According to DNHAS Volume 92, 1970, during September 1970, gas-pipe trench excavations were carried out in a field (Grid ref: ST 687 165) west of the lane running south from Purse Caundle village down to Tripps Farm. In the Fuller's Earth Rock several pieces of a crocodile's
snout were found in the topmost part of the Middle Bathonian Subcontractus Zone, of about 130-140 million years ago, associated with the characterisitic ammonites of this zone apparently found in local gardens, including Tulites modiolaris. The snout was subsequently identified at the British Museum as belonging to Steneosaurus brevidens, originally described from the Oxfordshire Great Oolite where it is common in the Stonesfield Slate (Progracilis Zone), a little earlier than the Purse Caundle specimen. These four specimen pieces are now in the Palaeontology reptile collection of the Natural History Museum in London (Catalogue No. BMNH R 8576) - see illustrations. This apparently the earliest record of a crocodile in Dorset, having been presented to the NHM by Hugh Torrens in 1971, though mistakenly said at that time as having come from nearby Haydon.
The crocodilians, unlike the dinosaurs, persisted through the time of the Cretaceous-tertiary extinctions' event. Steneosaurus was a crocodilian that had become well adapted to a marine way of life. It had a long body and small forelimbs to aid swimming, and a long snout with thin sharp teeth for eating fish. Steneosaurus maintained a heavily armoured body. The rings along the neck acted as protection for the gullet, which was the only unprotected area of its otherwise heavily-armoured body. Its feet had not become modified into flippers. It probably inhabited estuaries rather than the open ocean. A complete specimen has been found elsewhere measuring an impressive 7 1/4 feet in length.
Whether there was any, or how much, Early-Man, Iron Age, Bronze Age, or a later Roman settlement within what would become the immediate village area is not known, as apparently no archaeological research has been undertaken. The heavy clays of the Blackmore Vale inhibited much prehistoric and Roman-British settlement there. However, Neolithic arrowheads are said to have been found in woodland area west of Henstridge village; and probable Iron-Age burials and artifacts on the high ground near Toomer. Pre-Roman Iron Age pottery suggesting occupation has been found as close as adjacent Goathill, as had some Roman artifacts (DNHAS Vol. 80, 1958), and definitely at Marnhull further out into Blackmore Vale.
On the 2001 Ordnance Survey Roman Map, however, it can be seen there was a Roman villa at Sherborne five miles to the West; a closer substantial building just west of Milborne Port; and other finds in the vicinity of Goathill, Henstridge and Stalbridge.
It is thought that with a stream or two, plus springs, within the area of the parish it was possible there would be some later form of early pre-Saxon settlement alongside. With the local water-table being quite close to the surface (in modern times at any rate) wells are not difficult to dig.
Roman and Romano-British items of pottery, etc., and Roman coins have been found - generally by chance - in the area all around Sherborne, including to the East at Henstridge Bowden and Toomer, and south at Bishops Caundle - see C. E. Bean in DNHAS Vol. 72, 1950. A Romano-British cemetery was found by chance at Milborne Port in the 18th century, containing nearly 60 burials, with heads pointing North. No associated settlement has yet been discovered nearby. A same period skeleton was discovered also close to Purse Caundle at neighbouring Stalbridge in 1918. The Romans built the first roads as such, in some instances following already established prehistoric trackways. A Roman road from what is now Weymouth passed through Dorchester (Durnovaria), and onwards just to the west of Yeovil to Ilchester (Lindinis), where there was a large fort. In the Yeovil and Sherborne area it is noted that villas are situated along the line of the River Yeo. (See also CHAPTER 5)
Following the departure of Roman garrisons from Britain c.410, on the severance of Britain from Rome, but not necessarily of the civilian villa occupiers, the Saxons apparently came late to Dorset from the east. They finally overcame the British in the mid-seventh century, in what was later to be called Dorset, to become part of Wessex. The history of Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries has been provided by the British cleric Gildas in his The Ruin of Britain. This has been said to have possibly been written c.550, perhaps in Dorset or Somerset. There was also Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, c.731.
Settlers started to come from northern Germany (Angles and Saxons) and Denmark (Jutes), plus other Germanic groups, and Scandinavians. It was not long (7th century) before Kings demanded protection tribute from the population they governed. The ordinary subsistence farming inhabitants had to render regular payments of agricultural produce (feorm) to their local royal centres. For this purpose the countryside was divided into taxable units called hides - a hide being the amount deemed necessary to support one household.
The year 845 saw the first known mention of the name Dorset: 'Dux Eanwulf with the Somerset men, and Bishop Ealhstan and Ealdorman Osric with the Dorset [Dornsaetum] men, fought against a Danish raiding-army at the mouth of the [River] Parrett [in Bridgwater Bay south of Weston-super-Mare] and made great slaughter there and took the victory.'
Less than a handful of miles eastwards of Purse Caundle is Stalbridge, which is Saxon for 'bridge on piles'.
There is evidence of a West Saxon settlement at Sherborne. But even more exciting has been the information passed to this author that what was considered (by a local doctor) to be a Saxon female skeleton was discovered by chance in the 1980's at Home Farm in Purse Caundle. But unfortunately it was apparent not much cognicance was taken of it by the archaeological fraternity, and in accordance with usual practice it was re-buried.
At Hinton St. Mary (five miles east of Purse Caundle) there is a Roman villa with a 4th century mosaic having a Christian content - XP - the symbol for Christ. There is plenty of evidence of there being Christianity in north Dorset in Saxon times by at least the mid-7th century, at such places as Fontmell Magna and Iwerne Minster. Purse Caundle church apparently has a few Saxon foundation remains of an unknown date, which presumably means there was either some form of adjacent settlement by then, or it was to cater for a collection of scattered surrounding ones. Close to Purse Caundle there were to be abbeys at Shaftesbury (Sceaftsbyri) in 888, and Sherborne (Sciraburn) in 998.
The Diocese of Sherborne was created by King Ine in 705, with his brother Aldhelm (later Saint) being consecrated its first Bishop. Some 350 years later, c.1060, the bishopric was transferred to Sarum.
In 787 there was an early pagan Viking raid on the kingdom from Scandinavia through Portland. Kings AEthelbald in 860, and AEthelbert in 866, the elder brothers of King Alfred (the Great, 871-899), were buried at Sherborne which seems to have become the war-time capital of Wessex during the fight against the Vikings' 'Great Army'. The latter were to be converted to Christianity, and trade with them began. But in early 878 the Danes eventually succeeded in over-running the greater part of Wessex, including Dorset. Alfred retreated to the swampland of Athelney in Somerset, where the legendary incident of his burning of cakes supposedly took place. But in the same summer Alfred defeated the Vikings at Edington, Wiltshire, just north-east of Westbury. He was to eventually push the Vikings back out of Wessex in 880. In gratitude for which he founded Athelney abbey, and apparently endowed it with (Purse) Candel. Before his death in 899 he also reorganised the rota of military service, to forestall any further attacks, and introduced a 'Burghal Hidage' levy.
This military service (or fyrd) was a levy of freemen raised from each hundred, liable to serve in the English Army for a period of two months annually. During that time they were paid and provisioned by the shires. However, if their period of service was extended, then they were charged to the State.
Although it may have already been in existence, it is more likely to have been King Alfred who originated payment of Peter's Pence in the 880s. However, some authorities consider it to have been later by King Cnut (1016-1035), though this opinion was to be based on his letter of 1031 which seems to infer that it was an ancient practice by this time. This was an annual tax payment to the Papal See at Rome of one penny (which were at that time made of silver) by every household in England occupying land worth thirty pence rent a year. Payment of this Rome scot was to be made on Lammas Day (the Saint's Day of St. Peter ad Vincula - 1st August). There was apparently a substantial fine for neglect to pay.
Illustrated on the left is a fragment of a real Anglo-Saxon hammered silver penny coin.
Below are reproductions of King Alfred silver penny coins of the period 871-891.
In 973 King Eadgar (959-975) carried out a major reform of the silver coinage, which was now to be uniform throughout the whole country. It was to be renewed every six to seven years, when people had to travel to their nearest mint centre (which could be at quite some distance) and exchange their old penny and halfpenny coins for new. Fortunately for the inhabitants of Candel there was a mint at Milborne Port at some time during the Anglo-Saxon period.It is difficult to equate monetary values of this period with that of the 21st century. According to the website that discusses this problem <www.regia.org/costs.htm> a value of one Saxon silver penny (1d) is considered to be £20. This is a somewhat over simplification, but accurate enough for this website article, and thus this History. The values of various commodities of that period have been considered to be: Ewe and lamb @ 12 pence = £240; Fleece @ 2d = £40; Fox skin @ 8d = £160; Wolf skin @ 8d = £160; Hive of bees @ 24d = £480; and further pro rata a Sword @ 240d, and a Fyrdman's pay per month @ 120d.
In 978 King Edward (the Martyr - 975-978), murdered at Corfe Castle in Dorset, and being finally buried at Shaftesbury the following year. Some time after 980 King AEthelred II (978-1016) brought into use a hill fort at South Cadbury, just over the border in Somerset and only some seven miles from what is now Purse Caundle, to counter further Viking raids and/or invasion. In 982-998 there were further attacks and incursions by the Danes into Dorset, such that by 1001 even Shaftesbury (12 miles distant) was being considered as unsafe for the nunnery there. In 1003, King Swein of Denmark landed at Exeter, and marched to, and destroyed, Sherborne and Shaftesbury. As well as irregular tributes to the Vikings by King AEthelred to buy peace, in 1012 he instituted a Danegeld tax payable by everyone, collectable from every hide of land, to pay for his Scandinavian mercenaries. Some hardship apparently resulted. Archbishop Wulfstan in his 'Sermon of the Wolf to the English', written at the time, describes the sad lot of many poor people, when the heavy demands for tributes were added to years of poor harvests and cattle disease.
King Cnut came to plunder Wessex in 1015/1016. There was a battle between the Saxons and Vikings in 1016, thought to have been at Penselwood, which is three miles north-east of Wincanton, Somerset, and just north of the present A303 trunk road. (There is believed to have been an earlier West Saxon battle here in 658.) Cnut died in 1035 at Shaftesbury, with his heart possibly being buried at Shaftesbury Abbey, and his body buried at Winchester.
England was originally much covered in dense woodland. But generations of Celts, Romans, and then Saxons gradually cleared the trees, starting with the thinly wooded upland areas such as Salisbury Plain. Then moving into the lowlands, making space to grow cereals, and pasture to rear cattle and sheep. Apparently what was to become Purse Caundle was still covered by woodland in Anglo-Saxon times. As forests were cleared, flowers spread, and marsh and river-bank varieties colonised the meadows. There were blue cornflowers and red poppies in the fields, originally introduced by Neolithic settlers from the Mediterranean. The woodlands were carpeted with bluebells growing among the brambles and ferns. On the downlands wild thyme, rock roses, and harebells flourished. There were cowslips, primroses, honeysuckle, wild daffodils, foxgloves and forget-me nots.
Long before William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066 a well-ordered pattern of life had been established, not only nationally, but seemingly in Candel - then an overall name for what would have been a collection of scattered homesteads and/or farms. When the Saxons had arrived on our shores some five centuries earlier, they gradually reshaped the land the Romans had left. They parcelled out the land into small divisions, generally conforming to two different patterns, i.e. its configuration, and type of soil. In the instance of (Purse) Caundle, on the edge of the Blackmoor Vale, this was to establish a central farm, and then to clear outlying patches and make smaller farms there, joined to the parent farm by paths through woodland or uncleared common. It was King Alfred who divided Saxon lands into Shires (from the Saxon word Scyre - to cut or divide), and sub-divided into smaller Hundreds and Tythings.
Illustrated left is a reproduction of a silver penny of King Harold II, 1066.
Illustrated below is a fly-leaf of an old Anglo-Saxon Gospel book, said to have been in use in Widcombe, Devon, in the time of the Conqueror.
On the matter of the language of that time, the 19th century Dorset dialect poet, the Rev. William Barnes, maintained "That there was a 'pure' form of English which all native speakers understood. That 'pure' English was derived from Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic origins. If King Alfred's capital of England had not been moved to London from Winchester then the Dorset dialect would still be Standard English. That the Dorset dialect was the closest form of modern English to the Anglo-Saxon language from which it was derived." Barnes published his opinions in the Gentleman's Magazine in 1840. Doctor Alan Chedzoy discussed this in his article 'Those Terrible Marks Of The Beast: Barnes, Hardy And The Dorset Dialect' in The Hardy Society Journal, Autumn 2008. R. D. N. Somerset and W. D. Lang also wrote articles about Dorset dialect words in the DNHAS, Volume 85.The famed monk AElfric (Grammaticus), c.950-c.1025, wrote books in 'Old English', rather than Latin. From about 987 to 1002 he was at Cerne Abbas abbey, and it was then he wrote his Latin Colloquy, probably for the young novices there. It contained descriptions of various contemporary peasants' lives and trades, quite probably relevant to and thus drawn from the local Dorset area:
'Ploughman "Oh I work very hard. I go out at daybreak driving the oxen to the field, and yoke them to the plough; for fear of my lord, there is no winter so severe that I dare hide at home; but the oxen, having been yoked and the share and coulter [sharp blade] fastened to the plough, I must plough a full acre or more every day . . . I have a lad driving the oxen with a goad, who is now hoarse because of the cold and shouting. . . I do more than that, I have to fill the oxen's bin with hay, and water them and carry their muck outside. . . It's hard work, because I am not free."Shepherd "In the early morning I drive my sheep to their pasture, and in the heat and cold, stand over them with dogs, lest wolves devour them; and I lead them back to their folds and milk them twice a day, and move their folds; and in addition I make cheese and butter; and I am loyal to my lord."
Oxherd "I work hard. When the ploughman unyokes the oxen, I lead them to pasture, and I stand over them all night watching for thieves; and then in the early morning I hand them over to the ploughman well fed and watered."
Huntsman " I am a huntsman [of the king]. I weave myself nets and set them in a suitable place, and urge on my dogs so that they chase the wild animals until they come into the nets unawares and are thus ensnared; and I kill them in the nets. I can hunt without nets. I hunt for wild animals with fast dogs. I wasn't hunting today, because its Sunday; but I was out hunting yesterday. [I caught] two stags and a boar. I took the stags in nets, and the boar I killed. The dogs drove it towards me, and I stuck it quickly, standing there in its path. A huntsman mustn't be afraid, because all sorts of wild animals live in the woods. Whatever I take I give to the king, since I am his huntsman. He clothes and feeds me well, and sometimes give me a horse or ring so that I follow my trade more willingly."
Because of the nature of the various possible holding of the Manor and lands, these poor inhabitants could have been subject to the lordship of either king, abbot/abbess, or thegn, with varying degrees of supervision - see above and below, and later CHAPTERS and APPENDICES.
According to the Rectitudines Singularum Personarum ('Rights and Ranks of People'), probably dated during the half century before the Norman Conquest, i.e. at the time of Edward the Confessor, among the many obligations described were:
'Thegn's Law: The law of the thegns is that he be entitled to his book-right [land protected by charter], and that he shall contribute three things in respect of his land: armed service, and the repairing of fortresses and work on bridges. Also in respect of many estates, further service arises on the king's order such as service connected with the deer fence at the king's residence, and equiping a guard ship, and guarding the coast, and guarding the lord, and military watch, almsgiving and church dues and many other various things.
About the Ox-herd. The ox-herd must pasture 2 oxen or more with the lord's herd on the common pasture with the cognizance of the overseer. Let him earn thereby shoes and gloves for himself. And his cow for food must go with the lord's oxen.
About the Shepherd. A shepherd's due is that he should have 12 nights' dung at Christmas, and 1 lamb from the year's young ones, 1 bell-wether's fleece [presumably for making of clothing], and the milk of his flock for a week after the equinox, and a bowl-full of whey or buttermilk all summer [possibly for butter and cheese making].'
Nothing was specifically mentioned for ploughmen, but could well have been included in more general rights and obligations of tenants. But all these could vary from lordship to lordship, and custom of the estate/manor.
Long before William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, a well-ordered pattern of life had been established, not only nationally but seemingly here in CANDEL - then an overall name for what seemed a collection of scattered homesteads and/or farms. When the Saxons arrived on our shores some five centuries earlier, they gradually reshaped the land the Romans had left. They parcelled out the land into small divisions, generally conforming to two different patterns, i.e. its configuration, and type of soil. In the instance of [Purse] Caundle, on the edge of the Blackmoor Vale, this was to establish a central farm, and then clear outlying patches amd make smaller farms there, joined to the parent farm by paths through woodland or uncleared common. It was King Alfred who divided Saxon lands into Shires (from the Saxon word Scyre - to cut or divide); and sub-divide into smaller Hundreds and Tythings.
The soil of the kingdom was to be pieced out in large patches to provide for (1) Thegns (thanes) - lesser Anglo-Saxon nobles of the military and administrative profession, and (2) people of the ecclesiastical profession.
Five hides of approximately 120 acres each (a hide valued at 240 pence = £4,800) was considered by custom as the tenement necessary for the proper outfit of a knight or thegn, i.e. a tenement which made him independent of township arrangement and personal work, which raised and contrasted him with the peasant virgaters around him. It implied to begin with, that the thegn was to find means of sustenance not merely for himself, but for his retinue - the heavily armed warrior being as a rule surrounded by a few lightly armed henchmen. Having a holding of 5 hides placed him in the position of a military follower connected to the king by the ties of direct or indirect patronage.The whole position of thegns is discussed by such as Vinogradoff and Harrison - see the BIBLIOGRAPHY.
It was said in the 1st edition of Hutchins that:
It was said in the 1st edition of Hutchins that:
'The manor [of what was to become Purse Caundle] seems in the Saxon times to have been given by King Aethelstan to the monastery of Athelney, co. Somerset, founded by him A.D. 878. Others say, Robert, Earl of Morton gave the manor of Candel to the Abbot of Athelney [in exchange for another].'
Hutchins was prone to inaccuracies, and this is an instance. It will be noticed immediately the disparity in dates, etc. There had been Athelstan I of East Anglia c.850, and the Viking invader Athelstan II of Anglia 878-890. As was stated above, Athelney abbey had in fact been founded by King Alfred of Wessex, who reigned 871-899. His grandson Athelstan's reign was later in 924-939 (having been born c.895). This error was to be perpetuated by the editors of the subsequent 2nd and 3rd editions of Hutchins, as well as by writers who seemingly accepted what was published there.
Phillimore notes that this land is identified with the early record of the unnamed gift of four hides of land by King Alfred in the Sherborne Hundred Book of Fees (Testa de Nevill), page 90 - see CHAPTER 3.
The Chairman of The Manorial Society, Robert Smith, has aptly written a comprehensive but succinct description of Manors, and Lordships of such. At this point it is worth quoting from this:
'Lordships of the Manor are among the oldest titles in England and pre-date the Norman Conquest [of 1066].
'Historians are not agreed on how the word Manor originated. It has been suggested that it is an import, manoir, or perhaps even older, from the Latin, manerium.. Nor are historians sure whether it was a purely Saxon concept, its origins lying in the need for self-defence down the east coast against succeeding incursions by Germanic tribes and later Vikings.
'They are agreed, however, that the Manor was the pivot of the Feudal System, defined by the 11th century "by certain ecclesiastics who propounded the theory that human society was divided into three orders, the oratores, the bellatores, and the laboratores: those who protected it with their prayers and their swords, and those who tilled the earth to support the other two classes." (Dr. A. P. M. Wright, Senior Assistant Editor, VCH, writing in the Bulletin of the Manorial Society of Great Britain, 1981)
'By the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066), the Lord of the Manor, be he the local leader, or some great suzerain, such as Earl Godwinson of Mercia, was the most important person in village affairs, whether it be collecting taxes for the King or dispensing "high justice", the power to inflict death in his courts.
'In return for his protection and the land in gave them, the people on the Manor, from slaves to freemen, owed their Lord certain services, ranging from money rents to working so many days a week on the Lord's "home farm", or demesne, without pay (week-work). In theory, most men held their land "at pleasure", though in practice the "customary tenants", or villeins, were fairly secure, provided they undertook their services: week-work, the harvest boon (precaria) when they helped the Lord get his corn in, used the Lord's mill to grind their corn and his fold for their animals so that he might benefit from the manure on his land.
'If the tenants of the Manor disagreed, they went before the manorial court, presided over by one of the Lord's officers, usually the Bailiff, who decided and imposed fines often called "arbitary" though, in fact, usually determined by custom. If there were some crime committed, the Lord could arrest, try, and punish up to "pit and gallows", gibbet and mutilation.'
At Gillingham, Dorset, in 1042, Edward the Confessor was proclaimed King by the Witan - the royal council. He was to be crowned at Winchester on Easter Day 1043. He died 5th January 1066, to be succeeded by one of two claimants, Harold II. Then just after Easter, on Monday, 24th April 1066, "Men looked to the sky, and there they saw such a token in the heavens as no man had ever seen before. Not only all over England but, as men deemed, over much of the world, the sky was ablaze with a mighty mass of flame, which no man doubted was sent to kindle a fire upon earth." This omen of misfortune was later to be known as the regularly recurrent Halley's Comet, returning every 75-77 years to our skys. On this occasion it was visible in England from 24th-30th April. It was a prelude of course to the Norman invasion at the end of September the same year, and the subsequent decisive Battle of Hastings on Saturday, 14th October, when the Saxon thegns and fyrdmen were defeated, and King Harold killed.
William the Norman, the other claimant to the English throne, was the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy - his unmarried mother being Herleve. She subsequently married Herluin of Conteville, and they had two sons: Odo who became Bishop of Bayeux, and Robert later Count of Mortain. Both were thus half-brothers of William, who because of his ancestry was to be known as 'the Bastard'.
The whole episode was subsequently recorded on the famous Bayeux Tapestry. One frame shows the three brothers in conference before the Battle. It is accepted by most scholars that the Tapestry was made in the south of England before 1082. In the Tapestry's borders are little vignettes of life of the times, illustrating such occupations as ploughing, harrowing, and slinging at game.
When William ordered in 1086 the survey of England which culminated in the compilation of the Domesday Book, it was to record the situation as at that time as compared with that twenty years earlier in King Edward the Confessor's time pre-1066 - Tempore Regis Edwardi (T.R.E.) - see CHAPTER 3.
The relevant Domesday Book entries which include the pre-Conquest situation are:
(1) 'The abbot [of Athelney abbey in Somerset]has [in Dorset] 1 manor which is called Candel which 7 thegns held T.R.E. and they could go to any lord, which paid geld for 4 hides and 1 1/2 virgates. . .'
(2) 'Lands of the King's Thegns . . . Saeward in [Purse] CANDELE holds 2 1/2 virgates of land. He himself held them T.R.E.' [Saeward seems to have also held lands in Somerset, e.g. not far away at Horsington.]
Two bordars hold the fourth part of 1 virgate of land . . . They themselves held it freely T.R.E.''
How the above situation regarding land ownership by thegns applied to (Purse) Caundle is not absolutely clear. As the seven thegns in 1066 who held the land there 'could go to whichever lord they would' implies that such land was not at that time in ownership of Athelney Abbey, but rather of the King. And who then was the Lord of thegn Saeward and the two bordars?
Nobody is sure how, or exactly when Purse Caundle received its full name, being first recorded as such in the early 13th century; or even when it became a separate entity from being just a part of the much larger area known as Candel (or its variant spellings).
Ekwall and Watts both surmise that 'Purse' could be derived from the Old English 'preosta', meaning 'priest', possibly because it belonged to Athelney Abbey. It was also suggested that 'Caundle' was the name of the nearby chain of hills. It is now generally believed to be Celtic, named afer the stream - Caundle Brook and its own tributaries - that run through it and the other villages with Caundle in their name. But this subject will be further discussed in CHAPTER 4.
But now would seem an opportune place to endeavour to determine the foundation or origins of the place known as Candel/Candle/Caundle. As 'Purse' does not occur until the 13th century this would normally be considered not to be the point at which to discuss this naming. That is until one learns about the following situation.
The owner and occupier of Purse Caundle manor house from 1967 to 1984 was Mr. Ralf Winklemann. During that period the house was open to the public on certain days. Amongst one such group of visitors was Mrs P. M. McCarthy from Liverpool. The following correspondence was the result:
'20 Muirhead Ave East
West Derby
Liverpool L11 1EJ
28.9.79.
Dear Mr Winkleman
I am very sorry I have been so long sending you the copy of the little bit of the 'Purse' family, which I promised you on our visit to Purse Caundle.
I hope it will be of some interest to you.
ours sincerely,
P. M. McCarthy. (Mrs)
(nee Purse)'
'5635 Netherland Ave
Avondale
10071
New York City
USA
Oct 20.70
Dear George
Enclosed is a photograph of the two coats of arms which I made a few years ago. The colours have started to fade, also you will notice I have had a few sheets of notepaper printed from the Die you gave me. I have over the past few year done good a lot of research into the family and have now a few facts. I traced the origins of the family to the year 1055 A.D. 11 years before William of Normandy. In the Dorchester records there is a documented [sic] dated 1055 AD which states that Purse the elder applied for permission to build cottages to house 175 serf families on the land he owned which was situated in the centre of the original White Hart forest along the counties hills. When finished he called the village 'Purse Caundle'. About 220 years later they built a Church and a Manor House. The Church is still standing but in the 14th century the manor house burnt down and another one was built. It is still standing, but is now a museum - over the centuries the families sold or gave as wedding dowries all the land - now there is none left. The only piece of farm land is at Chard nearby, owned by a Purse family. The Coat of Arms on the left is the first one issued in Dorset - on the photograph the notation circa 1050 does not refer to the date it was issued, it only refers to the date the family was recorded.. On the right the first record of the Surrey branch was circa 1265 A.D.
I had an expert in New York explain the symbols of the Coat of Arms, and this is what he says. The bull represents the main source of income which was cattle breeding. The helmet shows that they were gentlemen and the six flowers on the shield called "Trifoils" shows that they were noblemen because, it was an award for being victors in "Jousting Tournaments" and only noblemen could compete. More interesting is the Surrey Coat of Arms. The described [crest] shows that a son took the family coat and added his own crest. Also the shape of the Helmet shows that he was a "Baron" which somehow has not been handed down.
Well George I hope this interests you and hope your wife and you are feeling better. My wife has greatly improved. If we come to England next year, I will call and see you.
Best wishes Bert'
There are several obvious errors and inconsistencies in the above letter from Bert Purse. It is a pity the accompanying photograph is not available, for further details of the Coat of Arms and 1265 Purse Family, though a 'Purse' coat of arms appears at the top of both letters. More importantly, the Dorset History Centre has no trace of the 1055 document mentioned.
This author immediately tried to trace the two above Purse family writers, or their descendants, initially without success. He has since providentially been contacted by a descendant who is checking out the above letter's contents; and who was also able in the interim to provide an enlarged copy of the claimed coat of arms.
As has been seen, the origins of the village have not yet been determined. The first firm mention of Caundle (or rather Candele) was in the 1086 Exon Domesday Book. The earliest known mention of the name 'Purscandel' does not appear until 1241 - so what happened just before this date to warrant this additional name? Even more telling, Domesday does not show any concentrated population anywhere near approaching the purported "175 serf families". The total number of families in the whole of the Domesday scattered area of Candele at that time would barely have reached this figure.
There was for instance, however, in the Earl of Warwick estate map of the 1770s, a field in the village called Cutt Purse, situated on the southern side of the lane leading to Stalbridge Weston, at its junction with what is now the A30 main road. This author is of the opinion that it relates to the time in the distant past when people carried purses tied around their waists, and that on one occasion a thief cut and stole such a purse from a traveller at this location.
The heraldic arms of Purse as shown in the letter are given as:
Gules, six trefoils slipped, argent.
Crest: a demi-bull, per fesse, argent and gules.
On checking with the College of Arms, London, this author was informed that there was no record of it having granted such arms. But it was suggested that the Purse family may have borrowed the heraldry of HETON and changed the colours, i.e. Heaton/Heton of Grovelay Hall, Worcestershire; of Winkell, Lincolnshire, and of London: Argent, six trefoils slipped vert, 2 and 1, 2 and 1. Crest: A pelican or, legged sa, vulning herself ppr.
There are a number of catch-penny so-called genealogical research agencies who supply highly suspect and/or false/incomplete information to unsuspecting enquirers into their family histories. This is often accompanied by an impressive looking certificate, and as has been written above, plus a spurious coat of arms. Poor Bert Purse seems to have unwittingly been one such duped recipient. His descendant family relative who is researching the family's genealogy has as far as is known not been able so far to throw further light on this sorry tale.
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