George W. L. Fernandes
Haddon Lodge, Stourton Caundle
On becoming with my wife joint-Lord of the Manor of Purse Caundle in 2004, and being greatly interested in history, I naturally immediately started to research as to what I could find out about the village. What was quickly discovered from the exisiting limited number of recognised standard published Histories belied what one would normally expect from such a small place. I thenbegan to search for other published as well as unpublished material in such sources and repositories as the Dorset County Museum, County Record Offices, The National Archives, and the Internet. A wealth of material was soon surprisingly found, copied and/or translated/transcribed, but the only way to comprehend the whole was to collate as far as possible all these obtainable details, and place them in some form of chronological order.
The history of any place can only be as comprehensive as the amount of archive material which survives, and is studied, as well as on any interpretation put upon it. The Reverend John Hutchins, in the 1774 1st edition of his The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset, inadequately covered Purse Caundle, even from the records and information available to him at the time. Then his History still managed to contain the odd inaccuracy perpetuated by the editors of the two later greatly expanded editions. Even with this caveat it was logical that this earlier work form the basis of part or parts of the later history of the village. Then there was the later published incomplete Victoria History of Dorset, which managed to a certain extent to further update Hutchins as far as Purse Caundle was concerned. Much other relevant information has come to hand since publication of these two Histories, which have naturally been drawn upon, and listed in this work's BIBLIOGRAPHY. The Internet, although being a source of some valuable details, one must be sure of the bona fides and credentials of the person uploading such information.
From the early part of the 14th century lists of inhabitants of towns and villages began to be complied for various purposes. Many of these survive, including for Purse Caundle. Then came the introduction in 1538 of parish registers, recording baptisms, marriages and burials. Unfortunately these registers were not always religiously kept up to date, nor physically well-maintained. Many have been lost, destroyed, or allowed to decay. Purse Caundle's parish register(s) prior to 1731 appear to have suffered from some form of appropriation in the 19th century and disappeared. To compound this particular loss, Bishops Transcripts for the same period were lost in a disasterous fire. But as will be seen in APPENDIX C5, some of the early missing details have been gleaned from other sources, and partial reconstruction has been possible. Census returns of the 19th and 20th centuries have in their turn recorded who lived where, place of birth, etc. - though unfortunately from a genealogical aspect are not normally accessible for 100 years, except for exceptional personal reasons, as well as for certain statistical purposes. Details of the 1911 Census have however been released two years ahead of time. Many other early records are buried in repositories around the country, but thsnkfully many of them have already been researched, transcribed and published, e.g. Chancery Court actions, various taxation records, electoral lists, etc.
Published and unpublished degree theses are also a source of useful background material which put bare facts into scholarly comprehension and historical context. To all those responsible for all that work a debt of gratitude is owed.
From early medieval times the influence of the periodic meetings of Manor Courts to a certain degree controlled the lives of villagers. Some Manors are fortunate to have Court Rolls or records surviving back to at least 1246. The earliest known surviving for Purse Caundle only dates from 1590, though there is evidence of earlier Manor Court meetings in the form of extracts - generally for land ownership substantiation purposes. Court Rolls of several Manors were irreplaceably destroyed by tenants involved in the Peasants Revolt of 1381. Whether those relevant to Purse Caundle suffered this fate will probably never be known. Those surviving for Purse Caundle that have been so far discovered are reproduced or transcribed in this History. There are many books where one may learn fuller details of the legalities, form and working, etc. of Manor Courts - see the BIBLIOGRAPHY. Because of the damaged nature of some of the original Purse Caundle Manor Court records - a common hazard with early records - as part of the author's ongoing noblesse oblige new-found affection for the village, financing was provided for the conservation of some particularly fragile and damaged Manor documents at the Wiltshire & Swindon Records Office.
A picture soon emerged that the village has had as diverse a catalogue of happenings as did places much bigger and more important. Considering its comparatively small size it has had its fair share of litigation, assault, bastardy, clerical and secular dynasties - including the occasional personality; and of course 'the poor are always with us'. I have sought, where appropriate, to set Purse Caundle's own history against that of the country in general. For no matter how isolated and insular a village may be, the outside world would inevitably impinge at times - for better or for worse, such as taxation, civil war, and pestilence. In the early days of the second millenium, being on the edge of the royal hunting grounds of the Blackmore Vale had its repercussions, and perhaps its very birth and existence. Being immediately adjacent to the main route (hardly a road at first) from London to Exeter and beyond meant that Purse Caundle was not to be quite as isolated as may at first be imagined; nor its close proximity to say Sherborne and its castle during the Civil War of the 1640s. Two of its later sons were to become nationally famous in their respective vocations - the clerical Bishop Mewe and medical Doctor Highmore. Similarly, some famous names were to become Lords of the Manor, though all such holders of the title were seemingly absentees, i.e. neither living in the village or Manor.
Thomas Hardy, the renowned Wessex novelist and poet, does not mention or obviously depict any of the Caundle villages in his works, though much of the action in some of his novels takes part in the general neighbourhood. Two such are The Woodlanders (1887) and Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891), which take place in the Blackmoor Vale ('The Vale of the Little Dairies'). Then in Jude the Obscure (1895), Jude walks around Shaftesbury ('Shaston'), and walks from 'Shaston' to 'Ledderton' (Gillingham). While in the A Group of Noble Dames (1891) one story deals with 'Squire Petrick's Lady' of Stapleford Park, where Squire Timothy Petrick is based on Peter Walker of Stalbridge House who died in 1745; and 'Anna, Lady Buxby' is of the castle at Sherton Abbas (Sherborne). Whilst Hardy cycled, or was later motored all over Dorset, should he have passed through Purse Caundle he must surely at least have noted with his architect's eye the manor house and church.
With now such an intriguing tale to tell the next step was to consider making some form of publication, which is further discussed below. What sort of History would this be? It could either be just a catalogue of purely topographical detasils; or in other words a guide-book. Or a bare transcription of innumerable published and unpublished Domesday, Manor Court and Chancery records, Conveyances, leases, Censuses, and the like. The result has been the inevitable compromise. The aim has been to hopefully make it something of a chronological history, rather than an in-depth analytical discussive scholarly work, but with as much appropriate biographical and genealogical detail as possible.
A decision had then to be made as to whether to have any cut-off point. The 1901 Census as first seemed appropriate, since it did not infringe the privacy of living inhabitants - which the writer has endeavoured to respect, and apologies in advance for any inadvertent failure in this respect. Then along came premature release of the 1911 Census in 2009. And one could not omit such personalities as Lady Victoria Herbert who was owner-occupier of Purse Caundle manor house for much of the twentieth century. Additional recognition to the names of those on the WW1 war memorial was surely a worthy cause to pursue. Complete up-to-date ownership of the Lordship of the Manor, and relevant legislation pertaining thereto also seemed appropriate. With almost contemporary information being received from inhabitants and others, some of it confidential or of a sensitive nature which has to be respected, in the end it has been decided to judiciously incorporate as many filtered/censored personal details as possible.
I have gratefully been privileged to have been able to interview long-standing residents of Purse Caundle for their reminiscences. In one or two instances I was unfortunately just too late. There have also been those who have left the village, or whose ancestors lived there in the past. Published reminiscences have also been consulted. There has even been a short 26-minute DVD published in 1998 by Wessex Film & Sound Archive, The Caundle Villages in July. There are other interviews I would wish to make if possible, with the hope and expectation of further useful historical information to come to hand.
It would have been nice to have included a greater number of national events that would have affected little Purse Caundle, e.g. widespread weather conditions, diseases amongst humans and animals, poor harvests and resultant food shortages, wages and cost of living, housing conditions, frequent taxations, etc., but this would easily have made this publication double the size. The BIBLIOGRAPHY may suggest further reading to obtain a wider and bigger picture.
It would have been nice to have included a greater number of national events that would have affected little Purse Caundle, e.g. widespread weather conditions, diseases amongst humans and animals, poor harvests and resultant food shortages, wages and cost of living, housing conditions, frequent taxations, etc., but this would easily have made this publication double the size. The BIBLIOGRAPHY may suggest further reading to obtain a wider and bigger picture.
One consideration is soon realised, that the lot of a villager here, as elsewhere, could not have been exactly a happy and contented one down through the ages. Artists and illustrators have depicted rural life in its many guises, some supposedly idyllic albeit with thatched cottages shown in various stages of disrepair, and raggedy children. In illuminating various aspects of rural life, for example in the 18th century, use has been made of the woodcuts of Thomas Bewick (1753-1828), and in the 18th/19th centuries the sketches of W.H.Pyne, most of which speak for themselves without any further explanation. Earlier centuries have also had their illustrators of everyday rural life.
Although on the face of it there may not be any immediately descernible remaining rights and privileges attached to this particular title of Lord of the Manor, ownership of it maintains a continuous link with the past dating back over 1,000 years. As previously mentioned, there can also still be a matter of noblesse oblige, i.e. what can one do for the village? What better than to publish as comprehensively as possible its story for the benefit of its inhabitants: to show just how our little Purse Caundle mirrors - and has had a part to play in - the large world outside, and how they themselves are a continuation of this link with the past.
Unfortunately transcriptions of documents and records are not always 100% accurate. Handwriting in such as the Census enumerators' records are not always clear, or have been partially covered over or obliterated by later annotations, having depended in the first place on the accuracy of information obtained from suspicious residents. Priests and parish officials have also been liable to illegible handwriting. Thus the author's apologies for any consequent errors and omissions.
It is the author's intention, and hope, that in spite of the previous caveats this will constitute something of a definitive history of Purse Caundle. Having expressed that wish, however, it is inevitable that fresh information in some form or another will have been overlooked, or continue to surface. I should therefore like to be advised of anything that readers may consider could be of interest in this connection. being neither a native, nor an inhabitant, or even a near neighbour of Purse Caundle, and thus perpetuating the position of an absentee Lord of the Manor, it is hoped this History will be accepted with good grace.
When finally deciding what format a subsequent published History should take, I took into account those published Histories of other Dorset villages. I was particularly taken by two in particular: the 'coffee table' size and style of Joan Brocklebank's AFFPUDDLE of 1968, and the little gem STOURTON CAUNDLE of 1974 by G.W.L.Fernandes and A.E.G.Blades. Each had its attractions such that again inevitably this work is a compromise of both. The sentiments in the earlier quote of George Fernandes could not - in my opinion - have been more succinctly or better expressed.
To do this particular History justice, and make its publication manageable and affordable to both publish and obtain, it has been decided to publish it piecemeal, as here, on the Internet in a blog. It will also make it possible to update as necessary. All too quickly passing Anno Domini encourages early publication. The rector of Purse Caundle, the Reverend William Ridding is being kind enough to include snippets of the parish's history in the monthly editions of Purse Caundle's Church and Community News.
I have given locations and reference numbers where possible of quoted documents, etc. should readers wish to study the originals. In order not to totally lose what material has been accumulated and held personally by the author, it is the hoped intention to deposit it all sometime with one or more appropriate depositories in Dorset.
Acknowledgements and thanks are made to several present and past inhabitants of Purse Caundle for their kind, generous, and tolerant assistance in many great and small ways, to an outsider. In particular I would mention present and former residents: Edward and Ethne Waltham, the late John Waltham, Malcolm Osmond, James S. Fisher, David and Patricia Lawrence, the Reverend William Ridding, Sophie Fuller, Brenda Power, Phillip and Noelle Clive, Tony White, Kimberley White, Danette Whittle, Elsie Osborne, Linda Puley. Other individuals and institutions who have to be thanked are: Robert Noel, Lancaster Herald, College of Arms, London; Dr. Charles Fonge, Hon. Sec. Canterbury and York Society; Richard Samways of Weymouth Museum for much translation of old documents; Martin Wood for informstion regarding the Hastings family; John F. Templeman and Christopher Highmore with details of the Highmore family; Jennifer Thorpe, Archivist at Highclere Castle, Hampshire, and Hastings College of Arts & Technology for details of Lady Victoria Herbert; Stephen Freeth, Keeper of Manuscripts at the London Guildhall Library; the Dorset County Council's Department of Children's Services for information on Purse Caundle School; Dorset County Council's Environmental Directorate re. Purse Caundle's archaeology; Dorset County Council's Western Highways Office re. Purse Caundle's milestone; Lambeth Palace Library; Christine Grembowicz, Museum Administrator, Library & Museum of the Order of St. John, London; Vaughan Whibley, Honorary Librarian, The Church of England - Cathedral and Church Buildings Division, London; John Chiplen; Sandra Chapman of ther Natural History Museum, London; David Lee, Wessex Film & Sound Archive, Hampshire Record Office, Winchester; the British Sun Dial Society for informstion on mass/scratch dials; Katherine Barker and the Dorset County Boundary Survey Group. Also to be gratefully mentioned are the following several repositories for their facilities to visit, inspect and copy items from their respective archive collections: the Dorset History Centre (formerly Dorset County Record Office) at Dorchester; the Dorset County Libraries at Dorchester, Sherborne and Weymouth; Dorset County Museum library, Dorchester; the Somerset Record Office at Taunton; the Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office at Swindon. Several internet websites have proved useful, and have been mentioned in the BIBLIOGRAPHY. There must be other unintentionally omitted acknowledgements, for which again I have to make apologies, though this list will be appropriately expanded from time-to-time.
Purse Caundle is still (thankfully, according to one's personal point of view) something of a rural backwater, where one can at times walk along the narrow country lanes almost undisturbed by traffic. One can listen in peace to the singing and twittering of song-birds, or squawkingof a scared game bird running in front of a walker (or frustratingly when a flock persists in running down the centre of the road in front of one's car). Up above may be a screeching kestrel, quartering the sky on the look-out for prey on ther ground. There is also the gentle buzzing and humming of bees and flies. Being farming country there is sometimes the more intrusive sound of a tractor or bird-shoot. Even worse can be the noisy jet aircraft from say nearby Yeovilton aerodrome. Thankfully the main A30 road is still far enough away for traffic noise not to be too intrusive for the bulk of the village. There are the country lanes where one can still see grass and weeds growing along their middle, and bordered with hedges and banks with a diversity of flora and fauna that only a dedicated naturalist can fully comprehend. Here herbicides do not obviouslyappear to be used, such that an appropriate selection of butterflies for instance may feed or gaily pursue one another in the summer sun. As with a previous era still within living memory, cowslips may be found along one or two of the green ways. Unfortunately not all public footpaths and bridleways are adequately kept clear, or easily usable, such that wellington boots are sometimes necessary, and a stout stick to beat down the encroaching greenery. Fallen timber is not always moved aside.
Amongst other occupations to be indulged in during perambulations around the parish, one may look for evidence of the several lime kilns and associated quarries that used to operate in times past; or seek out foundations of long demolished cottages and buildings. In regard to the latter, and the general lack of any archaeological excavation, responsible metal-detecting could with advantage be undertaken around the village, and similarly along ancient green lanes. What little permitted metal-detecting has been undertaken by the author has not so far yielded much of real interest. Another instructive and enjoyable project still to be definitively completed is to fully perambulate the ancient bounds of the village/parish/Manor, as used to be normally done on a regular basis countrywide at Rogationtide - see 1590.
I should be most grateful to be advised of any errors or omissions in this History project that may be noticed, and also of additional relevant information which may be potentially useful.
Ronald D. Knight
Weymouth
October 2009
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