingley  capture  my  informant  was  unable  to  ascertain. 
These  are  all  the  occurrences  of  the  insect  at  present  known 
to  me. 

The  classification  of  the  earwigs  has  long  been  a  contested 
matter  amongst  entomologists,  but  they  are  now  generally,  I 
believe,  ranked  as  a  sub-order,  or  tribe,  of  the  order  Orthoptera 
(as  Euplexoptera,  Westwood),  which  contains  but  a  single  family, 
the  Forficulidae.     The  British  genera  of  this  family  are  — 

Forficiila  with  14  joints  in  the  antemiDe 

Labia  „     12 

Labidura      „   24-25       „         „         „ 

Chehdura  „  12 
Of  these,  Forficula  auricidaria  (common  earwig),  and  Labia  minor 
(the  little  earwig),  are  only  too  common ;  but  Chelidura  is 
scarcely  known  in  England.  LaUdura  riparia  i^^\.)—\Forfice.8ila 
gigantea  (Latr.)]— though  rare  in  England,  is,  on  the  Continent, 
widely  distributed ;  but  is  a  southern  rather  than  a  northern 
species.  Mr.  McLachlan  informs  me,  however,  that  it  has  been 
taken  as  far  north  as  Brittany,  in  France,  and  Berlin,  in 
Germany.  It  appears  always  to  frequent  the  seashore,  or  the 
banks  of  rivers,  and  might,  therefore,  as  Mr.  McLachlan  observes, 
be  sometimes  imported  amongst  ballast  ;  but,  although  this 
might  be  the  case  with  the  reported  specimen  from  Portland,  and 
that  from  Folkestone,  it  can  scarcely  be  so  in  the  others,  where 
there  is  no  foreign  traffic  whatever.  On  the  contrary,  it  may 
probably  be  taken  for  a  fact  that  the  species  has  for  many  years 


THE    GREAT    EARWIG. 


63 


been    established  near  Christchurch  Head,  and  may  perhaps  be 
now  spreading  along  the  bay. 

As  regards  the  description  of  this  insect,  adult  specimens  metisure 
in  length  about  12  lines;  the  forceps  are  long,  and  straighter 
than  those  of  the  common  earwig,  especially  those  of  the  female, 
which  are  minutely  toothed  on  the  inner  side.  Those  of  the 
male  are  more  curved  towards  the  tips,  and  have  each  a  pro- 
minent tooth  about  a  third  of  the  length  from  the  apex.  The 
accompanying  figures  show  the  forceps  of  the  male  and  female,  as 
compared  with  those  of  Forficula  auricularia.  The  antennge,  as 
before  stated,  number  24  or  25  joints  ;  the  colour  of  the  adult  is 
of  much  the  same  shade  as  that  of  the  common  earwig,  but  the 
thorax  and  wing-cases  are  lighter  in  colour,  with  a  dark  longi- 
tudinal streak  on  each  side  of  the  former  and  another  on  each 
wing-case.  Like  the  common  species,  Labidura  appears  to  be 
hidden  as  much  as  possible  in  the  daytime,  probably  in 
chinks  and  crannies  of  the  cliffs,  and  only  emerges  to  seek  its 
food  at  the  approach  of  evening,  its  aliment  probably  being  the 
various  small  animals,  molluscous  and  otherwise,  that  are  left  on 
the  shore  by  the  tide. 


®he  Jlbbot^bnrg  Ixon  gcpasits^ 


By  Mr.  T.  B.  GROVES,  F.C.S.  (of  Weymouth.) 


HE  elementary  substance,  Iron,  is  one  of  the  most 
widely  distributed  of  bodies,  but  it  only  rarely 
occurs  in  Nature  in  the  metallic  form,  and  never 
in  a  state  of  purity.  Mankind  in  comparatively 
early  times  recognised  its  superiority  over  alloys 
of  copper  in  the  manufacture  of  weapons  and  tools, 
but  it  was  not  till  civilisation  had  made  some  progress  that  iron 
ores,  comparatively  so  refractory,  could  be  reduced  to  the  metallic 
state  and  made  to  do  useful  service.  As  ores  of  iron  more  or  less 
rich  occur  in  almost  every  geological  formation,  so  their  composition 
varies  almost  as  greatly  as  their  situation.  But  for  practical 
purposes  all  iron  ores  may  be  divided  into  the  proto-carbonates 
and  the  peroxides,  the  former  of  which  would,  if  pure,  contain 
about  48  per  cent.,  the  latter  70  per  cent.,  of  metallic  iron.  This 
condition  of  purity  is  never  realised  in  Nature,  though  some 
specimens  of  crystalline  heematite  come  very  near  it.  These 
forms,  however,  may  be  regarded  rather  as  curiosities  than  useful 
sources  of  metallic  wealth.  The  substances  contaminating  the 
ores  are  either  basic  or  acid.  Of  the  former  class  manganese, 
alumina,  magnesia,  and  lime  are  of  frequent  occurrence  ;  of  the 
latter   silicic,  carbonic,   phosphoric   acids,  with  sulphur  in  some 


THE    ABBOTSBURY    IRON    DEPOSITS.  G5 

form  of  combination.  The  basic  materials  may  as  a  rule  (man- 
ganese being  excepted)  be  regarded  as  diluents,  but  the  presence 
of  minute  percentages  of  jDhosphorus  or  of  sulphur  exerts  a 
most  powerful  and  deleterious  influence  on  the  quality  of  the 
smelted  metal.  When  considering,  therefore,  the  probable  value 
of  an  iron  ore  as  a  commercial  substance,  it  is  of  most  importance 
to  ascertain  not  how  much  iron  it  contains,  but  what  quality  of 
metal  will  it  yield  when  passed  through  the  smelting  furnace.  I 
rather  insist  on  this  on  account  of  the  Abbotsbury  ores  having 
been  somewhat  blown  upon,  because  they  do  not  on  the  average 
reach  so  high  a  standard  as  some  other  ores  in  respect  of  per- 
centage of  iron.  I  believe  the  true  test,  that  of  the  furnace,  has 
yet  to  be  applied  to  the  deposit  we  have  had  before  us  to-day, 
and  it  is,  1  venture  to  suggest,  highly  desirable  that  for  the  sake 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  district,  and  especially  of  the  proprietors 
of  the  Abbotsbury  Railway,  to  say  nothing  of  the  owners  of  these 
valuable  beds,  this  omission  should  speedily  be  rectified. 

Passing  over  the  carbonates,  which  nevertheless  produce  the 
larger  part  of  the  iron  made  in  this  country,  I  will  mention  a  few 
particulars  respecting  the  peroxides  which  in  this  neighbourhood 
are  represented  by  the  iron  deposits  of  Abbotsbury,  Westbury, 
Devizes.  These  all  partake  of  the  oolitic  character,  and  are 
found  in  various  situations  amongst  the  rocks  of  the  oolitic  series. 
Mr.  Damon  in  his  valuable  manual  quotes  analyses  by  Dr. 
Liveing  and  by  Messrs.  Blake  and  Huddleston,  the  former  finding 
43-97  per  cent,  of  peroxide  of  iron  (=  30-78  metallic  iron)  in  the 
specimen  he  examined,  the  latter  73*57  per  cent.  (=  51-50 
metallic  iron)  in  what  are  called  oolitic  granules.  But  whether 
these  granules  were  selected  specimens  or  a  fair  example  of  a 
certain  deposit  we  are  not  informed.  Mr.  Damon  remarks  that 
''  the  iron  ore  (haematite)  of  the  carboniferous  series  contains, 
w^hen  pure  iron,  70  ;  oxygen,  30  per  cent."  That  is,  of  course, 
absolutely  true,  the  qualification  "  when  pure"  being  introduced, 
but  it  is  scarcely  fair  to  make  such  a  comparison  as  is  here 
suggested,    seeing    that     such    a   specimen    of    absolutely    pure 


66  THE    ABBOTSBURY    IRON    DEPOSITS. 

peroxide  could  scarcely  be  found  outside  a  museum.  The  Abbots- 
bury  ores  seem,  in  fact,  to  vary  in  richness  according  to  situation, 
much  as  do  those  of  Northampton,  two  specimens  from  which 
locality  yielded  respectively  50-51  and  27*3  metallic  iron.  These 
ores  are  from  the  Wealden,  immediately  overlying  the  oolites. 
On  the  other  hand  I  find  recorded  analyses  of  Whitehaven 
(carboniferous)  haematite  ore,  giving  6G'6  per  cent,  metallic  ;  iron 
of  haematite  from  "-'omersetshire  giving  59-5  per  cent,  metallic 
iron.  In  the  first  case  the  specimen  is  said  to  be  of  the  "  richest 
kind,"  in  the  second  it  is  called  a  "  rich  specimen."  But  could 
not  Abbotsbury  furnish  carefully  selected  specimens  of  similar 
richness  1     I  have  yet  to  learn  that  it  could  not. 

The  late  Mr.  Charles  Moore,  F.G.S.,  in  18G3  contributed  to  the 
Newcastle  meeting  of  the  British  Association  a  paper  on  "  The 
Equivalents  of  the  Cleveland  Ironstone  in  the  West  of  England." 
He  there  states  that  he  had  traced  these  ironstone  bands  from 
Lyme  Regis  to  Yeovil  and  Bath,  and  found  that  in  mineral  wealth 
they  formed  a  marked  contrast  to  those  in  the  North  of  England, 
for  where  the  ore  was  rich  enough  to  work  it  was  not  thick 
enough,  and  vice  versd.  It  is  singular,  I  may  remark,  that  the 
Cleveland  ironstone  to  which  he  refers,  and  which  is  not  only 
found  among  the  oolitic  series  of  rock,  but  is  itself  distinctly 
oolitic  in  structure,  is  not  a  haematite,  but  a  proto-carbonate, 
containing  about  31  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron.  Mr.  Moore  had 
not  then,  it  seems,  visited  Abbotsbury,  for  nine  years  after  we 
find  him  actually  lessee  of  these  deposits  under  agreement  with 
the  Earl  of  Ilchester,  dated  May  22nd,  1872.  The  long  continued 
ill  health  and  final  death  of  Mr.  Moore  were  fatal  obstacles  to  the 
utilisation  of  these  valuable  deposits,  the  working  of  which  will,  it 
is  to  be  hoped,  enrich  in  a  not  distant  future  the  fortunate  owners 
of  the  property  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  surrounding  it. 


©IT    the    (grgat 

(Claviceps  purjnirea) . 


Sch 


By   MORTON   STUART,    Esq. 


UR  late  Secretary,  Professor  Buckman,  contributed 
from  time  to  time  a  series  of  papers  to  the 
Dorset  Field  Club  on  various  fungoid  diseases  of 
our  cultivated  plants.  One  very  important  one, 
and  of  great  interest  from  its  curious  life  history, 
was  omitted.  Had  he  been  permitted,  I  feel  no 
doubt  that  it  would  have  been  included  amongst  his  papers,  and 
I  therefore  take  this  opportunity  of  drawing  the  attention  of  the 
Society  to  this  particular  disease  affecting  grasses  and  cereals, 
which  is  generally  known  as  the  Ergot  (Claviceps  purpurea). 
There  is  another  reason  why  this  is  a  suitable  opportunity  for 
inviting  notice  to  this  strange  fungoid  disease,  and  this  is,  that  it 
seems  to  me  to  have  made  its  appearance  somewhat  earlier  than 
usual  this  year,  and  to  be  very  prevalent  in  some  localities.  In 
Somersetshire  during  July  and  the  early  part  of  August  I  had  not 
noticed  it  at  all,  but  in  Dorset,  whilst  walking  home  from  our  last 
meeting  at  Bere,  on  August  19th,  I  found  several  specimens,  and 
since  then  I  have  noticed  much  more  of  it.  This  is  rather 
curious,  as  generally  it  does  not  make  its  appearance  to  any  great 
extent  until  later  in  the  autumn,  and  is  particularly  pleniiful  in 
wet  seasons,  which  cannot  certainly  be  said  of  this  one.     We  are 


68  ON     THE    ERGOT. 

well  aware  that  plants  aud  animals  are  subject  to  various  forms 
of  diseases,  and  that  those  species  of  plants  and  animals  which 
have  been  long  domesticated  seem  to  be  more  liable  to  be 
affected,  partly,  perhaps,  from  the  fact  of  more  careful  observa- 
tion being  extended  to  those  species,  and  partly  because,  through 
the  influence  of  cultivation  and  artificial  selection,  their  consti- 
tution becomes  enfeebled,  and  rendered  more  liable  to  be 
attacked. 

The  Ergot  is  a  fungoid  disease,  which  is  most  commonly  known 
from  its  attacks  on  Rye,  and,  since  this  cereal  in  some  countries 
forms  the  principal  source  of  food  for  the  population,  it  has  been 
the  cause  of  some  of  the  most  fatal  diseases  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  Ergot,  however,  does  not  confine  its  attacks  to  Rye  alone,  but 
may  be  found  on  several  other  of  the  Gramineee  ;  such  species, 
for  instance,  as  Lolium  fj^renne,  or  Rye-grass  ;  Dactylis 
glomerata,  or  Cocksfoot  ;  Alopecurus,  Phleuni,  Brachypodium, 
and  some  of  the  Poas  or  Meadow  Grasses.  Hitherto  this  year — 
up  to  the  end  of  August — I  have  only  noticed  it  upon  Lolium 
perenne,  on  which  it  is  very  common  along  the  roadsides  and 
hedgerows,  and  upon  Dactylis  glomerata.  In  October,  no  doubt, 
we  shall  find  it  more  plentifully  developed. 

With  regard  to  historical  reference  to  this  curious  disease,  a 
French  writer  says,  in  1089  (this  is  quoted  from  Sowerby's 
*'  British  Grasses")  :  "  A  pestilent  year,  especially  in  parts  of 
Lorraine,  where  many  persons  became  putrid,  in  consequence  of 
their  inward  parts  being  consumed  by  St.  Anthony's  fire.  Their 
limbs  were  rotten,  and  became  black,  like  coal.  They  either 
perished  miserably,  or,  deprived  of  their  putrid  hands  and  feet, 
were  reserved  for  a  more  miserable  life.  Moreover,  many  cripples 
were  afflicted  with  contraction  of  the  sinews."  No  notion  of  the 
real  cause  seems  to  have  existed,  though  it  is  on  record  'Hhat  the 
bread  which  was  eaten  at  this  period  was  remarkable  for  its  deep 
violet  colour."  Sowerby  also  states  that  the  late  Dr.  Willan  was 
of  opinion  that  many  pestilential  epidemics  of  past  periods  were 
due  to  this  cause,  and  among  them  the  sweating  sickness  of  the 


ON    THE    ERGOT.  69 

beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  medicinal  use  of  Ergot 
is  of  much  importance,  and  it  is  imported  from  France,  Germany, 
and  America.  The  retail  price  varied  formerly  from  10s.  to  20s. 
per  ounce,  and,  consequently,  if  a  pound  were  collected  from  a 
field  of  Rye  it  would  have  been  worth  more  than  the  produce  of  the 
sound  grain.  At  the  present  time  the  price  is  probably  not  more 
than  Is.  to  Is.  6d.  per  ounce.  The  prevalence  of  this  disease  in 
grasses  is  a  serious  matter  to  agriculturists,  from  the  fact  of  its 
acting  as  a  poison  on  the  animal  economy.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  much  widespread  injury  has  been  caused  in  dairy  districts  to 
the  cows  from  feeding  in  pastures  where  Ergot  is  prevalent.  Yet 
it  is  a  source  of  danger  whose  existence  in  his  fields  the  farmer  is 
most  commonly  quite  ignorant  of,  and  when  it  is  pointed  out  to 
him  he  seldom  recognises  its  nature.  It  is  in  the  months  of 
October  and  November,  when  the  autumnal  mists  and  damp 
w^eather  have  set  in,  that  this  fungus  is  most  widely  developed. 
We  shall  then  find  it  in  pastures  where  cattle  have  been  grazing 
during  the  summer,  and  where  frequent  spikes  of  Rye-grass  and 
others  have  been  left  from  their  having  become  dry  and  wiry,  and 
unpalatable  for  food.  The  Ergot  will  then  make  its  appearance 
as  a  black,  horn -like  growth,  half  an  inch  in  length  or  there- 
abouts, occupying  the  position  of  the  matured  pistil  in  a  healthy 
spikelet,  and  we  may  perhaps  find  as  many  as  three  of  them  on 
each  spike  of  the  Rye-grass.  It  is  just  in  such  pastures,  and  in 
badly  kept  roadsides  and  hedgerows,  where  the  grasses  have  not 
been  properly  eaten  down,  or  cut  and  cleared  away,  that  w^e 
should  look  for  this  fungus.  If  the  farmer  were  aware  of  its 
existence,  and  of  the  danger  which  is  likely  to  result  to  his  dairy 
cows  from  its  presence,  he  would  take  the  same  steps  for  its 
removal  which  he  does  in  regard  to  docks  and  thistles,  either  by 
passing  his  grass-cutting  machine  over  the  field,  or  by  putting  a 
man  to  cut  down  all  the  rank  patches  with  a  scythe. 

The  production  of  what  is  known  as  Honey  Dew  on  various 
plants  is  connected  wdth  the  occurrence  of  some  fungi,  the  Ergot 
being  one  of  them.     The  life  history  of  the  Ergot,  which  it  would 


To  ON    THE    ERGOT. 

be  well  to  draw  attention  to  in  this  short  paper,  is  extremely 
complicated.  It  is  well  described  in  Sach's  ''  Textbook  of 
Botany,"  and  the  various  stages  of  the  fungus  are  accurately 
figured.  He  says  "  the  development  of  the  Ergot  begins  with 
the  formation  of  a  filamentous  mycelium,  which  attches  itself  to 
the  surface  of  the  ovary  of  grasses,  especially  of  Rye,  while  still 
enclosed  between  the  pales,  covers  it  with  a  thick  weft,  and 
partially  penetrates  into  its  tissue,  while  the  apex  and  often 
other  parts  of  the  ovary  remain  exempt  from  its  attacks.  Thus 
the  ovary  of  the  grass  becomes  replaced  by  the  soft  mycelial 
tissue  of  the  fungus,  which  gradually  elongates  into  a  horn-like 
excrescence,  and  often  carries  the  stigma  of  the  original  pistil 
upon  its  summit.  The  surface  of  the  fungus  now  becomes  split 
up  by  depressions  in  which  spores  {Conidia)  are  produced  in  great 
numbers.  These  spores  fall  to  the  ground  and  germinate.  This 
is  what  is  known  as  the  Sphacelia  stage  of  the  Ergot.  After  this 
production  of  Conidia  has  been  accomplished,  the  mycelium 
beneath  elongates  considerably,  becomes  hard  and  stifif,  and 
assumes  a  purplish  colour  on  its  exterior.  It  is  in  this  stage  (the 
Sclerotium)  that  the  fungus  is  recognised  as  the  Ergot.  The 
purple  Sclerotium  remains  in  a  dormant  condition  during  the 
autumn,  either  seated  on  the  withered  flower  stems  of  the  grass 
or  embedded  in  the  damp  soil  beneath.  About  springtime  a  new 
activity  commences  by  the  development  of  receptacles  beneath 
the  skin  of  the  Sclerotium,  which  gradually  burst  through,  and 
are  borne  aloft  upon  short  stalks.  In  these  receptacles  other 
spores  are  developed  in  suitable  sacs,  or  asci,  as  they  are  termed, 
and  these  new  spores,  on  reaching  the  flowers  of  suitable  grasses, 
recommence  the  cycle  by  developing  the  Sphacelia  stage  once 
more. 


(Ecrton. 


By    H.   J.    MOULE,    M.A. 


,,.     ^  OR    some    reason    or    other    Gorton    seems   to  be 


less  well  known  than  it  deserves.  Its  name  is 
most  significant.  It  is  in  a  remarkable  way 
Gorton,  the  Tun  of  the  Cut,  for  through  a  cut 
in  the  rock  passes  the  only  carriage  road  to 
Gorton.  And  traversing  that  cut  we  see  Gorton 
lying  below  us,  on  the  slope  of  the  hill,  facing  South,  charmingly 
situated.  Knocked  about  the  house  has  been  to  a  deplorable 
extent.  Its  slate  roof,  for  instance,  is  modern,  although  glorified 
out  of  its  native  hideousness  by  a  matchless  growth  of  golden 
lichen.  We  still  see  several  mullioned  windows  and  a  four-centred 
arch  or  two,  speaking  of  the  16th  century.  One  of  these  last 
spans  an  open  hearth  with  ^ood  dog-irons.  These,  however,  belong 
to  one  of  the  two  labourers'  families  to  w^hose  use  the  house  is  now 
relegated.  There  is  also  a  fragment  of  wainscotting  containing 
three  or  four  panels  of  the  linen  pattern.  But  it  is  not  of  Gorton 
House,  but  Gorton  Ghapel  that  I  am  to  speak.  I  have  been  told 
by  some  one  that  Gorton  Ghapel  belonged  to  a  Gell  of  Abbots- 
bury.  Of  this  I  find  no  confirmation.  On  the  contrary,  in  some 
documents  it  is  called  a  Free  Chapel.  That  is,  it  was  endowed, 
and  cost  nothing  either  to  the  parish  priest  or  to  the  parishioners  ; 
and  the  appointment   to   it  was  in   the    Bishop's  hands.     Other 


72  GORTON. 

documents  call  it   an   ecclesia,   which   is  taken  to  mean  a  Rectory 
Church— a   Parish    Church.     If   so,    I    think    it    must    rival  St. 
Leonard's,   in   the   Isle   of  Wight,  as  regards  the  claim  to  be  the 
smallest  Parish  Church  in  the  kingdom.     I  think  this,  for  I  am 
not  sure  that  we   see  the   total  original   length  of  Corton  Chapel 
westward.     Its  present  length  within,  I  make,  by  hurried  measure- 
ment, 21ft.,   its  greatest  breadth    12ft.     The  nave  is  10ft.  long. 
The   chancel,  which  narrows   to    10ft.    in   breadth,  is  lift.  long. 
There    is  no   chancel    arch.     The  roof  is    a   rough  modern  one, 
thatched.     On  the   north  of  the  nave   is  a   closed   door,  arched, 
3rd  pointed.     On   the    south     is    a    very    quaint    little    doorway. 
Inside  it  is  an  ordinary  plain  15th  century  arch.     Outside  it  is  a 
polygonal    arch,    of   four    straight-edged    stones — a    quaint    rude 
aifair,  to  which  it  is  difficult  to  assign  a  date.     On  the  same  side 
is  a  small  one-light   window,    square    without,  arched  within.     In 
the   east    gable    is  a  blocked   up,    arched,    two-light    window  of 
ordinary  good  3rd  pointed  style.     But  under  this  window  stands 
that  which  has   led    to   this  short  notice   of  Corton.     It  is  what 
appears  to  be  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  pre- Reformation  altar, 
remaining  untouched.     If  so,  it  is  of  course  a  very  great  curiosity 
indeed ;  being,  as  far   as   I   know,    the   only   complete  unaltered 
specimen  in  Dorset.     The  window  sill  in  St.  Aldhelm's  is,  indeed, 
if  I  mistake  not,  an  altar  sill.     But  the  altar  at  Corton  is,  though 
quite  plain,   a  regularly  constructed   one.     I   have  said  that  this 
erection   appears  to  be   the   altar.     This   is  expressed  advisedly. 
For  I  am  bound  to  say  that  I  cannot  detect  the  five  crosses  which 
a  Roman  Catholic  altar  must  of  necessity  bear,  to  be  complete.     I 
cannot  find  them,  to  my  great  disappointment  ;  but  then  the  dis- 
integration of  the  Purbeck  marble  slab  has  in  parts,  particularly 
the  edge,  been  very  great.     I  think  that  the  crosses,  if  small,  as 
I  believe  they  often  were,  might  have  crumbled  away  by  age,  not 
unassisted  by  the  hand  of  man.     Anyway,  it  is  difficult  to  see  the 
worn,  archaic  looking  "  stwonen  tiable,"  as  a  ploughman  called  it 
to   me,   without   carrying  back  its  date,   crosses  or  no  crosses,  to 
pre- Reformation  times.     It  is  5ft.  by  3ft.,  and  stands  on  two  plain 


*'  GORTON.  73 

and  not  quite  symmetrical  ashlar  supports.  On  the  east  wall  at 
each  end  of  the  altar  is  a  large  bold  moulded  and  square  bracket. 
In  the  south  wall  adjoining  is  a  Piscina. 

Such  is  Gorton,  a  place  well  worth  rambling  to  from  Upwey  or 
Portesham  stations — delightful  to  visit,  if  standing  alone,  what 
with  its  charming  and  uncommon  situation,  its  own,  and  its 
chapel's,  antiquarian  interest.  But  it  is  not  alone.  Quite  near  is 
Friar's  Waddon,  retaining  a  group  of  interesting  cottages — still 
interesting,  although  on  the  largest  the  plague  of  slate  has 
descended.  Then  a  little  way  further  from  Upwey  is  West 
Waddon,  an  admirably  built  and  most  excellently  situated  18th 
ce.ntury  house.  And  between  the  two  is  Coryates,  the  Corfe  gate, 
the  cut  way.  It  is  well  worth  walking  from  Upwey  station  just 
to  see  that  astonishing  passage  in  the  hills,  specially  when  a  low 
evening  sun  throws  the  steep  western  scarp  into  deep  shadow. 


©n  the  (Effects  of  a  Jflasli  of  l^ightning  at 
^loxtoortk,  on  tkz  9th  of  Jl^jril,  1886, 


By  the  Rev.   O.   P.   CAMBRIDGE,  M.A. 


Plates  III.,  IV.,  V.  VI. 

ITHOUT  hiving  made  electricity  and  its  laws  a 
subject  of  study,  I  have  yet  always  taken  great 
interest  in  observing  the  effects  of  discharges  of 
the  electric  fluid  in  thunderstorms  upon  trees  and 
other  objects ;  and  I  am  bringing  before  our 
Field  Club  the  results  of  a  flash  which  lately 
occurred  at  Bloxworth  in  order  to  record  effects  quite  unique  in 
my  own  experience,  as  well  as  to  invite  discussion,  and  I  hope  an 
expression  of  scientific  opinion  upon  what  seems  to  me  a  flash  of 
a  very  unusual  character.  The  day  on  which  this  flash  occurred, 
the  9th  of  April  last,  was  of  the  ordinary  "  March  "  character, 
blustering  storms  of  rain,  hail,  and  snow  from  the  north  and  north- 
west, with  bright  sunshine  in  the  intervals.  In  one  of  these 
short  storms  at  three  p.m.,  without  any  premonitory  flash  or  growl- 
ings,  a  sudden  burst  or  diffused  blaze  of  light  occurred,  accom- 
panied instantaneously  by  an  explosion  like  that  of  an  enormous 
gun,  rather  than  that  of  any  ordinary  peal  of  thunder,  in  fact,  the 
pealing  was  of  very  short  duration.  No  other  flash  or  peal  of  any 
kind  followed,  and  the  mixed  rain  and  hail  (nearly  as  large  as 
thrushes'   eggs)  falling  at    the    time  suddenly   ceased,  the   wind 


THE    EFFECTS    OF    A    FLASH    OF    LIGHTNING.  75 

dropped,  the  sun  shone  out,  and  all  was  fine  and  quiet.  I  was 
myself  about  400  yards  distant  from  the  spot,  and  looking  in  that 
direction,  but  the  high  trees  intervening  in  the  near  fore-ground 
preventing  my  seeing  more  than  the  burst  of  bright  light.  To  me, 
at  this  distance,  the  flash  and  report  were  instantaneous.  A 
labourer  was  at  work  about  the  same  distance  from  the  spot 
though  in  another  direction.  As  soon  as  he  recovered  his 
equanimity  (as  far  as  I  could  gather  from,  him,  within  four  or  five 
minutes),  he  ran  into  an  adjoining  field,  where  at  about  200  yards 
off  he  had  a  full  view  of  the  spot,  which,  it  seemed  to  him,  was 
where  the  flash  appeared,  and  his  description  of  it  was  that  the 
whole  group  of  trees,  which,  on  after-examination,  proved  to  be 
the  striking  point  of  the  flash,  appeared  to  be  wrapped  in  a  blaze 
of  light  like  fire,  with  a  kind  of  mist  or  thin  steaming  smoke  rising 
from  it.  On  examining  the  spot  soon  after  I  found  that  eight 
trees  (seven  of  them  in  almost  a  straight  line  of  about  82  yards 
long,  stretching  from  east  to  west,  and  the  other  at  right  angles  to 
the  west  end  of  the  line  and  at  30  yards  from  it)  had  been  struck 
in  various  ways  and  degrees.  The  ground  plan — PI.  IV. — (laid 
down  to  scale)  shews  the  relative  position,  and,  pretty  accurately, 
the  relative  sizes  of  the  trees  struck,  as  well  as  of  several  others 
close  to  them  but  not  struck.  The  sketches  exhibited  give  a  per- 
spective view  of  the  whole  position,  as  well  as  enlarged  outlines 
of  the  trunks  of  some  of  the  trees,  on  which  the  direction  and 
extent  of  the  course  of  the  electric  current  is  marked  with  red. 
As  the  manner  and  extent  of  the  damage  done  to  the  eight  trees 
is  very  varied  and  peculiar,  I  will  describe  shortly  the  condition 
in  which  I  found  each  of  them,  beginning  with  that  numbered 
one  on  the  ground  plan.  No.  i  (PI.  V.,  Fig.  i).  A  rather  large 
ash  tree  2ft.  6in.  in  diameter,  and  about  70ft.  high,  struck  on  the 
top  of  a  large  dead  limb,  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter,  and  form- 
ing part  of  the  main  body  of  the  tree,  the  trunk  of  which  divides 
into  two,  about  i8ft.  from  the  ground;  the  height  at  which  it 
was  struck  (Fig.  i,  S.f.)  is  about  35ft.  from  the  ground,  a  portion 
being    broken    off  and  thrown    a    considerable   distance    over   a 


76       THE  EFFECTS  OF  A  FLASH  OF  LIGHTNING. 

hedge  to  the  S.E.  The  next  trace  of  the  damage  done  to  this 
tree  is  some  loft.  lower  near  where  the  trunk  divides;  from 
thence  downwards,  on  the  south  side  of  the  trunk  to  the  ground, 
a  broad  piece  of  bark  from  six  inches  to  a  foot  wide  and  reaching 
to  the  ground  was  thrown  off  and  over  the  hedge,  along  with  the 
piece  of  dead  limb  mentioned  above  ;  the  woody  substance  of  the 
tree  being  scored  and  ripped  in  places.  At  the  base  of  the  tree, 
between  two  large  root-spurs,  where  the  electric  current  apparently 
entered  the  earth,  a  large  clod  or  turf  (PI.  V,,  i.  c.)  was 
thrown  up  and  turned  over,  but  not  wholly  detached.  On 
the  north  side  of  the  trunk  of  this  tree,  at  eight  or  ten  feet 
from  the  ground,  the  bark  was  split  and  a  piece  from  two 
to  six  inches  in  width  thrown  off.  No.  2.  A  small  oak  6in. 
in  diameter  only,  underneath  No.  3.  Very  slightly  struck  on 
a  small  dead  branch  about  7 it.  from  the  ground,  peeling  off  the 
bark  only.  No  trace  of  the  passage  of  the  electric  fluid  into 
the  ground.  No.  3.  A  large  oak  2ft.  6in.  in  diameter  and  about 
50ft.  high.  Slightly  struck  beneath  the  under  side  of  a  dead 
limb  about  loft.  from  the  ground,  the  bark  only  thrown  off;  no 
connection  apparent  with  the  ground,  all  trace  disappearing 
about  3ft.  from  the  connection  of  the  dead  limb  with  the  trunk. 
No.  4  (Pis.  VI.,  Fig.  4,  and  III.,  4).  A  large  oak,  the  largest  in 
the  group,  nearly  3ft.  in  diameter  and  about  60ft.  high,  struck 
below  the  middle  of  the  tree — about  i8ft.  from  the  ground — on 
the  face  of  the  central  limb  (or  body)  and  on  a  dead  spur  (much 
splintered)  from  another  limb  (or  body)  just  below  the  former. 
The  main  current  appeared  to  have  come  down  the  latter  limb 
and  so  down  the  trunk  of  the  tree  to  the  ground,  ripping  off  the 
bark  from  6in.  to  isin.  in  width  on  the  north-west  side  (PI. 
VI.,  Fig.  4a.),  and  throwing  it  to  a  considerable  distance.  A 
smaller  current  only  seems  to  have  struck  or  abraded  the  bark 
here  and  there  on  the  opposite  (^or  south-west)  side,  appearing  to 
unite  again  with  the  main  current  before  reaching  the  ground.  A 
hole  in  the  earth  was  made  and  a  clod  of  turf  torn  and  thrown  up 
at  the  foot  of  the  tree  where  the  ground  was  entered.     The  bark 


THE    EFFECTS    OF    A    FLASH    OF    LIGHTNING.  77 

was  also  abraded  here  and  there  (as  if  beaten  with  a  hammer)  on 
the  north-east  side.  There  was  no  splintering  of  the  wood  nor 
fraying  of  the  edges  of  the  bark  in  this  tree.  Between  this  tree 
and  the  next  (No.  5)  four  yards  of  the  ground  was  irregularly 
furrowed  and  torn  up,  much  as  if  a  pig  had  been  rooting  it,  in  zig- 
zag directions,  but  with  no  apparent  connection  of  the  furrowing 
with  the  trees  (PI.  IV.  a).  No.  5.  A  small  tree  about  i2in.  in 
diameter  and  directly  under,  but  the  trunk  six  feet  away  from, 
that  of  No.  6,  which  is  a  much  larger  tree,  at  least  2ft.  6in.  in 
diameter  and  about  50ft.  high.  The  same  stroke  had  evidently 
struck  both  these  trees.  The  first  trace  is  on  No.  6,  on  the, 
north  side  at  about  30ft.  from  the  ground  on  no  special  point, 
but  along  the  face  of  the  limb  (PI.  V.,  Fig.  6  e),  which  is  there 
about  six  inches  in  diameter.  About  twelve  feet  (downwards)  of 
this  limb  is  deeply  furrowed  and  scored  in  a  sinuous  direction, 
the  bark  and  wood  being  driven  off  and  outwards,  as  well  as  torn 
and  shredded  to  more  than  an  inch  in  depth.  The  current  here 
evidently  abruptly  stopped  (PI.  V.,  Fig.  6  e)  and  leapt  to  the  next 
point,  where  any  effect  is  visible,  that  is  at  a  distance  of  seven 
feet  downwards  in  a  sloping  direction  at  the  top  of  a  small  dead 
branch  of  No.  5  (PI.  V.,  Fig.  5  d).  This  small  branch  was  much 
split  and  splintered  to  its  junction  with  the  main  body  of  the  tree, 
along  which  and  thence  to  the  ground  was  a  continuous,  torn,  deep 
groove  or  splintered  furrow  reaching  to  the  ground.  The  bark 
and  edges  of  the  groove  were  torn  into  threads,  and  a  broad  piece 
of  bark,  three  or  four  inches  wide  and  six  feet  long,  thrown  off. 
The  passage  of  the  current  into  the  ground  was  down  and  over  a 
spur-root  of  the  tree,  and  there  was  a  hole  in  the  earth  at  its  base. 
Portions  of  bark  and  splinters  from  both  these  trees  and  also 
from  the  next  were  cast  off  to  a  considerable  distance.  No.  7. 
An  oak,  about  2ft.  in  diameter  at  its  base,  struck  about  the  middle 
of  the  upper  part  on  a  small  dead,  cross,  horizontal  branch  (PI. 
VI.,  Fig.  7  b),  only  tearing  off  the  bark  to  a  small  extent;  thence 
the  current  evidently  jumped  downwards  a  little  too  near  the 
extremity  of  a  rather  larger  branch,  a  live  one,  about  the  size  of 


78  THE    EFFECTS    OF    A    FLASH    f)F    LIGHTNING. 

one's  wrist  (Fig.  7  c) ;  this  is  deeply  (one  to  two  inches),  but  not 
very  broadly,  grooved  and  furrowed  as  though  with  a  very  rough 
plough-plane,  long  shreds  and  splinters  being  forced  outwards  and 
thrown  out.  The  groove  is  continuous  down  the  north-east  side 
to  the  trunk  (PI.  VI.,  Fig.  7),  and  so  to  the  ground,  where  the 
turf  was  torn  up.  The  distance  of  this  tree  from  the  trees 
struck  nearest  to  it,  Nos.  5  and  6,  is  221^  yards.  No.  8,  a  small 
ash  tree  eight  or  ten  inches  in  diameter  and  about  30ft.  high, 
the  smallest  of  a  group  of  three  standing  close  together, 
but  with  three  others,  much  larger,  12ft.  off,  and  two  oaks 
larger  again  12ft.  to  24ft.  off,  all  forming,  however,  only 
one  group.  No.  8  was  struck  at  a  few  feet  from  the  top  of  a 
long  but  small  dead  limb,  about  loft.  from  the  highest  point  of 
the  tree,  and  furrowed  in  a  sinuous  line  to  its  junction  with  the 
trunk  (PI.  VI.,  Fig.  8  d),  which  is  twelve  feet  from  the  ground. 
No  further  trace  is  visible  until  about  7ft.  6in.  from  the  ground 
on  the  N.W.  side  of  the  trunk,  where  the  bark  is  simply  cracked  as 
though  from  within,  and  in  the  crack  a  small  round  clean  cut  hole 
like  a  gimlet  hole  is  visible.  Just  below  this  (PI.  VL,  Fig.  8  e)  a 
broad  strip  of  bark  and  wood  to  half  an  inch  in  depth,  and  reaching 
to  about  2ft.  from  the  ground,  was  thrown  off.  There  was  here 
no  visible  trace  of  the  passage  of  the  current  into  the  earth. 
This  tree  was  38  yards  eastward  from  the  next  nearest  struck 
tree,  No.  7.  As  I  observed  at  first,  I  have  never  made  any  ex- 
perimental study  of  the  laws  of  electricity.  I  therefore  do  not 
intend  to  offer  any  observations  of  a  scientific  nature  on  the  above 
facts ;  but  the  first  thing  which  strikes  one  is  that  eight  trees 
covering  so  large  an  area  as  82  yards  long  by  30  wide,  and  so 
variously  grouped  and  placed  in  that  area,  should  have  all  been 
struck,  as  above  detailed,  by  one  single  discharge  of  electric  fluid. 
There  is  no  room  for  doubt  upon  this  point.  I  myself  and  others 
who  were  within  500  yards  of  the  spot  at  the  time  can  testify  that 
there  was  no  other  flash,  nor  sound  of  thunder,  than  the  one  which 
did  the  mischief.  This  is  unique  in  my  own  experience.  Then 
next  I  would  observe  that  in  no  one  of  the  trees  struck  are  the  first 


THE  EFFECTS  OF  A  FLASH  OF  LIGHTNING.       79 

traces  visible  on  the  highest  or  most  considerable  points  of  the 
trees.  x\ll  are,  apparently,  first  struck  at  some  point  considerably 
below  the  highest  point  presented  either  by  the  tree  or  branch  struck, 
or  by  some  other  one  near  it.  Another  point,  too,  is  that  in  almost 
every  instance  the  first  visible  striking  point  is  on  a  dead  branch 
or  limb.  Then  as  to  the  visible  effects  !  In  some  of  the  instances 
there  is  the  clearest  evidence  of  a  force  acting  from  inside  and 
throwing  off  bark,  splinters,  and  shreds,  while  in  other  instances 
the  appearance  is  as  of  a  force  passing  over  and  striking  here  and 
there  in  its  passage.  Then  there  is  the  tearing  and  furrowing  of 
the  ground  between  the  trees  Nos.  4,  5,  and  6,  with  no  visible- 
connection  with  the  damage  done  to  those  trees;  and  the  up- 
turning of  the  clods  at  the  base  of  the  trees.  And  a  noteworthy 
point,  also,  I  think,  is  the  luminous  steamy  appearance  enwrapping 
the  whole  area  for  so  considerable  a  time  after  the  flash.  That 
this  was  simply  an  electric  light  is,  I  think,  clear.  There  is  no 
appearance  of  burning  or  scorching  on  any  of  the  trees.  I  may  say 
in  regard  to  the  highest  points  struck  being  some  distance  below 
the  highest  points  presented  by  similar  objects  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood,  that  1  hive  noticed  this  to  be  invariable  in  every 
instance  (and  those  pretty  numerous)  that  I  have  ever  observed  in 
the  striking  of  trees,  whether  in  England  or  abroad,  unless  the  tree 
happened  to  be  a  solitary  one.  And  in  most  (but  not  all)  instances 
the  largest  tree  was  the  one  left  untouched.  An  old  friend  of  mine, 
of  great  outdoor  experience  as  a  naturalist,  has  all  his  life  followed 
this  rule  whenever  caught  out  of  doors  in  a  thunderstorm,  to  put 
himself  immediately  underneath  the  largest  oak  tree  near.  I  will 
not  say  that  I  agree  with  this  so  far  as  to  have  followed  this  rule, 
but  I  certainly  believe  that  a  human  being  walking  over  an 
exposed  place,  with  no  trees  near,  in  a  thunderstorm,  is  in  far 
greater  danger  than  in  walking  quietly  through  a  country  where 
there  are  many  trees  of  all  sizes  near ;  and  that  large  trees  are 
certainly  not  specially  inviting  to  the  discharge  or  conveyance  of 
electric  currents.  I  hope  some  one  present  will  be  able  to  give  us 
some  scientific  theory  which  may  embrace  and  account  for  the 


80  THE    EFFECTS    OF    A    FLASH    OF    LiGHTNINCr. 

facts  to  which  you  have  now  been  kind  enough  to  listen  to  the 
detail  of. 

In  the  discussion  which  followed  the  reading  of  the  paper  and  the  ex- 
hibition of  the  sketches  it  was  suggested  that  the  eight  trees,  or  at  any 
rate  some  of  them,  were  not  struck  at  the  top  by  strokes  from  the  thunder 
cloud  doimioards,  but  by  discharges  from  the  earth  upwards,  the  cloud  and 
the  earth  being  the  one  in  a  positive,  the  other  in  a  negative,  state  of 
electricity  ;  that  this  alone  would  account  for  the  overturning  (but  not 
shattering  or  detaching)  of  clods  of  turf  at  the  bases  of  the  trees,  and  the 
upturning  of  the  soil  between  them  without  any  connection  with  the  trees 
themselves,  as  detailed  by  the  Rev.  0.  P.  Cambridge  ;  and  that  this  would 
accord  with  the  known  laws  of  electricity,  as  well  as  account  for  so  many 
objects  being  struck  over  an  extensive  area,  accompanied  by  only  one  flash 
and  a  single  thunder-clap. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  PLATES  III.,  IV.,  V.,  VI. 

Plate  III. 

General  sketch  of  the  whole  group  of  trees  struck.  The  trees 
struck  are  numbered  i  to  8  ;  and  the  same  order  is  followed  in 
each  of  the  other  plates. 

Plate  IV. 

Ground  plan  laid  down  to  scale  of  the  positions  of  the  trees 
struck,  and  of  some  others  close  by,  but  untouched.  If  this  plan 
be  compared  with  the  sketch  of  the  trees  themselves  (PL  III.), 
remembering  that  the  sketch  gives  an  oblique  and  perspective 
view,  it  will  be  easy  to  understand  the  nature  and  wide  area  of 
the  stroke. 

a.  A  curious  irregular  ploughing  up  of  the  soil  close  to  trees  4, 
5,  and  6. 

Plate  V. 
This  and  the  following  plate  represent  some  of  the  trunks  and 
other  parts  of  the  trees  struck,  to  show  the  direction  and  course 
of  the  stroke,  which  are  coloured  red. 


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THE    EFFECTS    OF    A    FLASH    OF    LIGHTNING. 


81 


Fig.  l — S.  South  side.  aV.  Nortli  side  of  ash  tree.  The 
whole  spaces  included  at  a  and  ^  were  entirely  denuded 
of  bark.  At  /  the  limb  ended  in  a  dead  stump,  of 
which  several  feet  were  broken  off  and  hurled  to  a 
considerable  distance  in  a  S.E.  direction.  C.  A  clod 
of  turf  thrown  up  and  turned  over  from  the  hole  c\ 

,,  5. — A  small  tree  close  to  No.  6.  From  (/,  where  the  traces 
of  the  flash  end  in  No.  5,  there  is  an  apparent  jumd 
to  e  in  No.  6,  whence  it  continues  sinuously  upwards. 
The  space  between  the  red  lines  at  ^4'  was  entirely 
denuded  and  deeply  channelled. 

Plate  VI. 
Fig.  4. — The  whole  of  the  space  at  a  was  denuded  of  bark. 
At  /  the  direction  of  the  stroke  is  continued  on  the 
other  side,  appearing  again  at  ^',  passing  on  to  the 
other  limb  and  so  upwards.  At  //,  /i'  are  also  traces 
as  of  violent  blows  given  to  the  bark. 

,,  7. — The  stroke  indicated  here  by  the  red  line  was  dee})ly 
channelled.  At  c  there  was  a  leap  to  /»,  a  branch 
crossing  and  in  contact  at  a  little  distance  with  the 
branch  r. 

,,  8. — A  small  asli  tree  (one  of  a  gTOU|)).  .\t  c  the  bark  was 
thrown  off,  and  a  small  hole  was  made  just  above  it. 
No  further  trace  of  a  stroke  on  this  tree,  excepting  on 
the  dead  Hub  at  (/,  upwards,  but  not  to  its  extremity. 


u  ^ 


5ov5ct  jVatuval  ijicitonj  »iub  Jlutiquaviau 


J'iclb  Club. 


Vol.  VII. 
CORRIGENDA. 

}).  io6,  1.  6 — For  sides  read  hides. 

,,  8 — For  T3-neham,  Stocke,  and  Ilitlye  read   Tigehaiii 

(Tynebam),      Slocke     (l'>ast     Stoke),     Ristoa 
(Rusliton),  Stitlege  and  Stodlege  (Studland). 

,,         II — For  ten  read  two. 

,,         i8  and  20 — P>ase  "Sir." 
p.  107,  1.  2— For  Hady  read  Hody. 

,,  6 — For  sold  read  held. 

,,         21 — For  juror  read  person, 
p.  108,  1.  2 — For  Frances  read  Francis. 

,,  8 — For  Bewes  read  Bower, 

p.  17,  1.  23 — For  Alkama  read  Alhania.